Winchester High School Slowly Falls Apart, While Town WatchesThe Winchester Scowl, Conor Polianites, Ryan McGoff, Kate O’Connell October 20, 2010
Winchester High School is crumbling daily, sinking annually, and is in dire need of renovation. Because of the schools age and location, it puts the building in danger of being unusable by the student body.
Staff, students, and visitors all agree that Winchester High School’s building is not up to par with the modern standards.
When asked about the schools condition, a trustworthy, anonymous source stated, “Our school needs a new cafeteria, parking lot, bathrooms, and a drainage system since the school floods nearly every time it rains”.
The High School is actually falling apart. Sharon Martin, a Pre-Calculus and Algebra 3 teacher at Winchester High School was mid-lecture when a heavy ceiling tile collapsed. Many days of rain caused the ceilings to leak and tiles became wet. This heavy ceiling panel just missed hitting Ms. Martin. The poor structure is making the high school become a very hazardous site, which creates a dangerous learning environment.
Many people in the town agree that the high school is well overdue for a makeover. It seems that the administration feels as though they are fixing the school my adding “accessories”. The school has paid for Smartboards™ in every classroom, flat screen TVs, and solar panels on the roof, but still cannot come up with enough money to re-do any facilities. The school seems to have budget reorganization problems that need to be addressed.
Although there are rumors of renovation for the high school in the far future, the town council and superintendent will be updated on the current conditions of the school.
A senior student, Edward Dorr, says that “The worst part is the 3rd floor bathroom. Irresponsible and disrespectful students or teachers always poop in the urinal”. Since the school’s condition is so poor, many students who attend the school have very little respect for the facilities.
Although most people believe the school is not in good shape, some staff members and students enjoy some aspects of the school. For example, one anonymous student said “The cafeteria food is pretty good and the new laptops in the English department come in handy when I need easy access to the internet”.
The building’s poor structure includes moldy ceilings, a flooding basement, poor temperature regulation, and brightly colored walls. Despite the unsatisfactory learning environment, students are still able to learn to the fullest extent. Winchester High School students rank within the top 3 MCAS scores in the state every year. This is mostly due to the superior technology and excellent teaching staff.
The High School was built 37 years ago, in 1973. The Newton North High School was built in 1973 as well. However, Newton North opened its doors to a brand new $300,000,000 High School this year, while Winchester still has the same old facilities.
According to an anonymous, but credible, source tells us, “The High School is second in line behind Vinson-Owen Elementary School for reconstruction”. This could take several years to even start the construction, and the building is deteriorating every year.
This major concern for the Winchester community needs to be addressed promptly.
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