Workers were putting final touches on Walt Whitman High School’s new addition on Friday. Located on Whittier Blvd where Whittier Woods Elementary School and the Whittier Woods Annex used to sit, the new three-story structure features many amenities including 18 standard classrooms, an interior courtyard and 130 parking spaces.
The addition was necessitated because of overcrowding at the school. Whitman, which opened in 1962 and went under a big redesign in 1992, had been using portables the last few years to accommodate the overflow of students.
The plan for the latest expansion was proposed in 2017 and approved in 2018. One of the goals set forth during the design phase in 2019 – according to a preliminary plans presentation document from February 2019 – was to relieve congestion on Whittier Blvd during morning drop-off.
Whitman officials did not respond to requests for comment by MyMCM about the school’s new addition but one teacher said, “We’re excited about bigger classrooms and new technology.”
Monday is the first day of school.
