Potomac Falls High This article is one of seven looking at the challenges that educators, parents and students faced in creating a new Virginia high school. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Part 1: Boundary Decision Delayed Part 2: Dispute Over School's Size Part 3: A Study in Starting Fresh Part 4: A Learning Experience Part 5: New High School Debuts Part 6: Club Membership Lags Part 7: "Big Game" Unites Students

By Victoria Benning
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 12 1997; Page A01

Another shipment of books, and no place to put them. Principal E. Wayne Griffith stands in his unfinished office with a perplexed look on his face and tries to discuss what to do with the new arrivals, but Assistant Principal Sherron Gladden can barely hear him -- the fire alarms are being tested.

Potomac Falls High School, scheduled to open in September in Loudoun County, is one chaotic place these days. But despite the hundreds of details and problems that come with starting a school from scratch, Griffith is thrilled to be there.

"I kind of relish the excitement of opening a new high school," he said. "This is going to be a true community school -- no one lives more than a five-minute drive away -- and I think that will encourage more student and parent participation."

It's a ritual that has become increasingly familiar in Washington's fast-growing outer suburbs, especially in Loudoun, a school district that is adding about 2,000 students a year. Potomac Falls is one of three new schools that Loudoun is opening this year, and county officials expect to build at least 12 more over the next five years.

No matter how often the process is repeated, creating a school is a demanding and intricate task for hundreds of children, parents and school administrators. Students must leave classmates, teams and clubs to find new friends and pursuits. Mothers and fathers seek neighbors' donations for school amenities and equipment. School officials are preoccupied with duties ranging from hiring teachers to choosing a mascot.

Potomac Falls, a $29.9 million, 1,350-student school in the Cascades section of Sterling, is the county's first new high school in 21 years. Griffith has been on the job since July, working out of a small office in the county's school administration building in Leesburg and driving to the new building at least twice a week to check on its progress.

He can hardly contain his enthusiasm as he offers a visitor a tour of the sprawling brick structure, which looks more like a college campus than a high school. The four computer labs, the skylights, the banks of classroom windows, the 650-seat auditorium with Broadway-quality light and sound systems -- Griffith delights in how bright and fresh it all looks.

His biggest challenge, he says, is building a school identity and spirit with students and teachers who came from different places.

Out of the more than 80 Loudoun teachers who applied for transfers to Potomac Falls, he has hired about 44 and still has 10 teaching positions to fill. More than two dozen of those hired came from Broad Run High School, where Griffith was principal for 17 years and from which Potomac Falls will draw most of its students.

Griffith says he tried for a mix of experience and youthful enthusiasm in assembling the new teaching staff. He also wanted teachers who understood technology's role in the classroom and who would think of the school as a laboratory for new ideas.

"I feel like I want to go forth and try new things and some innovative techniques at Potomac Falls," Griffith said. "I don't intend to stay stagnant. That means I'll be learning new things as well."

For 15-year-old Scott Loftis, the toughest part of going to Potomac Falls is the breakup of Broad Run's football team.

Potomac Falls will open without a senior class, because this year's juniors wanted to stay at their current schools and were allowed to do so. School officials also gave many of Broad Run's sophomores the choice of whether to transfer to the new school.

Scott, a sophomore and a captain of the junior varsity football team at Broad Run, decided to switch to Potomac Falls. But about half his teammates are staying behind.

"Basically, we split down the middle," Scott said. "We're losing a lot of quality players. A lot of friends are splitting up. You wonder whether we'll see each other as much."

On the other hand, Broad Run's first home football game will be against Potomac Falls, and that's a rivalry Scott is looking forward to.

"It's going to be fun," he said. "We're going to go out there and try to do our best and show everyone they were wrong when they said we wouldn't have a good team."

And there's this bonus for Scott and his classmates: Because Potomac Falls will have no seniors next year, the juniors will enjoy senior privileges for two years in a row. Senior court, an outdoor eating area reserved for seniors, will become junior court. Juniors will park in the senior parking lot.

The school won't have a homecoming this fall -- there won't be anyone returning to visit -- but there will be a "dedication week" complete with the election of a king and queen. Rising juniors will be able to order their Potomac Falls class rings this spring.

"Basically, it'll be like being seniors for two years," Scott said. "We'll be starting the school traditions. We'll be the first graduating class. I think I'm going to love it."

Charles Lutman, Potomac Falls's athletic director, has the job of outfitting more than 30 sports teams and hiring coaches.

Two decisions Lutman doesn't have to make are the teams' name and colors. Those questions were settled last year through an elaborate process that included surveys of parents and students. One parent even used a computer program to make sure they wouldn't choose the same name or colors as any of the school's competitors.

"Panthers" eventually won out over "Bandits" and "Pirates," and the winning colors were black, purple and white.

Lutman came on board three months ago after 28 years in the Clarke County, Va., school system. Like Griffith, he was lured to the job by the challenge of creating something new. "I've always wanted to start a totally new program from scratch," Lutman said.

He'll have some impressive facilities in which to do it: a weight room with state-of-the-art equipment, six tennis courts, six outdoor volleyball courts, baseball and softball fields, a 1,500-seat gymnasium and a 2,300-capacity lighted football stadium. There also are separate but equal facilities for boys and girls, down to the "his" and "her" whirlpools in the training room.

The downside is that Potomac Falls will play a full varsity schedule, with no seniors the first year, in a league that includes much larger high schools such as Chantilly, Centreville and Herndon. Some players and parents worry that the school's teams won't be able to compete.

Lutman says everyone needs to be patient.

"Look at us like an NFL expansion team. We're not going to have the seniors. We're not going to have the veterans," he said. "If people keep the wins and losses in proper perspective, we'll be all right in a year or so. Look what's happened to the [NFL] expansion teams in a couple of years."

Not all of Potomac Falls's books are at the new building. Many boxes have been delivered to the school district's media center, where Potomac Falls librarian Kathy Marsh has been sorting through them.

Close to 100 boxes arrived on a recent afternoon -- still only a fraction of the 17,000 books that will fill the new library. That's 17,000 books that have to be checked against invoices, catalogued, entered into a computer system, stamped, labeled and fitted with security tags -- all by hand, all by Marsh.

Then there's the organizing and arranging on shelves, once the shelves are finally delivered and Marsh can finally get into the library.

She doesn't dwell on the logistical headaches or on the fact that she'll be spending weekends and her summer vacation getting ready for next school year.

"I thought setting up a new library would be fun, and it has been," said Marsh, who had been at Loudoun County High School for 17 years. "It's sort of like being in a candy store. I can buy whatever I want. . . . There's just something about new books."

Liz Harm is one of about 40 Potomac Falls parents who have been meeting for three months to gear up for the opening. Harm, who will have two sons at the school, is in charge of the nomination and election of officers for the new parents' organization.

Even with no officers in place, Harm and others have been making plans to raise scholarship money, sell ads to fill the programs for the first football game and seek donations to build a stadium concession stand.

It took two years and $35,000 in parent and business donations to get a concession stand at Broad Run. Potomac Falls parents want to try to have one up and running this fall.

And it could happen. All of Sterling's many subdivisions have rallied around the new school, Harm said. Many residents felt removed from Broad Run, which is in Ashburn, a good 15- or 20-minute drive away.

"I've had so many parents calling and wanting to help," Harm said. "It's been amazing. I think the fact that we're going to have a school this size that will take most of the kids from here just kind of completes our community. This school will pull us all together."

Harm said it will be a challenge to give Potomac Falls its own identity. Parents don't want just to copy ideas that were successful at other schools -- such as Broad Run's annual popular crafts sale. And, she added, Potomac Falls will be a diverse community with many families who moved to Loudoun from other places, so the parents' group will have to deal with various personalities and egos.

"The fact is we all come from different experiences," said Harm, whose family came to Loudoun five years ago from California. "It's going to take a lot of patience and diplomacy -- and keeping in mind what we're all here for, the education and well-being of our children."