Growing pains: Can more be merrier on campus?

Claire Josey and Sophia Leimer, Contributing Writers|October 6, 2016

Growing+pains%3A+Can+more+be+merrier+on+campus%3F

Jamie Yeh

With a record of 2,457 students on campus, the school reached its second largest population in years. Even though it may seem inconvenient at times, the large number of students allows for a wide variety of extracurricular programs and creates a diverse campus.

With the new high school Portola opening to freshmen and sophomores this year, Woodbridge is expecting to see a decrease in student population by the time the class of 2020 are seniors.

“I’ve been in many other schools, and none had this open concept. Smaller classes are always desired to meet the needs of our students, but it feels like family here to me,” Karen Briner said, Woodbridge high school social science teacher of ten years.

The immense number of students also allows for people of many backgrounds to come together, making Woodbridge a distinct and diversified school.

“You meet all types of people. We have so many cultures because the Woodbridge population has changed a lot over the years,” Rosamary Rauch said, who has been substituting at Woodbridge High since it was founded in the 1980’s.

Part of the reason Woodbridge has been growing so rapidly in recent years is because of the many coveted programs and opportunities such as the numerous orchestras, sports, and broad selection classes that the school offers.

“The fact that we have so many people wanting to come to our school, shows a lot about our image overall. We exude something unique here at Woodbridge and it’s awesome that so many people are a part of that,” said Caroline Gibbon, senior and ASB president.

“The reason we’re big is that good things are happening; people are hearing about Woodbridge, they want to be a part of it. Families are moving into the area because they want to be a part of it,” principal Christopher Krebs said. He cites the music department’s Grammy Award and strong sports programs as examples. “All of these great things are happening and that’s why we’re growing. And that hasn’t always been the case. So it’s an exciting time, and I’m willing to deal with the growing pains to have all the exciting things that are happening.”