Marshall?s population has increased by 125 students this year. This is an increase of 108 percent from last year.
But, Marshall is ?still the smallest high school [in Fairfax County],? assistant principal Jeffrey Litz said.
?I think that [the increase in population] has presented some challenges to us,? Litz added.
Although ?we added some sections late because of the numbers,? Cindy Blakeley, director of student services, said, ?we?ve really used our space well.?
Despite the fact that the building is being utilized as much as possible, 97 percent as recorded in the Fall 2009 statistics, spaces such as the band room are still not able to be used to accommodate classes, Blakeley added.
But, the amount space in certain departments is, according to Litz, ?better in some disciplines than others.?
For example, the science department is ?literally using every science classroom every period,? Litz added.
In addition to departments, teachers are also facing increasing numbers in terms of classes and class size, causing problems ?in terms of [the] overall students in the [the] room and being able to give them one-on-one time,? Litz said.
Because of the increase in classes, some teachers are getting paid on overtime contracts.
English teacher Matthew Horne volunteered for another class, moving him up to teaching six periods.
But because ?Marshall is a collaborative school [I am] never feeling stressed out,? he added.
Biology Honors and International Baccalaureate (IB) Environmental Systems and Societies teacher Barbara Brown also teaches six periods.
Brown, who is also getting paid on an overtime contract, stated that she had to really ?force [herself] to be as organized as [she] could be.?
Brown also stated that she will try to make tests easier for her freshman classes. However, Brown will also give the tests on a more frequent basis.
The overtime contract, or Jefferson contract, lets teachers get paid ten percent more for an extra 20 percent of teaching time spent in classrooms.
Even with some teachers working on extended contracts, the school had to hire additional teachers to meet student numbers.
In addition to increased work schedules for teachers, the increase in student population also led to new teachers getting hired, sometimes for more classes than what they had originally thought.
English teacher Jeanne Mortell originally was hired to work parttime for two periods, but ended up teaching four periods and working full-time.
In addition to teachers, bus drivers also had to find new ways to accommodate all their riders. Bus number six must call for another bus in the event that it gets full while buses eight and nine have two buses allotted to them.
Marshall is not the only school dealing with an increase in population. Freedom Hill Elementary School, one of the feeder schools in the Cluster 2 pyramid, has also faced an exponential increase in its student numbers.
The school has grown by approximately 135 percent over the past four years. As part of this increase in students, Freedom Hill hired new teachers and expanded to five kindergarten classes.
Freedom Hill principal Timothy Stanley believes that this increase will allow for an increase in diversity in the future.
Although Freedom Hill has faced an increase in population, Kilmer Middle School, one of the primary feeder middle schools in the Marshall pyramid, has continued to remain in the low 1,000 population level, even after the school?s district lines were redrawn for the 2008-2009 school year.
Annandale High School, another IB school in Fairfax County, is 450 students over capacity, a decrease since last year.
According to Steven Stenback, director of student services at Annandale, the school has had ?44 classrooms outside the building including a new modular unit being installed.?
A renovation in 1997 allowed Annandale to house more students, but it is currently running at a 120 percent building utilization level.
Marshall?s renovation, which will begin this summer, will increase the school?s capacity to 2,000.
But, according to principal Jay Pearson, the student population increase has simply made Marshall a ?bigger school with a bigger heart.?