H-B Woodlawn is usually perceived to be very different from other APS schools. Some of the reasons why include students having the freedom to leave campus, to call teachers by their first names, and specific traditions such as Town meeting.
One of my friends (Wyatt Mahen) from elementary school who wanted to get into HB is now at Thomas Jefferson. When asked about why he wanted to go to HB, he said, “I wanted to go to HB because it is smaller and I don’t like really large groups of kids”. HB does have large groups of kids and graduating classes are admittedly smaller than schools like TJ, but the school still has a considerable amount of students. Another interesting fact is that it is very difficult to navigate TJ. “It is like bricks packed in a wall but the bricks are super random.” instead of being next to your friends like in elementary school, you could be talking to a 6th grader one minute then the next you are up close to an 8th grader trying their best to get to your next class on time. While HB might be somewhat cramped, it is still fairly easy to move around and get from class to class.
The traditions of HB are like no other. These include town meeting,where students have a say in what goes on in the school from activities to how certain classes will operate. Additionally, it is an enjoyable experience to have annual traditions like Halloween and Feb-fest. And getting to call teachers at HB by their first names is especially cool considering it not being customary at any other APS school.