Towson High School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Towson High School Towson Law & Public Policy High School
Motto	A Tradition of Excellence
Established	1873
Type	Public Secondary
Principal	Dr. Jane Barranger
Students	1500 approximately
Grades	9–12
Location	Towson, Maryland ,USA
District	Baltimore County Public Schools
Campus	Suburban
Colors	Maroon and White
Mascot	Generals
Newspaper	The Talisman
Distinctions	2002 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence
Website	towsonhs.bcps.org

Towson High School is a venerable high school founded in 1873 as the first secondary school in Baltimore County, Maryland. Located in the northern Baltimore suburb of Towson and serving the surrounding communities of Towson, Lutherville, and Ruxton, it is part of the Baltimore County Public Schools system, one of the nation's largest. Area middle schools that feed into Towson High are Dumbarton Middle School, Ridgely Middle School, and Loch Raven Technical Academy, although students from other areas attend the Law and Public Policy magnet school.^[1]

In 2006, Towson was named #317 on Newsweek magazine's "1,200 Top U.S. high schools" annual national survey.^[2]

1 Structure
2 Law and Public Policy Program
3 History
4 Famous Alumni
5 Extracurricular activities
6 Athletics
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Structure

Construction of Towson High School's spacious present-day campus on the site of the old Aigburth Vale estate began following World War II, as the Towson area's postwar population surged upward. The attractive stone structure was completed in 1948.

Its lower three floors have classrooms, a large auditorium with theater-style seating, a gymnasium, and a cafeteria. The fourth floor was originally used for administrative offices, then became an art studio, and currently contains two classrooms and a computer lab. The fifth floor of the school may not be used for classes as it violates fire codes for proper evacuation. It is used to store books, and is occasionally used as an office. The library and science wing were added in the mid-1960s and the entire school underwent extensive upgrading (including the installation of modern heating and AC) in the late 1990s.

[edit] Law and Public Policy Program

The law magnet requires 7.5 total law credits, which can be obtained within the span of 4 years by approved courses. In the 9^th grade, students take an Introduction to Law Research and Legal Writing Course. In 10^th grade, students take a Trial Advocacy and Criminal Law course in a classroom that replicates a courtroom, complete with witness box, jury box, defense/prosecution tables, etc. In the next two years, students can choose from a variety, of electives, including Latin, forensic science, international law, business law, philosophy, and other law-related courses, to fulfill the remaining law credits required for graduation in accordance with the Law and Public Policy magnet.

[edit] History

Towson High School was originally located on East Chesapeake Avenue, in a small brick structure built in 1873. When it burned down in 1906, a replacement was built on Allegheny Avenue. In 1926, the high school moved to a larger 3-story brick structure at an adjacent site on Cedar Avenue and the vacated building was converted into an elementary school. This old Allegheny Avenue building still stands today, now used for County offices.^[3]

When the current Aigburth Avenue campus opened as Towson Senior High School in 1948, the former Cedar Avenue building became a Junior High School for grades 7 and 8. Eventually, the Cedar Avenue structure became Towson Elementary School.

With the end of racial segregation in Baltimore County public schools in 1954, the African-American student body of the old Carver High School on York Road (now the Carver Center for Arts and Technology vocational school) was merged with Towson High School.

[edit] Famous Alumni

Well-known alumni include:

Dr. Walter S. Baird - physicist
Jean Marie Donnell - movie and TV actress
Evan Farmer - actor / TV personality
Joyce Hens Green - Federal judge
Harris Glenn Milstead- better known as the movie actor "Divine"
Ellen O. Moyer - politician
Michael Phelps - Olympic Gold Medalist and world record holder swimmer
Mary Watters Risteau - politician
Ellen Sauerbrey - politician

Some scenes in the John Waters movie Serial Mom were filmed on the campus in the spring of 1993.

In Fiction: "Sarah", the daughter of Tom Clancy's "Sam Fisher" (Splinter Cell) attended this school.

[edit] Extracurricular activities

There are many clubs and activities in the arts, languages, music, career interests, and recreation from which students may choose. Particularly noteworthy are:

The school's newspaper, the Talisman.
Colophon, the school's literary arts magazine, has won national prizes from organizations such as the National Scholastic Press Association and Columbia University, as well as state prizes from the Maryland Scholastic Press Association. It is ranked as one of the top magazines in the country.^[4]
Towson High School's Marching Generals Band, though nonexistent for some time, was restarted by band director David Rhen in 2003 and now has 47 members, according to published accounts.^[5]

[edit] Athletics

The "Generals" have won the following state championships:^[6]

Baseball, 2000.
Boys' basketball, 1963.
Boys' lacrosse, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1997.
Boys' soccer, 1972; co-champions in 1986, 1991, 2003, and 2005.
Boys' track and field, 1953.
Volleyball, 2001.

Michael Phelps, as a 15-year old student at Towson High School, competed in the 2000 Olympics, the youngest American male swimmer to do so, and later that year he became the youngest man ever to set a world record in swimming.

The traditional rivals of Towson High School's Generals are the Lions of nearby Dulaney High School.