Bel Air High School (Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland)

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Bel Air High School
Image:Bel air high school bobcats.jpg
Established 1907
Type Public Secondary
Principal Joseph L. Voskuhl
Students 1638
Grades 9–12
Location Bel Air, Maryland, USA
District Harford County Public Schools
Campus Urban
Colors Blue and White
Mascot Bobcat
Website belairhs.org

Bel Air High School is a high school in Harford County, Maryland. The current building opened in 1950, though the school dates back to 1811. In the 2004-2005 school year, the student enrollment was 1638.

Contents

[edit] History and campus

Bel Air High School began as the Harford County Academy when it was formed by an act of the Maryland General Assembly in 1811. The first school building was a stuccoed stone building built at 24 E. Pennsylvania Avenue, and the name was soon changed to the Bel Air Academy in 1815. John Wilkes Booth attended the school in the 1850s.[1] [2]

In 1867, while the Bel Air Academy was operating separately, a wooden one-room school house was built on Main Street, which functioned as the main public school of the county.

In 1882, a brick public school was built at 45 East Gordon Street. The school was renamed the Bel Air Academy and Graded School as the old academy merged with the public school system. This building housed classes for all students above the third grade. Additions to the building were made in 1897 and 1910. This building became solely a grade school in 1924 and headquartered the Hartford County Board of Education after 1951.

Bel Air High School, named thus for the first time, was first formed in 1907, and classes were held at the Gordon Street building and the Pennsylvania Avenue building. [3]

The current facilities at 100 Heighe Street were opened in 1950, with additional renovations made in 1954, 1968 and 1983. The current school builing only has a capacity for 1423 students; as a result, 11 "portables" are in use to provide additional classroom space.

[edit] Faculty

Bel Air High School has 100 faculty members, resulting in a student-teacher ratio of 16.3 to 1. (There are 85 classroom teachers, resulting in an average class size of 19.3)

The faculty is for the most part new to teaching, with almost 50% of the faculty having less than five years of experience. 47% of the staff have only bachelors' degrees, 52% have masters' degrees, and 1% have a Ph.D. [4] Of the classes students attended in 2004, 17.8% were taught by teachers the state of Maryland defined as "not highly qualified." [5] In contrast, 49.3% of teachers at Bel Air had advanced professional certificates.[6]

[edit] Students

The student body is mainly caucasian, with white students representing 90% of the 1638 students, blacks 4.5%, Asians 3.0%, Hispanics 2.0%, and American Indians 0.5%.

The school's schedule is divided into eight perioids, four periods a day, five days a week.

The total enrollment of the school is steadily rising, and has quickly outgrown its campus.[7]

2006 1,639
2005 1,636
2004 1,647
2003 1,573
2002 1,573
2001 1,587
2000 1,555
1999 1,524
1998 1,440
1997 1,383
1996 1,312
1995 1,295
1994 1,272
1993 1,238

At graduation, 83% of students plan to attend college, 3% plan vocational education and 12% plan to enter the work force or military.

[edit] Extracurricular activities

[edit] Clubs

[edit] Teams

  • Academic Team
  • Chess Club
  • Destination Imagination
  • Envirothon Team
  • Forensics Team
  • Maryland Math League
  • Mock Trial Team

[edit] Publicatations

  • Bellarion, student newspaper
  • Medley, literary magazine
  • Yearbook

[edit] Fine arts groups

  • Marching Band
  • Concert Band
  • Jazz Band
  • Freshman Band
  • Drama Company (http://www.belairdramacompany.org)
  • Flag Squad
  • Orchestra
  • Counterpoints
  • Pop Choir
  • Freshman Chorus
  • Women's Chorus

[edit] Honor societies and selective groups

  • Art National Honor Society
  • French Honor Society
  • National Honor Society
  • Spanish Honor Society
  • Society of American Intellectuals
  • American Honor Society
  • Varsity Club

[edit] Community service groups

  • Mentoring Program
  • Peer Helpers
  • Peer Mediation
  • The Brown Guild

[edit] Events planning groups

  • Freshman Class Activities
  • Junior Class Activities
  • Prom
  • Rose Arches Club
  • Student Government Association

[edit] Other clubs

  • Anime Club
  • Art Club
  • Bay and Ecology Club
  • Diversity Club
  • Environmental Club
  • French Club
  • Future Business Leaders of America
  • Future Teachers of America
  • Games
  • History Club
  • Spanish Club
  • Students Against Animal Mistreatment
  • Students Taking a Responsible Stand
  • Y-WiSE

[edit] Sports

[edit] Boys

  • Baseball (1996 state & regional champion)
  • Basketball
  • Cross Country (1963 state champion, 1991 regional champion, 2003 county & regional champion, 2003 4th in state)
  • Football (2004 regional champion, State semifinals)
  • Golf
  • Lacrosse
  • Soccer (1995, 1996 regional champion)
  • Swimming
  • Track and Field (1960 state champion, 1995 regional champion)
  • Volleyball
  • Wrestling (1973 state & regional champion)

[edit] Girls

  • Basketball
  • Cheerleading
  • Cross Country
  • Field Hockey (1977 state champion, 1990, 1993, 1994 regional champion)
  • Golf
  • Lacrosse
  • Soccer (1996, 1998, 2000 regional champion)
  • Softball (1976, 1977, 1978 state champion, 1994 regional champion)
  • Swimming
  • Tennis (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 regional champion)
  • Track and Field
  • Volleyball (1999 regional champion)

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] External links

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