Richard Montgomery High School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Richard Montgomery High School |
|
| Established | 1892 |
| Type | Public Secondary |
| Principal | Moreno Carrasco |
| Students | 1,916 (2004-5) |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Location | Rockville, Maryland, USA |
| District | Montgomery County Public Schools |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Colors | Black and Gold |
| Mascot | Rockets |
| Newspaper | The Tide |
| Website | portalcontrol.com/rmhs/ |
 |
|
Richard Montgomery High School (#201) is a secondary public school located in Rockville, Maryland.
Richard Montgomery High School is named for Richard Montgomery, an American General who died while attempting to capture the British-held (now Canadian) city of Quebec. The school is either usually referred to by its full name, or by the acronym "RM" in everyday parlance by its students and alumni, presumably because shortening it to Montgomery would be too vague, and also perhaps to distinguish it from Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring.
Contents |
[edit] Academics
The school houses Montgomery County's first International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB), which attracts top students from the entire county. It also includes the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP), in which freshmen and sophomores take rigorous classes. The average class size is 24.8, with a student to staff ratio of 12.8:1. [1]
In 2006, Richard Montgomery was featured in Newsweek magazine as the 15th highest-rated high school in the nation.[2] In June 2002, it won its first award in National Scholastic Championship at George Washington University. Richard Montgomery High School won the 2003 "Blue Ribbon in Education Award" by the United States Department of Education. RM has been identified as the number one school in the D.C. metropolitan area in the Challenge Index for Rigor.
[edit] Students
Upon graduation, 92.9% of the class of 2003 planned to go through some sort of post-secondary school, 4% plan to go straight into the workforce and .9% into the military. There was a 91.9% attendance rate and a 1.8% drop out rate in 2002-2003.
The student body is 45.8% White, 21.8% Asian, 15.9% Hispanic, 16.3% African American, and 0.2% American Indian. http://www.mcps.k12.md.us/departments/regulatoryaccountability/glance/currentyear/schools/04201.pdf
Currently 1,966 students are enrolled and approx. 16.3% of the student body is eligible for free/reduced lunches.
[edit] History and campus
Rockville High School was established in 1892, when the state Board of Education first allocated funds to local school to educate high school students. The first class graduated from Rockville High School in 1897.
A new high school was constructed and opened for use in September 1905 on East Montgomery Avenue and Monroe Street. An addition was built in 1917, expanding the school to 19 classrooms. When the Rockville Colored High School was opened in 1935, the school for white children was renamed Richard Montgomery High School to distinguish between the two.
The current building was completed in 1942, after a fire destroyed the old high school in 1940. Additions to the school were made in the 1950s and in 1963-64. The classrooms were last renovated in 1976, and an auditorium was added in the 1980s. Although the school building is deteriorating, a new building is currently being built on the athletic fields. The groundbreaking for this construction was held in July 2005, and the building is estimated to be finished in summer 2007, ready for the 2007-2008 school year. During that year, the old building will be demolished and new athletic fields will be made on that site. Until the 2008-2009 school year, all athletic practices and games will be held at other sites. The current campus is 26.2 acres (106,000 m²) in size. [3] [4]
[edit] Extracurricular activities
National Forensics League, musicals, plays, and choral singing have helped distinguish Richard Montgomery as a noted school for the dramatic arts. Its literary magazine Fine Lines and the Citizenship Law Related Education Program (CLREP) mock trial team have won multiple national and statewide championships and honors.
Richard Montgomery's Quizbowl team is one of the finest in the nation, and has won numerous awards and honors, including a victory at the National Scholastics Championship in 2002. As of 2006, they are the highest ranked team in the state of Maryland and the Maryland state quizbowl champions. In 2006, they won the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament, defeating State College Area High School in the final at Chicago.
The school also has five honors societies. These include the National Honors Society, Spanish Honors Society, French Honors Society, Chinese Honors Society, and Tri-M Music Honors Society.
Performing arts have helped distinguish Richard Montgomery as an advocate for arts funding in public schools as the musicals, plays, chorus and school band are continually used as note-worthy examples of success. It is one of very few schools in the entire state which has not only its own student newspaper, "The Tide" but also its own student literary magazine "Fine Lines".
Performing arts groups include Black Maskers, the RMHS drama program, which puts on a yearly play in the fall and a musical in the spring. Previous productions have included Twelfth Night, Pride and Prejudice, The Sound of Music, Witness for the Prosecution, Singin' in the Rain, A Midsummer Night's Dream, 42nd Street, Guys and Dolls, The Miracle Worker, and Jekyll and Hyde among others. Of particular note, the Black Maskers were the first high school theater group to attain the rights to perform the musical, Ragtime.
RM's student body is represented through the Student Government Association (SGA), whose officers are elected each April. The student body at large is represented through a system of delegates who attend monthly General Assemblies. The SGA officers appoint an Executive Board to help in community service projects and special functions. Additionally, each grade elects four officers every April. Benji Welmond is the current Class 2007 President and Aaron Gross is SGA president as of the next school year.
RM also has politically oriented clubs such as Young Democrats and Young Republicans. RM also has an independent political forum for student discussion called The Richard Montgomery Liberation Front.
RM is active in MCPS sports, being noted for its track, swimming, basketball, tennis, and soccer teams.
[edit] Notable alumni
- Tori Amos, musician [5]
- Jim Riggleman, former Major League Baseball manager [6]
- Rhadi Ferguson, 2004 U.S. Olympian in Judo[7]
