Towson High School

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Towson High School Towson Law & Public Policy High School
Motto: A Tradition of Excellence
Established
Type	Public Secondary
Principal	Jane Barranger
Students	1450 approximately
Grades	9–12
Location	Towson, Maryland ,USA
District	Baltimore County Public Schools
Campus	Suburban
Colors	Maroon and White
Mascot	General
Newspaper	The Talisman
Distinctions	2002 National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence
Website	towsonhs.bcps.org

Towson High School is a high school in Baltimore County, Maryland. Its name is derived from its existence in the Baltimore suburb Towson, Maryland. The school was founded in ---- and is part of the Baltimore County Public Schools system. It is one of the longest-operating public high schools in the United States, and has been housed in its current campus since the late 1940s. Since Towson High school is a magnet school for Law and Public Policy, students come from a variety of areas, though many of the main middle schools that feed into Towson High are Dumbarton Middle School, Ridgely Middle School, and Loch Raven Technical Academy. ^[1]

The current principal is Dr. Jane Barranger. ^[1]

1 Structure
2 Law and Public Policy
3 History
4 Other
5 Notes

[edit] Structure

The school consists of 5 floors. The fourth floor was originally designed to be housing for the school's principal^{[citation needed]}, and has since been an art studio, but 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.

One classroom has a functioning kitchen area in it (sink and cupboards). 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

The Law and Public Policy magnet brings in the best and the brightest students in the entire county. The law magnet requires 7 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 such 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 has been in 3 previous buildings. The first was built in the mid-1800's, and was a small farm house. This was the only semi-public school in the entire county. This was a landmark step for the educational process in the county. In the mid to late 1800's, the second building was constructed. This was built on the same plot of land that the current school is on. The current building was built around 1950.

Well-known alumni include Michael Phelps, Dr. Walter S. Baird, Mary Watters Risteau, Jean Marie Donnell, Ellen O. Moyer, Evan Farmer, and Glen Milstead, better known as Divine. Some scenes in the John Waters movie Serial Mom were filmed on the campus in the spring of 1993.

[edit] Other

The school's newspaper is called the Talisman. It has not won critical acclaim.

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

Towson's Marching Band, though nonexistent for some time, was recently restarted by the band director David Rhen. More about the Marching Generals can be found at their website, [1]