Western High School (Baltimore, Maryland)

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Western High School
Motto: “Lucem Accepimus, Lucem Demus” We have received light, let us give light.
Established	1844
Type	Public, Secondary, all-girls
Principal	Ms. Eleanor Matthews
Students	841
Grades	9-12
Location	Baltimore, Maryland, United States
District	Baltimore City Public School System
Campus	Urban
Colors	Red and Black
Mascot	Dove
Website	www.westernhighschool.org

Western High School is the oldest public all-girl high school in the United States. It is one of only two public all girl high schools in the US. Western is a part of the Baltimore City Public School System. Western is very diverse racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically. Its students come from every neighborhood in Baltimore.

1 History
2 Academics
3 Tradtions
4 Graduation
5 Notable Alunmae
6 Citations

[edit] History

Western was founded on November 1, 1844. The first building to house Western was Armitage Hall on Paca Street, with Rober Kerr as the principal and sole teacher, Western was the first opportunity in Baltimore for girls to get an education beyond grammar school. By 1896 Western moved to a new, more expensive building on Lafayette and McCollough Streets. By this time, the girls had opportunities to take clerical courses. After other moves, Western finally opened in its current location at 4600 Falls Road in 1967. Since 1975, Western has been a city-wide magnet program. Students must apply and meet certain entrance criteria to be accepted to Western. The acting principal of Western is Eleanor Matthews, who replaced Landa McLaurin.

[edit] Academics

Western has a state wide reputation for academic excellence. Western has two academic programs: accelerated college preparatory and honors college prepatory. Within the accelerated college preparatory program, students can finish four years of high school work in grade 9-11. During their 12th grade year they are able to pursue advanced placement or college level courses. The Honors college preparatory program allows students to take honors course in the subjects that they are strong in. The classes of 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006 boast a 100% four-year college acceptance rate.

[edit] Tradtions

The Big Sister, Little Sister Program- This is an informal program when the juniors of the new school year pick little sisters from the incoming freshman.
Freshman Day- The freshman have an outdoor picnic
Sophomore and Junior Days- Assemblies are held in honor of the sophomores and juniors, who also wear their class colors on these days.
Senior Inaugural- The new seniors are welcolmed in to the school. Traditionally the seniors wear all white and get the rest of the day off after the assembly.
Senior Farewell- The entire school says goodbye to the old seniors. The seniors also wear all white on this day.
Revel- The annual spring fair
Western has four sets of traditional class colors. Each class inherits their class colors as freshman. The colors are:
Purple and Gold
Maroon and Gold
Blue and Gold
Black and Gold

[edit] Graduation

Western High School's graduation is traditionally held on a Saturday in even years and on a Sunday in odd years in June. This is because it shares an athletic complex (namely the Football field) with its brother school, Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. The girls wear white, ankle-length dresses and carry red roses during the commencement ceremony.

[edit] Notable Alunmae

Henrietta Szold, founder of Hadassah
Judge Sarah Tilghman Hughes
Mildred Dunn, actor
Trazana Beverly, actor
Anna Deavere Smith, actor
Farai Chideya, journalist
Lisa Gladden, Maryland state senator