High Point High School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

High Point High School
School type	Public high school
Established	1954
District	Prince George's County Public Schools
Grades	9-12
Principal	Scott Smith
Faculty	?
Students	2357
Colors	Blue and Gold
Mascot	Eagles
Location	3601 Powder Mill Road, Beltsville, MD
Information	(301) 572-6400
Website	http://www.pgcps.org/~hpoint

"Where Success is a Tradition"

High Point High School (HPHS) is a high school located in Beltsville, Maryland and is part of the Prince George's County Public Schools district system in the United States of America. Its current student population is 2357 students in grades 9 through 12.

High Point serves the towns and cities of Calverton, Beltsville, Adelphi, College Park, Landover and several unincorporated sections of Prince George's County, Maryland.

While some students live within the HPHS area, as a few walk from their homes in nearby Powder Mill Village and the Cherryville housing area, most are bused from the other areas.

High Point students come from middle schools throughout Prince George's County, but predominately from Buck Lodge Middle School (Adelphi) and Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School (Greenbelt).

1 Mission Statement
2 History
3 Education
4 Student Diversity
5 References

[edit] Mission Statement

"High Point High School, in partnership with parents and the community, is dedicated to educating students from a variety of backgrounds and to maintaining a climate of high expectations in a safe, orderly environment. Our mission is to ensure that students will have the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in an ever-changing society."

[edit] History

High Point High School was opened in 1954, named "High Point" because of it's location at the highest point in Beltsville, Maryland. Being at the point of history in which there existed racial issues, High Point held a white populace only at first.

[edit] Education

High Point High School offers a range of academic programs including a comprehensive program, an Advanced Placement program, an ESOL program and a number of Special Education programs.

High Point's Comprehensive Program provides students the opportunity to cater to their needs for their career path or intentions. There is a broad selection of classes that would aid in career exploration and provide students the experience needed. Students within the program have the ability to take these steps towards their career-path through the alternating A/B four period days. With this, they can get 32 credits by their senior year through taking eight credit per year. The graduation requirement is twenty-one, with the remaining 11 credits being those elective courses.

The Academic Center hosts those students recognized in the Talented and Gifted programs in their middle schools. This school year (2006-2007), the Academic Center makes its last appearance within the HP school-system. In its stead, "an advanced college preparatory program will be offered to seniors(Smith 2006)." It has been said that the Academic Center program was dismissed because of the division it caused within the student-body.

"The Honors Program is an accelerated college preparatory program for incoming ninth, tenth and eleventh grade students (Smith 2006)." With its classes, it gives students the opportunity to participate in pre Advanced Placement course work. Advanced Placement courses are available to students in their junior and senior year.

"High Point’s highly successful Advanced Placement program was featured in major articles in the Washington Post, and four of the school’s former AP teachers were invited to speak at the national Advanced Placement conference in Los Angeles three summers ago. High Point’s former science Teacher Coordinator, Martha Alexander, earned national certification status in 2003 as did former foreign language teacher Cathy Boehme in 2004. Mrs. Barbara Hughes, High Point’s Food and Consumer Science Chairperson, earned national teacher certification status in 2005, was recognized as the Maryland Pro Start Teacher of the Year, and received the 2005-2006 Pro Start National Teacher of Excellence Award. High Point is currently the only high school in Prince George’s County recognized as a Green School." (Smith, Scott 2006. "High Point High School Improvement Plan." [1]

There are currently nine Advanced Placement courses offered.

[edit] Student Diversity

High Point's population has continuously been noted by the state of Maryland and the Washington, DC Metro Areaas one with great diversity. As of a consensus taken during the school year of 2003-2004, of 2157 students enrolled, there were the following:
American Indian: 8
Asian: 118
Black: 1068
Hispanic (Non-white): 729
White: 234
(2005, "High Point High in Beltsville Maryland, "School Snoop. [2])