Richard Montgomery High School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Richard Montgomery High School |
|
| Motto | "Failure is not an option." |
| Established | 1892 |
| Type | Public Secondary |
| Principal | Moreno "Mo" 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 at 49,167 ft², after a fire destroyed the old high school in 1940. Additions to the school were made in 1952 at 39,895 ft², 1959 at 37,425 ft², in 1964 at 56,703 ft², 1969 at 4,000 ft², 1975 at 35,890 ft², 1976 at 8,300 ft², and 1988 at 1,938 ft². Although the school building is deteriorating, a new 311,500 ft² 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 fall 2007, ready for the 2008 spring semester. During that year, the old 233,318 ft² 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]
On February 25, 1990, the school media center was vandalized, with an initial damage of $600,000; according to the Washington Post, the vandals ruined the school's television studio, smashed computers, burned books in the library and left antisemitic graffiti. On March 6, 1990 a march in Rockville attracted an estimated 2000 individuals to protest the damage and the purported anti-semitism behind it. But the Montgomery County Police were already aware that the perpetrators were not a hate group but a former student who had dropped out the previous year, Jason Knight, and a current senior, Steve Bonner. Kight and Bonner were arrested the following day. According to records of the Montgomery County Circuit Court, Knight was later that year sentenced to three years in prison, with eighteen months suspended. Bonner was also sentenced to three years in prison, with twenty-four months suspended.
[edit] Extracurricular activities
Richard Montgomery's Girls' Swim and Dive Team has been undefeated in dual meets since 2003. The Girls' Swim and Dive Team is currently ranked 12th in the nation and holds the Division I title ('04, '05, '06) and County title ('05, '06). The Girls' Swim Team has a record of 22-0 over the past 4 years. Overall, the Girls' Swim and Dive Team is a force to be reckoned with- unstoppable, unbeatable, and frankly, amazing.
The school also has a very established Golf Team . It has won divisionals in 2001 and has since then been gradually regaining strength in the sport. They compete in the KOHUT division for Montgomery County Public Schools.
National Forensics League, Musicals, Plays, Choral and Instrumental ensembles have helped distinguish Richard Montgomery as a noted school for the 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 (known as It's Academic) 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 largest extracurricular club in the school is the Black Maskers Drama Club, boasting a membership of approximately 200. Members of Black Maskers may, upon participation in a sufficient number of shows in various capacities, becomes members of the International Thespian Society Troup #1748.
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.
Richard Montgomery is one of very few schools in the entire state which has not only its own student newspaper, "The Tide" but also its own award winning student literary magazine "Fine Lines".
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. Aaron Gross is currently the SGA president. 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.
