Walbrook High School

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Walbrook High School
Where success is expected and failure is not an option.
Address
2000 Edgewood Street Baltimore, Maryland, 21216, United States
Information
School number	436
School district	Baltimore City Public School System
Superintendent	Nancy Grasmick
Principal	Lamarge Wyatt
School type	Public
Grades	9-12
Language	English
Area	Urban
Mascot	Warriors
Team name	Warriors
Colors	Red, Silver
Founded	1971
Enrollment	1,920 (2006)

Walbrook High School formerly Walbrook Senior High School (1971-1996) Walbrook Uniform Services Academy (1996-2005), is a public high school located in Baltimore, Maryland.

Walbrook was founded in 1971 as Walbrook Senior High School, and has undergone numerous changes in its name and status over the past decade. Recent scandal has caused several structural changes to the school's administration and academic curriculum, including the separation of the school into different academies. In the early 90's the school was marred with reports of high dropout rates, low test scores, gang violence, shootings, fires, and fights. The school board organized a plan to revamp the school into a new learning environment. Which included:

Metal Detectors
Uniforms
Electronic Identification Cards
Academies (Criminal Justice, Fire Department, Maritime, Business and Technology)
The renaming of the school to Walbrook High School Uniform Services Academy, to reflect the new uniform policy.

1 "The Bundley Era"
2 Controversy
3 References
4 External links

[edit] "The Bundley Era"

In 1996, several news outlets in Baltimore were reporting the decline of the school, and was system opting for a new principal. They approached Andrey Bundley, due to his success at Greenspring Middle School. As a result of his hiring, the school reported record numbers of attendance (95%) and an increase in state test scores. During this time the school also saw addition of several successful extracurricular activities and sports, including their nationally recognized debate team and basketball team.

In Summer 2004, several accusations arose in the administration that Bundley had graduated almost 1/3 of Walbrook seniors in 2003, without meeting Maryland state requirements.^[1] During the period of these allegations, in the preceding school year, violence increased, while attendance and school performance decreased. This eventually led to Bundley's transfer to another school, and an unsuccessful run for Mayor of Baltimore against Martin O'Malley. His transfer was much to the dismay of the teachers and students who unsuccessfully petitioned for his return.^[2] In October 2004, the school replaced Bundley with Shirley Cathorne to oversee the restructuring of Walbrook into smaller learning environments. Cathorne didn't stay for long however, due to family issues, and was replaced by the current principal, Lamarge Wyatt.

As part of the new administration, the school phased out its old academies and curriculum and created new ones:

Homeland Security Academy
Entrepreneurial High School
Maritime Academy
Liberal Arts Academy

They were spread on different floors of the building, with new principals for each "school", uniforms and teachers. The overall school and building is referred to as the "Walbrook Campus", since all of the schools share the same gym and cafeteria, but locals still refer to it as Walbrook High School.

[edit] Controversy

In September 2006, Sgt. Angelo Brooks and Officer Eugene Fields Jr, teachers in the Criminal Justice Academy, sued the school system and the Police Department, saying they were victims of retaliation resulting in their removal and the disbanding of the debate team. The suit accuses Maisha Washington, who was principal of the Homeland Security Academy on the campus last year, of "conspiracy ... to destroy the debate program.".The text of the lawsuit also says Washington and Major Mary S. Young, who oversaw the officers, knowingly relayed to their supervisors false information about the job performance of the officers who sued. The defendants in the lawsuit include former Mayor Martin O'Malley, Police Commissioner Leonard D. Hamm and former schools Chief Executive Officer Bonnie S. Copeland. In late 2006 Fields pulled out of the lawsuit, but the case in still pending in District Court with Brooks.^[3]

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