McDonogh School
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| Headmaster | Charles W. Britton |
| Founded | 1873 |
| School type | Private, coeducational |
| Location | Owings Mills, Maryland, United States |
| Enrollment | 1289 students |
| Campus surroundings | Suburban |
| Mascot | Eagle |
| School colors | Orange, Black |
McDonogh School is a private, coeducational, K-12, college-preparatory school located in Owings Mills, Maryland, USA.
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[edit] History
The school was established near Baltimore, Maryland in 1873 and funded by the estate of John McDonogh, a former Baltimore resident, who died in 1850. The other half the McDonogh estate was used to found several public high schools in New Orleans, Louisiana, where McDonogh lived and worked.
Documents in the archives of McDonogh School include letters from his former slaves thanking John McDonogh (prior to 1850) for his program giving slaves the opportunity to work to buy their freedom and transportation back to Africa.
McDonogh was established as an all-white, semi-military school for orphans, who worked on the farm in exchange for their studies, room, and board. Tuition students arrived in 1922, and daily commuting students in 1927. African Americans were first admitted in 1960. In 1971, the military traditions of the school, which included uniforms, discipline, and leadership, were summarily abandoned.
McDonogh had been a single sex education institution, boys-only, until 1975, at which point it became coeducational despite the specific provisions set forth in the last will and testament of its benefactor. Full and partial McDonogh scholarships continue to this date.
Charlie Britton is currently serving as the 12th head of school. He received this position beginning in 2007 succeeding W. Boulton "Bo" Dixon who announced his retirement in early 2007.[1]
[edit] Campus
- Over 800 acres, includes buildings for Lower (K-4), Middle (5-8), and Upper (9-12) Schools, plus a barn with many fields and horses, a non-denominational chapel, a performing arts center, athletic facilities, housing for some upper school students, and a corporate campus.
- 48-bell carillon in the chapel, one of only two of this size in Maryland
- Tuttle Gallery for student and professional art exhibits
- Several large ponds, home to the annual cardboard boat race at the end of the scholastic year
[edit] Athletics
The McDonogh School sports mascot is the Eagle, representative of the American eagle found on the McDonogh School seal. This mascot replaced the "Cadets" in 1972 commensurate with the abandonment of the school's military past.
The McDonogh's men's teams compete in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA). Their chief rivals are the Gilman Greyhounds. The Eagles and Greyhounds conclude their respective men's football seasons against each other on the second Saturday in November. This highly competitive match-up is one of Maryland's oldest rivalries, and has been played since the early 1900s. The game typically caps a week of on-campus celebrations and festivities known as "Spirit Week."
McDonogh's women's teams compete in the Independent Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM). Most men's and women's teams compete in either the "A" or "B" divisions of their respective sports conferences, and it is not unusual for McDonogh's teams to play for simultaneous conference titles in several sports in a single season. Notable past athletes include Pam Shriver, professional tennis player/commentator; Eric King, defensive back for the Tennessee Titans; current Georgetown Hoyas starting forward DaJuan Summers; Brandon Erbe, top pitching prospect for the Baltimore Orioles; and current starting Wide Receiver for the University of Maryland Terrapins Darrius Heyward-Bey. That aside, McDonogh's men's and women's lacrosse teams are widely considered to be among the elite high school lacrosse programs in the nation, and McDonogh lacrosse alumnae are well-represented on NCAA Division I-A, I-AA and III rosters.
[edit] International Exchange
McDonogh School has an international exchange program with Seijo Gakuen High School, Tokyo, Japan. Each year 2 students from Seijo Gakuen High School attend McDonogh School for a year and McDonogh students attend Seijo Gakuen High School for 2 weeks every other year.
Every other year German teacher Buck Lyon-Vaiden also conducts an exchange with Faust Gymnasium, in Staufen, a town in the Schwarzwald Region. Up to twenty German students from McDonogh travel to Germany in late June and early July, and the students from Faust Gymnasium come to stay with their exchange partners for the month of October. The Faust-Gymnasium has Herr Joachim Sprotte as the coordinator for the exchange.
As of 2007, Herr Lyon-Vaiden and Herr Sprotte are both leaving their respective schools. From McDonogh, French and German teacher:, Elaine Bind, will be taking over as American coordinator and from the Faust-Gymnasium, Herr Volker Scheuring will be taking over as German coordinator.
[edit] Notable graduates
- Grant Aleksander (1978), actor, director, most famously appearing as Phillip Spaulding on The Guiding Light
- John R. Bolton (1966), former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
- Bruce Davidson, world champion equestrian, Olympic gold medalist
- Brandon Erbe (2005), Baltimore Orioles. Starting Pitcher. 2006 Top Ranked Organizational Pitching Prospect (organization's second overall prospect) by Baseball America. Ranked top overall prospect by Scout.com (InsideTheWarehouse.com).
- Eric King (2000), Defensive back for Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans. Buffalo's only defensive selection in the 2005 NFL draft.
- James McDaniel (1976), actor, played Lt. Fancy on NYPD Blue
- Pam Shriver (1979), a former professional tennis player and current sports broadcaster from the United States
- Frederic N. Smalkin (1964), Maryland's Chief Federal District Judge and Brigadier General [1]
- Evan Taubenfeld (2001), Sire/Warner Bros. recording artist, EMI professional pop staff songwriter. Avril Lavigne's lead guitarist from spring 2002 to September 2004. Singer/rhythm guitarist for The Black List Club.
- Joseph D. Tydings (1946), a Democratic member of the United States Senate, representing the State of Maryland from 1965-1971
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes
