Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Baltimore, Maryland)

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Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
Address
1400 Orleans Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21231
Information
School number 414
School district Baltimore City Public School System
Superintendent Dr. Andrès Alonso, CEO
Principal Roger Shaw
School type Public
Grades 9-12
Language English
Area Urban
Team name Poets
Color(s) Maroon █ and
Gold █

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School is a public, secondary school located in Baltimore, Maryland.

Contents

[edit] History

Dunbar opened in 1918 as the Paul Lawrence Dunbar Elementary School, No. 101. It was named in memory of Paul Lawrence Dunbar, an African-American poet, who had died ten years earlier. In 1925, a secondary school evolved from the primary grades and was called Dunbar Junior High School, No. 133. By 1940 Dunbar was a full fledged high school and awarded its first diploma, the second "negro" school in Baltimore to do so.[1]

[edit] Academics

Dunbar is a magnet school like Baltimore City College and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute. Dunbar's programs include biotechnology, Emergency Medical Technology (EMT), Accounting, Nursing and Health Care Delivery Systems. It is similar to Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C. and Fort Worth, Texas, as all three schools have a majority African American student body and are of a major importance to the local African American community. All three schools are also highly regarded for their athletic programs within their respective school district in the sports of Football, Basketball, and Track. Prior to the Supreme Court decision in 1954 (Brown v. Board of Education), African American teenagers in Baltimore were allowed to attend only Dunbar and Frederick Douglass high schools.

[edit] Renovation

Dunbar's temporary home during renovations
Dunbar's temporary home during renovations

In the summer of 2007, the main high school building was emptied so that renovations to the school could be affected. Students have been moved to Thomas G. Hayes, an elementary school behind Dunbar on 601 N. Central Avenue. The renovations are expected to be completed in 2009.

[edit] Athletics

Dunbar's current athletic program consists of five men's varsity teams, five women's varsity teams, and five coeducational teams. The men's sports played at Dunbar are baseball, basketball, football, soccer, and wrestling. The women's teams are badminton, basketball, soccer, softball, volleyball. The four co-ed teams are cross country running, indoor track and field, swimming, track and field.

[edit] Football

Since the Baltimore City School system joined the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association in 1993, Dunbar has dominated the class 1A division. The Poets won state championships in 1994, 1995, 2004, 2006, 2007 (setting a state record with 58 points in the title game); played in the state finals in 1997, the semi-finals in 1993, 1996, 2003, 2005 and the quarter-finals in 1999 and 2002.[2]

[edit] Basketball

The Dunbar basketball Poets have enjoyed an even greater success in the state. Since 1993 the Poets were State Championship in: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006; and made it to the final game in 1997, 2002 and 2007.[3] The Lady Poets have excelled as well, winning the state girl's basketball title in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003.

[edit] Community Partnerships

Dunbar is home of the Incentive Mentoring Program, an organization formed by Johns Hopkins School of Medicine graduate students to prevent teenagers from failing high school.[4] Struggling students selected by the principal can receive 1-on-1 tutoring from IMP mentors, as well as comprehensive social support to address any personal challenges that may be affecting their school performance.[5]

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] Politics and Government

Chief Judge Bell
Chief Judge Bell

[edit] Sports

[edit] NFL

[edit] NBA

[edit] Coaches

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Gladden, Elzee & Gladden, Jessie B., “The Dunbar Chronicle: A Case Study”, The Journal of Negro Education 57 (3): 372-393, <http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-2984%28198822%2957%3A3%3C372%3ATDCACS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-N&size=SMALL&origin=JSTOR-reducePage> 
  2. ^ MPSSA Football Championships Tournament History. Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
  3. ^ MPSSA Boys Basketball Championships Tournament History. Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
  4. ^ Incentive Mentoring Program. Incentive Mentoring Program, Inc. Retrieved on 2008-03-20.
  5. ^ “Partnership Spotlight: Dunbar Mentoring Project”, Schools Monthly: 21, 1 January 2008, <http://dunbar-imp.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/schools_monthly_0108.pdf> 


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