| Digital Harbor High School | |
|---|---|
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Learning, Serving, and Leading through Technology
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| Address | |
| 1100 Covington Street Baltimore, Maryland 21230-4124 |
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| Information | |
| School type | Public, Magnet |
| Founded | 2002 |
| School district | Baltimore City Public School System |
| Superintendent | Dr. Andrés Alonso, CEO |
| School number | 416 |
| Principal | Brian Eyer |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 1,175[1] (2011) |
| Language | English |
| Area | Urban |
| Color(s) | Columbia Blue, Black, and White |
| Mascot | |
| Team name | RAM's (Random Access Memory), but the sports logo has an actual ram |
| Website | digitalharbor.org |
Digital Harbor High School, formerly Southern High School, is a public, magnet high school located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is currently the only public information technology high school in Baltimore.
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The vision for Digital Harbor High School started in 2000 when then-Baltimore schools chief Carmen V. Russo wanted to create a high school for computer studies in downtown Baltimore. Southern High School was the chosen site for the new school because it had suffered low graduation rates and disorder in recent years. Its prime location near Inner Harbor in the gentrifying Federal Hill neighborhood made it an attractive choice for a magnet school drawing students from citywide. A planning committee convened and a multi-million dollar renovation project was undertaken over a five year period. The building was completely transformed, with approximately $50 million spent to renovate the campus, with $6 million allocated toward information technology and audio visual equipment.
The school was partially designed by the original principal, Michael Pitroff (2002-2005), who is said to be the "Father of Digital Harbor." In 2005, he was reassigned to be the Technology Department Head for the Baltimore school system. The pupil transition from the old Southern High School began in 2002 with the entering 9th graders inaugurating the new school.[2] With the graduation of Southern High School's last Class of 2005, all grade levels for Digital Harbor High School were phased in and another school, the National Academy Foundation School, was also housed on its first floor.[3]
The academic focus of the school has been on computers and information technology. Its curriculum is divided into four separated into 4 separate areas of study ("pathways") for students to choose from:
The students must meet not only the BCPSS requirements for graduation, but must also fulfill the requirements for their particular "pathway" as well. Currently Digital Harbor is one of the most technologically advanced schools in the city, and touts one of the highest attendance rates in Baltimore (92%).
Digital Harbor is a first among Baltimore City Schools, with millions of dollars in equipment devoted to modernizing all of the classrooms and the adding of Wi-Fi and wired internet access all over the school.
The majority of the desktop computers come from Dell with Windows XP Professional, and IBM Thinkpad laptops, although the media pathway has Macintosh computers as well for use of particular students.
All four floors have pathway offices designed with the school colors.
The school currently has a school uniform dress code which includes khaki pants and a Columbian blue or white polo shirt or oxford shirt,as well as a black polo shirt or oxford shirt exclusively for registered seniors.
The Rams compete in Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association Class 1A. As of the 2008-2009 school year, varsity and junior varsity level sports include:
Digital Harbor offers a variety of clubs for students. Clubs currently offered at Digital Harbor include:
The school was honored by M&T Bank with a $5,000 loan to start a school store, which sells several school oriented memorabilia (cups, mugs, School Uniforms, wristbands etc.); and also sells snacks, drinks, and school supplies.Store Website The store was given the loan based on a presentation given by a group of students in the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) program. The bank has even donated a school mascot uniform to the school named Nifty (after the NFTE program). [6]