Glenelg Country School
Glenelg Country School | |
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Location | |
12793 Folly Quarter Road, Ellicott City, Maryland United States | |
Information | |
Type | Private school |
Religious affiliation(s) | Nonsectarian |
Established | 1954 |
Faculty | 165 |
Color(s) | Green and White |
Mascot | Dragons |
Website | |
Glenelg Manor | |
Glenelg Manor, January 2011 | |
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Nearest city | Glenelg, Maryland |
Coordinates | 39°15′07″N 76°57′42″W / 39.2519°N 76.9617°WCoordinates: 39°15′07″N 76°57′42″W / 39.2519°N 76.9617°W |
Area | 50 acres (20 ha) |
Built | 1851 |
Architectural style | Gothic Revival |
NRHP Reference # | 83002952[1] |
Added to NRHP | February 3, 1983 |
Glenelg Country School is a nonsectarian, co-educational independent day school in Howard County, Maryland, adjacent to Columbia, Maryland and between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. The School offers a continuous, college preparatory program from age 2 through grade 12 to students from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds who are highly motivated and have a strong desire to learn. GCS was founded in 1954, enrolling 35 students in grades one through seven. In the fall of 1985, the new Upper School division opened with 10 students. The first class graduated in June 1989. Today, Glenelg Country School enrolls over 750 students. Despite its growth in size, the School has maintained a commitment to personal attention and small class sizes, which still averages 15.
History
The Glenelg Manor was built on a part of land patented as "Dorsey's Grove" in 1721.[2] What is today known as "Glenelg Manor" forms the nucleus of a sprawling structure, which houses the Glenelg Country School elementary division. The "Manor House" portion was itself built in two sections: the old "L" wing dating from the middle or late 18th century, and the newer front section built in 1845. The original house is believed by many historians to have been erected by Ephraim Howard, son of Sarah Dorsey Howard who received the land from her father, John Dorsey, in 1735 as part of her dowry. Sarah's husband, Henry Howard, patented the property as "Howard's Resolution."[3]
General Joseph Tyson, Assistant Postmaster General under President John Tyler, added the newer part of the mansion, which is of Norman Tudor style, in 1845. The massive granite blocks used as decoration in the addition were quarried near Ellicott City, while the marble at the entrance and in the fireplaces was imported from England. The spacious rooms were of such dimension that each had one or more fireplaces. General and Mrs. Tyson called their home "Glenelg" after an old estate in Scotland and "because it spelled the same from either end.".[4][5]
The estate passed to Tyson's son Henry H. Tyson, followed by the Knox family in 1900. William Bladen Lowndes, son of Maryland governor Lloyd Lowndes, Jr., purchased the estate in 1915 and added amenities such as outdoor projectors, golf course, and diesel generators. After the death of Lowndes in 1941, the property was sold to Rowland D. and George R Zaiser of Wilton Farm Dairy for farming. In 1956, the estate was subdivided into a smaller parcel to be leased out as a school.[6]
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[1]
Glenelg Country School
The original building was rented in 1954 when the Glenelg Country School was founded by Kingdon Gould, Jr. and his wife Mary Thorne Gould, along with Mr. and Mrs. John T. Mason, Jr., Judge James Macgill and Mr. and Mrs. William Shippen. Miss Marjorie Dunn was the first Headmistress for Glenelg Country School and served from 1954-1956. Following Ms. Dunn were: Beatrice Pfefferkorn (1956–1959); Edward L. Jones (1959–1964); Peter T. Terry (1964–1966); Thomas J. Barlow (interim head in 1966 for Peter Terry); Frederic W. Rhinelander (1966–1977); Charles H. Miller, Jr. (1977–1990); Ryland O. Chapman III (1990–2007); and Gregory J. Ventre (2007–present day).
In 2014, County Executive Ken Ulman proposed CR-121-2014 in his last weeks of pre-election activities. The bill would finance eight million dollars of an expansion and revitalization of the athletic facilities, a new two story press box, grandstands and restoration of existing tennis courts and athletic center floors. It also included the renovation and restoration of buildings and the Historic Manor House.[7]
Overview
- 750 boys and girls age 2 through grade 12
- 111 faculty members, 11 assistant teachers; 65% of faculty hold advanced degrees
- Student/Faculty Ratio: 6:1
- Average Class Size: 15
- 45% of the student body belong to ethnic minorities
- Curriculum: Integrated, college preparatory; designed to foster strong intellectual discipline and superior academic skills with above grade level instruction available; world languages begin at age 2; full day Pre-K program; STEAM program
- 18 Advanced Placement courses offered
- College Placement: 2 full-time college counselors; Class of 2015 SAT average score of 1846; 100% of our seniors are accepted to four-year colleges or universities; the class of 2015 was awarded over $5.8 million in merit scholarships
- 38% of students receive financial aid grants
- Accredited by the Maryland State Department of Education; the Association of Independent Maryland Schools; and the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Athletics
Glenelg Country School offers physical education classes from age 2 on, with interscholastic sports available starting in sixth grade. GCS has garnered 8 Championships in the last five years, and 84% of Upper School students participate in sports. The 35,000-square-foot athletic center includes two basketball courts, a wrestling room, fitness and training centers, locker rooms and offices. Additionally, there is a Lower School gymnasium, 3 grass playing fields (one Bermuda), a Dragon Stadium, complete with 400-seat stadium, turf field and press box, a baseball field, five tennis courts, an outdoor pool and three playgrounds. Athletic Highlights:
- 2006 - Varsity Girls Tennis won the IAAM B Conference Championship
- 2006 - Ice Hockey won the MIAA C Conference Championship
- 2007 - Varsity Boys Basketball won the MIAA C Conference Championship
- 2007 - Women's Cross Country won the Private School's State Championship
- 2008 - Varsity Tennis won the MIAA B Conference Championship; the team also brought home two individual titles
- 2008 - Ice Hockey won the MIAA B Conference Championship
- 2010 - Varsity Golf won the MIAA B Conference Championship
- 2010 - Varsity Boys Lacrosse makes MIAA B Conference Championship for first time in program history
- 2011 - Varsity Women's Field Hockey won the IAAM B Conference Championship
- 2011 - Varsity Women's Cross Country won the IAAM C Conference Championship
- 2011 - Varsity Boys Basketball won the MIAA B Conference Championship
- 2011 - Varsity Boys Basketball Team moved up to the MIAA A Conference
- 2013 - Varsity Boys Baseball won the MIAA B Conference Championship
- 2013 - Varsity Boys Cross Country won the MIAA B Conference Championship
- 2014 - Varsity Girls Soccer won the IAAM B Conference Championship (undefeated season)
- 2015 - Varsity Girls Lacrosse won the IAAM B Conference Championship
The Arts
Music and art classes begin at age 2 and continue through twelfth grade. Music classes include: chorus; recorder ensembles; bell choirs; bands; a jazz ensemble; a woodwind trio; a string quartet; Lower, Middle and Upper School plays; and an Upper School musical, with 50% of Upper School students participating in the performing arts. There are music rooms in each division and a 350-seat Mulitz Theater that includes a scene shop and spacious dressing rooms.
Art classes include: painting, drawing, film and digital photography, ceramics, wood-working, metals, and an array of other specialized classes. Each division has its own fully equipped studio space, and the Upper School has separate 2-D and 3-D facilities, along with a fully equipped black and white photography lab.
Gallery
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Glenelg Manor House, Front View
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Glenelg Manor, Rear View, January 2011 showing the original house on the left and the Tudor style addition on the right
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Glenelg Manor, Tower, January 2011
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Upper School, Glenelg Country School
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The Gould Observatory, Glenelg Country School. It houses an EDF Refractor Telescope for the use by the Glenelg Country School community
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Varsity Boys Lacrosse, Glenelg Country School
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Varsity Boys Tennis, Glenelg Country School
See also
References
- 1 2 Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ↑ Howard County Historic Society. Images of America Howard County. p. 33.
- ↑ "Glenelg County School at Howard's Resolution". The Times (Ellicott City). 31 March 1965.
- ↑ "Glenelg Country School History".
- ↑ Ellen Coxe and Mark R. Edwards (March 1980). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Elmonte" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2016-01-01.
- ↑ Howard's Roads to the Past. Howard County Sesquicentennial Celebration Committee, 2001. 2001. p. 12.
- ↑ "CR-121-2014". Retrieved 22 October 2014.
External links
- School official site
- Profile in Private Schools Review
- Glenelg Manor, Howard County, including photo from 2001, at Maryland Historical Trust
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