| Bel Air High School (bel Air, Harford County, Maryland) |
Article Index for Bel Air |
Limousines in Bel Air |
Website Links For Bel Air |
Information AboutBel Air High School (bel Air, Harford County, Maryland) |
Bel Air High School is a High School in Bel Air , Harford County, Maryland . The current building opened in 1950, though the school's antecedents date back to 1815.Harford County Public Schools {Link without Title} Students exceed the national averages on ACT and SAT achievement tests and its art and journalism program has been nationally recognized. The school's Bel Air Drama Company enjoys strong community support. A new Bel Air High School is under construction and the old school will be demolished. HISTORY AND CAMPUS Bel Air High School began as the Harford County Academy when it was formed by an act of the Maryland General Assembly in 1811. The first school building was a stuccoed stone building built at 24 E. Pennsylvania Avenue, and the name was soon changed to the '''Bel Air Academy''' in 1815. John Wilkes Booth attended the school in the 1850s. Booth Family Historic Sites , Historical Society of Harford County (Md.), March, 2002 In 1867, while the Bel Air Academy was operating separately, a wooden one-room school house was built on Main Street, which functioned as the main public school of the county. In 1882, a brick public school was built at 45 East Gordon Street. The school was renamed the Bel Air Academy and Graded School as the old academy merged with the public school system. This building housed classes for all students above the third grade. Additions to the building were made in 1897 and 1910. This building became solely a grade school in 1924 and headquartered the Harford County Board of Education after 1951. Bel Air High School, named thus for the first time, was first formed in 1907, and classes were held at the Gordon Street building and the Pennsylvania Avenue building. The Historic Board of Education Building , ''ibid.'' The current facilities at 100 Heighe Street were opened in 1950, with additional renovations made in 1954, 1968 and 1983. The current school building has a design capacity of 1,423 students; as a result, 11 "portables" are in use to provide additional classroom space. A new building is scheduled for completion for the graduating class of 2010. FACULTY As of January, 2007, Bel Air High School has 100 faculty members, resulting in a student-teacher ratio of 16.3 to 1. There are 94 classroom teachers, resulting in an average class size of 23.9 students. The faculty is for the most part relatively new to teaching, with almost 50% of the faculty having fewer than five years of experience. Forty-seven percent (47%) of the faculty have bachelors' degrees, 52% have masters' degrees, and 1% has a Ph.D. Harford County Public Schools , January, 2007 Of the Bel Air High School classes attended by students in 2006, 11.7% were taught by teachers the state of Maryland categorized as "not highly qualified," compared to the Maryland statewide average of 12.5% in low-poverty areas. "2006 Maryland Report Card", Maryland State Board of Education – "Highly qualified" teachers are defined as having: (1) Bachelor's degrees or higher; (2) full state certification; and (3) demonstrated content knowledge in the subjects taught. STUDENTS The student body is mainly caucasian, with white students representing 90% of the 1,683 students, blacks 4.5%, Asians 3.0%, Hispanics 2.0%, and American Indians 0.5%. As the suburban population of the Baltimore Area has grown significantly during the past two decades, the total student enrollment of the school is steadily rising and has now outgrown its campus: ::''year''''students'' ::2006–1,683 ::2005–1,636 ::2004–1,647 ::2003–1,573 ::2002–1,573 ::2001–1,587 ::2000–1,555 ::1999–1,524 ::1998–1,440 ::1997–1,383 ::1996–1,312 ::1995–1,295 ::1994–1,272 ::1993–1,238 At graduation, 83% of students plan to attend college, 3% plan vocational education and 12% plan to enter the work force or military. ACADEMICS Bel Air High School offers Advanced Placement Classes in Art, English, Languages, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies for almost one-third of its students. Of those taking the AP tests, the success rate is 70%. EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES Clubs Teams
Publicatations
Fine arts groups
Honor societies and selective groups
Community service groups
Events planning groups
Other clubs
Sports Boys
Girls
NOTABLE ALUMNI
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|