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Carver Center For Arts & Technology
938 York Rd, Towson, MD, 21204-2513 -  Map
tel: (410)887-2775
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School Overview:
Definition of Terms Carver Center For Arts & Technology
School Level High school
School Type Vocational school
Grades Offered Grades 9 - 12
County Baltimore County, MD
Students & Faculty
Total Students 700 students
% Male / % Female 33%  /  67%
Total Classroom Teachers 55 teachers
Students by Grade
Grade 9 - 177 students
Grade 10 - 170 students
Grade 11 - 182 students
Grade 12 - 171 students
This School ( MD ) School Average
Teacher : Student Ratio 1:13 1:16
Students by Ethnicity
This School ( MD ) School Average
% American Indian n/a n/a
% Asian 2% 5%
% Hispanic 1% 8%
% Black 34% 40%
% White 63% 46%
Additional Student Information
This School ( MD ) School Average
% Eligible for Free Lunch 7% 23%
% Eligible for Reduced Lunch 4% 8%
% Migrant Students Enrolled n/a n/a
School Performance:
( MD ) Statewide Testing Performance
School Statewide Performance View Education Department Test Scores
School District:
School District Name Baltimore County Public s School District
This School's Agency ( MD ) District Average
Number of Schools Managed 168 27
Number of Students Managed 110,661 students 16,524 students
District Total Revenue $1,135,545,000 $159,214,000
District Expenditure $1,150,459,000 $153,923,000
District Revenue / Student $10,261 $9,539
District Expenditure / Student $10,396 $9,315
District Graduation Rates 88% 86%
School Notes:
  • Carver Center for Arts and Technology is a public magnet high school located in Towson in Baltimore County, Maryland.
  • Students from all middle schools in Baltimore County, as well as those homeschooled, can apply to attend Carver, although it may be much farther from their houses than their home school. Admission is based on a combination of an audition and a lottery.
  • Scheduling: Carver employs block scheduling: periods are ninety minutes long, with four periods a day, and each class is held every other day. The third period is divided into five twenty-minute lunch periods. The shorter lunches are compensated by the longer classes. Together with five minutes between every class, this means that Carver's school day is slightly longer than that of the average high school.
  • The longer class periods allow students in classes like sculpture or carpentry more time to use materials in between getting them out and cleaning them up.
  • This is similar to the block scheduling program employed by Sudbrook Magnet Middle School, also in Baltimore County. While Carver does not have an official school from which its students come from, a large percentage of Carver students attended middle school at Sudbrook Magnet electing to continue on with the Baltimore County Magnet program, whether they chose to continue with the same magnet they studied in middle school, or to begin a new one. An example of this would be that many students in the foreign language or Drama programs at Sudbrook elect to attend Carver for the Literary Arts magnet.
  • Carver has been recorded as being the high school with the second-best academics in Baltimore County.
  • Culture: The "Carver culture" focuses on respect. Its official rules are less strict than many high schools; for example, it has a looser dress code, and student paintings in the hallways include nudes. However, vandalism is almost unheard of, as are fighting and theft (though the latter has been more of an issue in recent years).
  • Primes: What makes Carver unusual among Baltimore County public schools is its strong magnet system. Carver's magnet programs feature nine specialty areas, or "primes": literary arts, culinary, business, carpentry, cosmetology, dance, design and production ,acting, vocal music, and visual arts. The visual art prime is further divided into concentrations, including drawing and painting, multimedia, photography, sculpture, and telemedia.
  • Theresa McDaniel, a painting and drawing teacher, has been nominated five times for the 'Distinguished Teachers in the Arts' award, and won it once. (Eric Pfund wants to add that he thinks she is like a "mother of the arts and artists" at Carver, as he has found that she basically runs everything there!) Photography teacher Carrol Cook, and Visual Arts chair Joe Giordano have both been nominated twice but neither have ever won. (but there's always next year!!!) In 2004 Carver not only had the most visual art entrants in the national art competition 'ARTS', (which is a national art competition for high school students grades 9-12 who excel at Dance, Film & Video, Jazz, Music, Theater, Photography, Visual Arts, Voice, and Writing) but had the most entrants from any one school in the US. In 2007, more Carver students had been elected by NFAA than any other year! Way to go, 07 seniors!
  • As of the 2007-2008 school year General Fine Arts/Multimedia/Digital Filmmaking (formely known as Telemedia) will hold separate auditions under the Visual Arts prime. This provides for an opportunity for students interested in the areas of filmmaking and graphic design to come to Carver for these areas and use these mediums to create art. All students will still be expected to draw, paint, sculp, photograph, etc.
  • As of the 2001-2002 school year "theatre" and "technical theatre" were advanced to become the theatre primes of "Acting" and "Design & Production." This provided an opportunity for students interested in performance, design, theatre management and administration, technique, etc. to study these fields more prudently without the common stereotypes or restrictions of "actors" or "techies." During the 2005-2006 school year, "Vocal Music" was considered to be renamed "Singing" (but remains "Vocal Music") and is considered part of the theatre primes as well.
  • Sports: Carver does not have a football team; however, it still holds an annual Homecoming dance after a Homecoming sports game (could be soccer, field hockey, etc.) or no sports game at all. It is run by the Student Government Association and is usually a dance that is a fundraiser for the SGA.
  • The school's mascot is the wildcat; female teams, such as the girls' volleyball or basketball teams, are referred to as "Lady Wildcats".
  • The varsity golf team (often referred to by its members as "G-unit") won an award for having the highest GPA of any of the fall sports teams in Baltimore County.
  • The varsity boy's basketball team started their season with a 59-48 loss vs. Perry Hall on Dec. 6th, 2006. (Devron Lee 26 pts).
  • Other Teams: Carver also has a Model United Nations program that participates in many inter-scholastic activities. (Run by Scott Snyder)and a new Mock Trial team that is slowly blossoming (run by Sal Giordano).
  • Events: From 2004 on, the annual Carver Celebration has served as a fundraiser and a showcase of the talents found in different primes. In 2005 it raised $21,000.
  • The Carver chapter of the National Honor Society hosts a yearly Teacher Versus Teacher Basketball Game, the proceeds of which benefit the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.
  • The Literary Arts prime holds three coffeehouses each year, as well as an outdoor reading in the fall to promote its literary magazine Synergy, known as "Synergy Under the Trees".
  • In the spring work from many of the primes is incorporated in the Renaissance Festival, which is held during the school day. Food is served by culinary students and performances are given by theater and dance students, among other activities.
  • The Culinary Arts department opperates a public restaurant as part of their curriculum. The students run and opperate the front of the house (serving and managing the operation) as well as the back of the house(cooking and managing the kitchen). This provides the students with a real-life experience in the restaurant industry.
  • After graduation many of the students go on to college to continue their education in their selected "prime". Carver offers a unique opportunity to its student in that when they graduate, the students already have an idea of what they want to study and major in when they go to college, a very helpful thing to know when applying for college. Some students continue their "prime" studies at such renowned schools as The Culinary Institute of America, Johnson and Wales University, Berkeley College School of Music, The Peabody Institute, The Maryland Institute College of Art and The Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYU).
  • The Carver Theatre Company (mostly comprised of the design and production, acting, and vocal music primes) puts on three theatre productions a year, along with many other smaller events. The Carver Theatre Company is recognized as an established student-run theatre company and puts on professional-quality productions with the Carver Center student body.
  • History: Carver was originally a segregated high school for black students. It was closed and re-opened in 1993 as a magnet school with Dr. Mary Carey as principal.
  • Carver Center was named after George Washington Carver, a man of many talents, in recognition of the talented people within. A painting of Carver now hangs in the main office.
  • Carver was at first used for construction needs. The now cafeteria has hooks hanging from its ceiling and a huge garage that was used for unloading. The theatre, photography room, and sculpture room, were all once auto shops. But the Carver culture has embraced these places. The garage door found in the cafeteria now has a gigantic mural painted on it and the garages in the sculpture room and theaters are used for loading and unloading materials.
  • Recognition: Carver has produced two Presidential Scholars: J. Cook in 2000 and (Abdi) Farah (also one of ARTS winners) in 2005. Carver has produced numerous winners in the Arts Recognition and Talent Search, a program of the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.
  • Carver has produced five nominees for presidential scholars this year. That is more than any other school in the country.
  • Actor James Ransone is also a Carver graduate, as is actress Joanna Chilcoat, who starred in 2003's Camp.
  • Maryland Public Television featured a segment on Carver’s 2005 production of Into the Woods. Students Beth Higbee and William Shelton give interviews.
  • Carver's AP Studio Art program has been highly praised. In 2005 it was named as having the best studio arts program of high schools its size in the world.
  • Artwork by Carver students is featured in the movie Step Up. Visual artist Eric Pfund (www.relicarts.com) and actor Alex Smith were extras in this incredible dance film, which was shot at and around the Inner Harbor in Maryland.
  • Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL
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School Zip Code:
About This Zip Code (21204)
School Zip (21204) (MD) State Average
Population (Approximate) 20,157 people 5,071,990 people
% (age 25+) w/College Degree 55% 32%
Population Average Age 33 years old 36.0 years old
Average Household size 2.1 persons 2.5 persons
Median Household Income $56,058 $52,064
Avg. # of Rooms in Household 5.6 rooms 6.0 rooms
Median Age of Housing Structure 45 years old 42 years old
View current housing listings in 21204
% Owning / % Renting 53% / 47% 65% / 35%
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  Nearby Schools:
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2. Dulaney High School - 1994 students - view location
3. Baltimore Polytechnic Institute High School - 1187 students - view location
4. Western High School - 828 students - view location
5. Loch Raven High School - 1211 students - view location
View all schools in: Towson Town, Baltimore County, Zip 21204 
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Note: Data has been gathered from several government and commercial data sources. School data reflects years 2002-04 statistics (most recent years available). Area and demographic data reflects year 2000 statistics. Public School Review does not ensure the timeliness or accuracy of the information on this site.

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