- Bel Air High School is a high school in Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland. The current building opened in 2009, though the school's antecedents date back to 1815. Students exceed the national averages on ACT and SAT achievement tests and its art and journalism programs have been nationally recognized.
- About the School
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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.
- 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 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.
- A new Bel Air High School has been built for the 2009-2010 school year, and the 1949 building has now been demolished, making way for a new sports field.
- Faculty
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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. 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.
- Students
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The student body is mainly Caucasian, with white students representing 90% of the 1,683 students, African Americans 4.5%, Asian and Pacific Islanders 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:
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:yearstudents
: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
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Bel Air High School offers Advanced Placement Classes in Art, English, Languages, Mathematics, Music, Science, and Social Studies for almost one-third of its students. Of those taking the AP tests, the success rate is 70%.
- Additional photographs
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Image:Bel Air Bobcats.JPG|Sign at the entrance to Bel Air HighImage:Bel Air High School.jpg|An earlier view of Bel Air's second entranceImage:New Bel Air High School.jpg|Bel Air High School under construction, November 2007Image:Bel Air Feb Construction.JPG|Bel Air High School under construction, February 2008
- Extracurricular activities
- Clubs
- Teams
- Academic Team
- Chess Club
- Destination Imagination
- Envirothon Team
- Forensics Team
- Maryland Math League
- Mock Trial Team
- Bobcat Dance Team
- Publicatations
- Bellarion, student newspaper
- Reverie, literary magazine
- El Adios, yearbook
- Fine arts groups
- Wind Band
- Concert Band
- Jazz Band
- Jazz Ensemble
- Freshman Band
- Bel Air Drama Company
- Flag Squad
- Orchestra
- Counterpoints, a cappella choir
- Pop Choir
- Men's Chorus
- Women's Chorus
- Honor societies and selective groups
- Art National Honor Society
- French Honor Society
- National Honor Society
- German Honor Society
- Spanish Honor Society
- Varsity Club
- International Thespian Society Troupe #5193
- Community service groups
- Mentoring Program
- Peer Helpers
- Peer Mediation
- Events planning groups
- Freshman Class Activities
- Junior Class Activities
- Prom
- Rose Arches Club
- Student Government Association
- Other clubs
- Anime Club
- Art Club
- Bay Ecology Club
- Book Club
- Diversity Club
- Environmental Club
- French Club
- Future Business Leaders of America
- Future Teachers of America
- Games
- Gay Straight Alliance
- History Club
- Spanish Club
- Students Against Animal Mistreatment
- Students Taking a Responsible Stand
- Y-WiSE (Young Women in Science and Engineering)
- German Club
- Sports
- Boys
- Baseball (1996 state & regional champion)
- Basketball
- Cross Country (1973 state champion, 1991 regional champion, 2003 county & regional champion, 2003 4th in state, 2006 UCBAC champions + 2nd in state, 2008 UCBAC champions + 2nd in state)
- Football (2004 regional champion, State semifinals)
- Golf
- Lacrosse
- Soccer (1995, 1996, 2007 regional champion)
- Swimming
- Track and Field (1960 state champion, 1995 regional champion, 2007 UCBAC Champions)
- Volleyball (1997, 2001 Tournament and Regular Season Champions (Undefeated Season), 2002 Tournament and Regular Season Champions, 2006 Harford County Tournament Champions)
- Wrestling Website (1973 state & regional champion, 2008, 2009 UCBAC Champions)
- Girls
- Basketball
- Cheerleading
- Cross Country (2008 regional champion)
- Field Hockey (1977 state champion, 1990, 1993, 1994 regional champion)
- Golf
- Lacrosse
- Soccer (1996, 1998 regional champion)
- Softball (1976, 1977, 1978 state champion, 1994 regional champion)
- Swimming
- Tennis (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 regional champion)
- Track and Field
- Volleyball (1999 regional champion)
- Notable alumni
- John Wilkes Booth, actor, assassin of President Abraham Lincoln.
- Martha Mae Sterbak Breedlove (Class of 1956), national equestrian champion [1]
- Joseph H. Deckman, elected to National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1965.
- Donald C. Fry, former Maryland Senator and Delegate.
- James M. Harkins, former Maryland Delegate (1990-1998), Harford County Executive (1998-2005), & leader of Maryland Environmental Services (2005 - present).
- J. Robert Hooper, Maryland State Senator (1936 - 2008)
- Billie Nelson, (Class of 1997), defensive player for Baltimore Blast.
- Harris St. A. O'Neill - judge, District Court District 9
- Donna Stifler, Delegate for District 35A
- Susan Gelbard - Former President of the Dade Unit of the American Cancer Society
- James V. "Capt'n Jim" McMahan Owner/Morning Host WAMD Radio -Bel Air Town Commissioner 2003-06,Harford Co.Council 2006- (class'56) COL(R) US Army
- Richard Cassilly Metropolitan Opera NYC
- Christopher Schlehr Commander(R) US Naval Academy, Town Administrator Town of Bel Air
- Diane Lyn Radio Personality Baltimore-(WVOB AM Bel Air, 92 Star, WQSR,and WPOC FM's Baltimore) Currently Morning Co-Host and Midday Host for CBS Radio's WLIF 101.9 Lite FM Baltimore
- External links
- Bel Air High School – official website
- Bel Air High Foundation
- Bel Air High School profile from Harford County Public Schools (PDF)
- State performance report
- 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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