Digital Harbor High School - Baltimore, Maryland/MD

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Digital Harbor High School

1100 Covington St, Baltimore, MD, 21230 -

tel: (443)984-1256
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Definition of Terms

Digital Harbor High School

School Level

High school

School Type

Other/alternative school

Grades Offered

Grades 9 - 12

County

Baltimore City County, MD

Students & Faculty

Total Students

842 students

% Male / % Female

57% / 43%

Total Classroom Teachers

47 teachers

Students by Grade

Grade 9 - 244 students

Grade 10 - 207 students

Grade 11 - 237 students

Grade 12 - 154 students

This School

( MD ) School Average

Teacher : Student Ratio

1:18

1:16

Students by Ethnicity

This School

( MD ) School Average

% American Indian	n/a	n/a
% Asian	2%	5%
% Hispanic	3%	8%
% Black	71%	40%
% White	24%	46%

Additional Student Information

This School

( MD ) School Average

% Eligible for Free Lunch

49%

23%

% Eligible for Reduced Lunch

12%

% Migrant Students Enrolled

n/a

n/a

( MD ) Statewide Testing Performance

School Statewide Performance

View Education Department Test Scores

School District Name

Baltimore City Public s School District

This School's Agency

( MD ) District Average

Number of Schools Managed	197	27
Number of Students Managed	92,248 students	16,524 students
District Total Revenue	$1,036,293,000	$159,214,000
District Expenditure	$970,898,000	$153,923,000
District Revenue / Student	$11,234	$9,539
District Expenditure / Student	$10,525	$9,315
District Graduation Rates	61%	86%

Digital Harbor High School, formerly Southern High School, is a public secondary school located in Baltimore, Maryland.
The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Baltimore City Public School System. Its building was renovated from the old Southern High School in 2002 to phase out the old curriculum. It's considered to be an endeavor by Senator Barbara Mikulski and Mayor Martin O'Malley, who were given millions of dollars in grant money from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The school was also founded and designed by the previous principal from 2002 to 2005, Michael Pitroff, who is said to be the "Father of Digital Harbor". In 2005, he was reassigned to be the Technology Department Head for the entire school system. Currently Digital Harbor is one of the most technologically advanced schools in the city. Approximately $50 million was spent to renovate the campus, with $6 million allocated toward IT and A/V equipment. So far it has successfully phased in all grade levels and is housing another school, the National Academy Foundation, on its first floor.
The focus of the school has been on computers and information technology. Its curriculum is into four separated into 4 separate "pathways" for students to choose from:
Networking and computer systems.
Programming software development.
Interactive video and media production.
Information and support services.
Its seal is the compass, and its mascot is the ram.
The school colors are black and columbia blue.
Facilities and policies: 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, Inc. with Intel Pentium 4 processors with Windows XP Professional. Although the media department has some Macintosh computers as well.
All four floors have new pathway offices designed with the school colors.
School uniform: The school currently has a school uniform dress code which includes khaki pants and a blue or white polo shirt or oxford shirt.
Sports: The sports department was fore fronted by Christopher Vaccaro who manages all the scheduling and oversees management for the sports department of the school and was featured in an edition of the Baltimore Sun.Currently he is heading the sports program at another high school in Florida.
As of the 2006-2007 school year, the sports offered at the school have varsity and junior varsity sports that include:
Basketball, Baseball, Football, Soccer, Wrestling, Softball, Volleyball, Swimming, Tennis, Badminton (women), Track and Field, Cross Country, Lacrosse, Cheerleading (Men and Women).
Achievements: 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, water bottles, wristbands etc.). The store was given the loan based on a presentation given by a group of students in the NFTE program. The team's leader, Darrien Griffin, helped make the entire business model, with help of teacher Vickie Wolverton, and led the presentation in front of the board members. The bank has even donated a school mascot to the school named Nifty (after the NFTE program).
In 2004 the Rams track team won the Class 2A-1A Central region title, Class 1A South Regional crown and the state title.
Their varsity softball team was undefeated in the same year and placed first in the city.
The school also has a rising policy debate team, which was led byAdam Jackson in 2005. The team was founded in 2002 by coach Nicole Veltre with their only team Wendell Wiggins and his partner Chelsea Wheeler. In the 2005 season, Digital Harbor consistently placed in the top bracket of the Baltimore Urban Debate League tournaments. Also, in April 2006, Adam and his partner Ihsaan Ajala qualified for a national debate tournament, held in Dallas, Texas, and hosted by the National Forensic League. Also Adam won a scholarship to go to Predeal,Romania to compete in an international debate tournament in July 2006 hosted by the International Debate Education Association (IDEA), and a four year scholarship to Towson University for debate as well.
Among their firsts, Digital Harbor's first recipients of the University of Maryland, College Park "Incentive Award", a scholarship which pays for four years (tuition, fees, room, board) at the university were Anastasia Hall and Thomas Palmerino.
A School of Firsts: The school has been noted as a major milestone and a first in achievements by the Baltimore City Public School System. They include:
The first school to be used in the "small schools" initiative in Baltimore City on such a massive scale.
The first citywide technology school (without requirements for admission).
The first public high school in Baltimore with a school mascot uniform.
The first school-themed school store.
Controversy: One major issue with the school has been the school system's promise of "free laptops" to the each graduating class. According to the school administration, the school system only promised the class of 2006 laptops when they graduate. So thereafter no other class would receive a laptop when they graduate.
Also was an issue concerning internships with the class of 2006. According to the administration, no student (who was a freshman in 2002), would have more had than two classes, and would go to an internship for their last two periods. This way, when the students graduated, they would either have a technology oriented job, or a career once they graduated from college. However the school system has not made good on these promises, which has caused serious backlash from the students and school administration. No official explanation has been issued to the parents or students as of the 2006-2007 school year.
Several other promises, including ones that have mislead students and parents about the cafeteria facilities and policy of the school have been called into question. No official word has been heard from the Baltimore City Public School System on these matters either.
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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About This Zip Code (21230)

School Zip (21230)

(MD) State Average

Population (Approximate)

33,098 people

5,071,990 people

% (age 25+) w/College Degree

28%

32%

Population Average Age

34 years old

36.0 years old

Average Household size

2.3 persons

2.5 persons

Median Household Income

$36,606

$52,064

Avg. # of Rooms in Household

5.4 rooms

6.0 rooms

Median Age of Housing Structure

69 years old

42 years old

View current housing listings in 21230

Median Value of Housing Unit
Zipcode (21230)

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% Owning / % Renting

58% / 42%

65% / 35%

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Nearby Schools:


1. Naf Learning Community At Port Discovery - 291 students - view location
2. Southern Senior High School - 112 students - view location
3. Francis M. Wood Alternative High School - 511 students - view location
4. Harbor City High School - 1439 students - view location
5. Southwestern High School - 442 students - view location
View all schools in: Baltimore Town, Baltimore City County, Zip 21230

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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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