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Bel Air High School (Bel Air, Maryland)

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Coordinates: 39°31′50″N 76°20′51″W / 39.53056°N 76.34750°W / 39.53056; -76.34750
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Bel Air High School
Location
Map
Bel Air
,
Maryland

USA
Coordinates39°31′50″N 76°20′51″W / 39.53056°N 76.34750°W / 39.53056; -76.34750
Information
TypePublic Secondary
Established1908
School districtHarford County Public Schools
PrincipalGregory Komondor
Grades9–12
Number of students1,683
CampusUrban
Color(s)Blue and White    
MascotBobcat
NewspaperThe Bellarion
Website[1]

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.[1] Students exceed the national averages on ACT and SAT achievement tests and its art and journalism programs have been nationally recognized.

About the School

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.[2]

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.[3]

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. The 1949 building has now been demolished, making way for new sports fields.

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.[4] 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.[5]

Students

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:

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, 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

  • Sign at the entrance to Bel Air High
    Sign at the entrance to Bel Air High
  • An earlier view of Bel Air's second entrance
    An earlier view of Bel Air's second entrance
  • Bel Air High School under construction, November 2007
    Bel Air High School under construction, November 2007
  • Bel Air High School under construction, February 2008
    Bel Air High School under construction, February 2008

Extracurricular activities

Clubs

Teams

  • Academic Team (2011 Harford County Tournament Champs)
  • Chess Club
  • Destination Imagination (Global Champions 2010, 2011)
  • Electrathon Team
  • Engineering Team
  • Envirothon Team
  • Forensics Team
  • Maryland Math League
  • Mock Trial Team
  • Bobcat Dance Team

Publications

  • 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

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 Taking a Responsible Stand
  • Y-WiSE (Young Women in Science and Engineering)
  • German Club

Sports

The school's main athletic rival is Fallston High School, but also has rivalries with crosstown C. Milton Wright High School and private school The John Carroll School. The winner of the annual football game between Bel Air and Fallston takes home the Hallmark Trophy to be kept at the winning school for the next year. The Bobcats are well-known to have outstanding Wrestling, Men's Lacrosse, and Cheerleading teams.

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 (2010 County champions)
  • Soccer—Regional champions: 1995, 1996, 2007; UCBAC Champions: 2010
  • 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 (1973 state & regional champion, 2008 UCBAC Champions, 2009 UCBAC Champions, 2010 UCBAC Champions, 2010 Regional Dual and Tournament Champions, 2010 State Dual Champions, 2011 Regional Tournament Champions)

Girls

  • Basketball
  • Cheerleading (2009 county and regional champion)
  • 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

References

  1. ^ Harford County Public Schools
  2. ^ Booth Family Historic Sites, Historical Society of Harford County (Md.), March, 2002
  3. ^ The Historic Board of Education Building, ibid.
  4. ^ Harford County Public Schools, January, 2007
  5. ^ "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.
  6. ^ Lacrosse Hall of Fame
  7. ^ Maryland Archives


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