High Point High School

High Point High School (HPHS) is a public high school located in Beltsville, an unincorporated section of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The school, serving children in grades 9 through 12, is part of the Prince George's County Public Schools district system.

For the high school in North Carolina which had this name, see High Point Central High School.
High Point High School
Address
3601 Powder Mill Road

Beltsville
,
Maryland
20705

United States
Coordinates39°2′33″N 76°56′38″W
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1954
School districtPrince George's County Public Schools
SuperintendentKevin Maxwell
PrincipalNicole Isley-McClure
Teaching staff138.20 (FTE)
Grades9-12
Enrollment2,426 (2014-2015)
Student to teacher ratio17.55
Color(s)Blue and Gold
NicknameEagles
RivalNorthwestern, Laurel
Websitewww.pgcps.org/highpoint/
[1]

It is outside Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway) and in proximity to Interstate 95.[2]

History

Opened in fall 1954,[3] High Point High School was originally going to be named Cherry Hill High School. However, school officials eventually settled on the name "High Point High School" because of the school's location on what residents believed to be the highest point in the county.[4][note 1] Upon its opening High Point High began serving Greenbelt, and the former Greenbelt High School became Greenbelt Junior High School. By the late 1950s High Point used a "split class" system as it was over capacity.[3] Greenbelt is now served by Eleanor Roosevelt High School, which was scheduled to open in fall 1976.[6]

During the period of Michael Brooks as principal some parents and students stated that his responses to incidents of fighting and truant students were insufficient. In 2011 the district placed the assistant principal, as an interim principal after a video of a fight at the school appeared on YouTube.[7]

In 2014 the district's board agreed to do a feasibility study on building a new school building.[8] By 2017 the existing building had 2,700 students when it was designed for around 2,100 students.[9]

Demographics

The demographic breakdown of the 2,426 students enrolled for the 2014–2015 school year was:

  • Male - 55.9%
  • Female - 44.1%
  • Native American/Alaskan - 0.1%
  • Asian/Pacific islanders - 3.8%
  • Black - 28.0%
  • Hispanic - 65.1%
  • White - 2.2%
  • Multiracial - 0.8%

75.6% of the students qualified for free or reduced lunch. This is a Title I school.[1]

As of 2006 many residents of northern PG County are of Hispanic and Latino ancestry, contributing to a large enrollment of Hispanic and Latino students at High Point High.[10] In 2016 Sandra Jimenez, the principal at the time, described the school as a "Central American Ellis Island" in an interview with NPR.[11]

Communities within the school's attendance zone include:[12] the unincorporated census designated places (CDP) of Adelphi,[13] Beltsville,[14] and Langley Park,[15] and portions of the CDPs of Chillum and Konterra,[16][17] as well as the sections of Calverton and Hillandale CDPs in PG County.[18][19] Also within the boundary is a portion of the City of College Park.[20] Scott, et. al stated in a 2014 paper published by think tank The Urban Institute that, as of March 2013, 23% of High Point students came from Langley Park.[21]

Academics

In 1987 the largest English as a second language (ESOL) program in the school district was in High Point High; this program began in 1969, and the school in 1987 had the largest population of students originating from outside the United States of any PG County high school.[2] As of 2018 the ESOL program includes ESOL 1-3, Advanced Critical Reading, AIM, Language of American History, Language of Math, and Language of Science classes.[22]

In 1987 it had classes in six foreign languages, and the school district was considering making High Point a magnet school for foreign languages. That year it received 200% of the number of requests for transferring into the school that each other PG County high school got.[2]

Student discipline

A paper in 2014 by Scott et al. stated that High Point students, compared to students of other high schools in the district, "have a less positive perception of school safety and discipline".[23]

In the 2011-12 school year 36% of 9th grade students from Langley Park, who attended High Point, did not go to school for at least 20 days per school year compared to 29% district average for 9th graders and 10% district average for 7th and 8th graders; the Langley Park 7th and 8th graders truancy rate was the same as the district average. Scott, et. al stated that a possible reason was that start time of High Point was the same as that of Buck Lodge Middle School even though the high school's distance from Langley Park was 4 miles (6.4 km) longer than that of the middle school.[24]

Athletics

High Point High has an American football team. In 2013 Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post stated it had been "a long time since" the team had performed strongly, but that it was regaining its power.[4]

Notable alumni

Notes
  1. The highest point in Prince George's County is located about 3 miles north along Brooklyn Bridge road in Hillsborough[5]

References
  1. "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for High Point High". ed.gov. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  2. Tippit, Sarah (1987-05-28). "LANGUAGES MAY BECOME 'MAGNET' FOR HIGH POINT". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  3. Knepper, Cathy D. Greenbelt, Maryland: A Living Legacy of the New Deal. JHU Press, 2001. ISBN 0801864909, 9780801864902. p. 109.
  4. Janes, Chelsea (2013-09-20). "High Point football beginning long climb back to the top". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-01-30. According to local lore and it's [sic] name, the school and the fenced-in, fully lighted-football field adjacent to it, sit at the highest point in Prince George's County.
  5. Beltsville 7.5' Topographic map (1979), United States Geological Survey
  6. Knepper, Cathy D. Greenbelt, Maryland: A Living Legacy of the New Deal. JHU Press, 2001. ISBN 0801864909, 9780801864902. p. 149.
  7. Robert Samuels (2011-03-08). "Prince George's replaces High Point High principal after attack is shown on YouTube". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  8. Wiggins, Ovetta (2014-06-16). "Prince George's BOE accepts feasibility study for new High Point High School". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  9. Keyes, Candace Rojo (2017-09-20). "PGCPS looks for short-term solutions to High Point overcrowding". The Prince George's Sentinel. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  10. Anderson, Nick (2006-04-13). "High Point, Northwestern Students Stage Mass Protests". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-01-30. Several hundred students at High Point High School in Beltsville[...]Most of the demonstrators were Hispanic, a reflection of the high Latino population in the county's northern sector.
  11. Anderson, Nick (2016-01-17). "Attendance Drops At Maryland High School, As Deportation Fears Rise". NPR. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  12. "NEIGHBORHOOD HIGH SCHOOLS AND BOUNDARIES SCHOOL YEAR 2017-2018." Prince George's County Public Schools. Retrieved on January 31, 2018.
  13. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Adelphi CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 31, 2018.
  14. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Beltsville CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 31, 2018. Pages: 1, 2, 3
  15. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Langley Park CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 31, 2018.
  16. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Chillum CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 31, 2018.
  17. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Konterra CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on August 26, 2018. Pages: 1, 2, and 3.
  18. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Calverton CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on January 31, 2018.
  19. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Hillandale CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on September 2, 2018.
  20. "District_BIG_WALL_MAP_2009d_36x48_July_2013.pdf Archived 2016-12-22 at the Wayback Machine." City of College Park. Retrieved on January 31, 2018. See also: City's listing of area schools Archived 2018-01-31 at the Wayback Machine, neighborhood map Archived 2018-01-31 at the Wayback Machine
  21. Scott, Molly M., Graham MacDonald, and Juan Collazos (The Urban Institute); Ben Levinger (Prince George's County Public Schools); Eliza Leighton and Jamila Ball (CASA de Maryland). "From Cradle to Career: The Multiple Challenges Facing Immigrant Families in Langley Park Promise Neighborhood." The Urban Institute, June 23, 2014. Abstract. CITED: p. 22/88. See footnote of page 20 on how the think tank identified Langley Park students.
  22. "ESOL Department." High Point High School. Retrieved on January 30, 2017.
  23. Scott, Molly M., Graham MacDonald, and Juan Collazos (The Urban Institute); Ben Levinger (Prince George's County Public Schools); Eliza Leighton and Jamila Ball (CASA de Maryland). "From Cradle to Career: The Multiple Challenges Facing Immigrant Families in Langley Park Promise Neighborhood." The Urban Institute, June 23, 2014. Abstract. CITED: p. 50/88.
  24. Scott, Molly M., Graham MacDonald, and Juan Collazos (The Urban Institute); Ben Levinger (Prince George's County Public Schools); Eliza Leighton and Jamila Ball (CASA de Maryland). "From Cradle to Career: The Multiple Challenges Facing Immigrant Families in Langley Park Promise Neighborhood." The Urban Institute, June 23, 2014. Abstract. CITED: p. 53/88.
  25. Hodges, Jim (November 8, 1994). "Clearly, He's K.J., Not J.J." Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015.
  26. Dresser, Michael. "Gansler names Ivey as running mate". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  27. "Brian Keith Reid, PhD". anglican.org. Retrieved 27 August 2015.

Further reading
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