Wilde Lake High School

Bids were requested by January 1970 for a 1,350-seat school to be built for an estimated $2.6 million.[2] Opened in 1971 as a model school for the nation, it was Columbia's first high school. It had an open doughnut-shaped design with "open classrooms" and was a model school for new teaching settings.[3]

In 1994, the original 910-student building which did not meet current safety standards was demolished. A new $20 million 1,200-seat building with a more traditional style was reconstructed on the same site by Cochran, Stephenson and Donkevoet.[4] The new building, opened in 1996, replicates the open idea, with a central main street, and halls surrounding it and a bridge across the second floor.

The racial makeup of the population during the 2017–2018 school year was 26.7% White, 43.8% Black or African American, 7.2% Asian, 14.6% Hispanic or Latino, 0% Native American, 0.4% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and 7.4% two or more races.[1]

Wilde Lake has a modern 750-seat theater named for Columbia founder James Rouse, who went by "Jim".[6] The theatre has its own separate entrance and is used by both school and community groups. The 12,500-square-foot performance space is also used for community meetings, sales rallies, exhibitions, and business training sessions. The theatre has a total of 739 seats and eight handicapped accessible locations.[7]

Wilde Lake High School has a number of sports teams for each season of the academic year, including football, soccer, golf, volleyball, basketball and cross country.[8] The school has won the following state championships:

The band program consists of groups including the marching band/wind ensemble, concert band, jazz band, and percussion ensemble.

The wind ensemble is the higher-level band group, while the lower-level group is the concert band. The two bands have two concerts throughout the year; the winter concert, and the spring concert. The winter concert is late November, while the spring concert is mid-April.

The marching band, consisting of the members of wind ensemble, performs at all of the varsity football team's home games throughout the season. When the football team has an away game, the marching band creates a "pep-band" and travels to the opposing team's stadium to support the team. The marching band performs at other various school activities, such as leading the homecoming parade and playing at the pep-rallies.

The jazz ensemble is showcased in multiple concerts and performances throughout the year. A few of the showcases include the jazz concert in mid-October, another jazz concert in early February, and the Jazz Cabaret in May.

The Paw Print is an independent publication of Wilde Lake High School.[20]

• Zach Brown (class of 2007) – American football player, free agent
• David Bentley Hart (class of 1982) – theologian and cultural critic[21]
• Isaiah Coulter - attended freshman through junior year[22]
• Dr. Terri L. Hill (class of 1977) - Maryland State Delegate, District 12 [23]
• Robert Kolker (class of 1987) – author and journalist
• Mark D. Levine (class of 1987) – New York City council member
• Sara Lindsey (class of 2007) – actress
• Laura Lippman (class of 1977) – author and award-winning journalist
• Edward Norton (class of 1987) – actor
• John Overdeck (class of 1986) – hedge fund manager and philanthropist[24]
• Elise Ray (Class of 2000) - Olympic Gymnast
• Lo-Fang (class of 2002) – musician
• Jim Traber (class of 1979) - Major League Baseball Player for the Baltimore Orioles
• Curtis Yarvin (class of 1988) – computer scientist, political philosopher, neoreactionary thinker[25]

• Howard County Public Schools

• Official website