McDonogh School
Encyclopedia
McDonogh School is a private
, coeducational, K-12
, college-preparatory school founded in Owings Mills, Maryland
, USA in 1873.
, Maryland
in 1873 and funded by the estate of John McDonogh
, a former Baltimore resident, who died in 1850. The other half of the McDonogh estate was used to fund over thirty public schools in New Orleans, Louisiana
, where McDonogh lived and worked.
Documents in the archives of McDonogh School include letters from his former slaves thanking John McDonogh (prior to 1850) for his program giving slaves the opportunity to work to buy their freedom and transportation back to Africa.
McDonogh was established as an all-white, semi-military school for orphan boys, who worked on the farm in exchange for their studies, room, and board. Tuition students arrived in 1922, and daily commuting students in 1927. African Americans were first admitted in 1960. In 1971, the military traditions of the school were discontinued. The school became coeducational 1975. Full and partial McDonogh scholarships continue to this date.
Charlie Britton is currently serving as the 12th head of school. He received this position beginning in 2007, succeeding W. Boulton "Bo" Dixon.
. In the center of the campus, there are separate buildings for the Lower (K-4), Middle (5-8), and Upper (9-12) Schools, a non-denominational chapel
, a performing arts center, Tuttle Gallery for student and professional art exhibits, athletic facilities, and housing for some upper school students. The remainder of the school lands include farming fields and woodlands, a horse barn with riding facilities, and a corporate campus.
The chapel houses a 48-bell carillon
, one of only two of this size in Maryland.
One of several large ponds on the campus is home to the annual cardboard boat race
at the end of the scholastic year for upper schoolers.
McDonogh's men's teams compete in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA). Their chief rivals are the Gilman
Greyhounds. The Eagles and Greyhounds conclude their respective men's football seasons against each other on the second Saturday in November. This highly competitive match-up is one of Maryland's oldest rivalries, and has been played since the early 1900s. The game typically caps a week of on-campus celebrations and festivities known as "Spirit Week".
McDonogh's women's teams compete in the Independent Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM). Most men's and women's teams compete in either the "A" or "B" divisions of their respective sports conferences, and it is not unusual for McDonogh's teams to play for simultaneous conference titles in several sports in a single season. Notable past athletes include Pam Shriver
, professional tennis player/commentator; Eric King
, defensive back for the Tennessee Titans
; current Detroit Pistons
and former Georgetown Hoyas
forward DaJuan Summers
; Brandon Erbe
, a pitching prospect for the Baltimore Orioles
; and current Wide Receiver for the Oakland Raiders Darrius Heyward-Bey
. McDonogh's men's and women's lacrosse teams are widely considered to be among the elite high school lacrosse programs in the nation, and McDonogh lacrosse alumnae are well-represented on NCAA Division I-A, I-AA and III rosters. In 2009 & 2010, the women's varsity lacrosse team won back to back IAAM championships. The team received the #2 national ranking in 2009 and the #1 national ranking in 2010.
with Seijo Gakuen High School, Tokyo
, Japan
. Each year two students from Seijo Gakuen High School attend McDonogh School for a year, and McDonogh students attend Seijo Gakuen High School for two weeks every other year.
Every other year the school conducts an exchange with Faust Gymnasium, in Staufen
, a town in the Black Forest Region
. Up to twenty German language
students from McDonogh travel to Germany in late June and early July, and the students from Faust Gymnasium come to stay with their exchange partners for the month of October.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
, coeducational, K-12
K-12
K–12 is a designation for the sum of primary and secondary education. It is used in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand where P–12 is also commonly used...
, college-preparatory school founded in Owings Mills, Maryland
Owings Mills, Maryland
Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population was 20,193 at the 2000 census. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus for the Baltimore Metro Subway and to Owings Mills Mall....
, USA in 1873.
History
The school was established near BaltimoreBaltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
in 1873 and funded by the estate of John McDonogh
John McDonogh
John McDonogh was a United States entrepreneur and philanthropist, described as miserly, controversial, and eccentric. He is most famous for endowing public education in two major American cities—New Orleans and Baltimore.-Life and career:McDonogh was born in Baltimore and entered the...
, a former Baltimore resident, who died in 1850. The other half of the McDonogh estate was used to fund over thirty public schools in New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, where McDonogh lived and worked.
Documents in the archives of McDonogh School include letters from his former slaves thanking John McDonogh (prior to 1850) for his program giving slaves the opportunity to work to buy their freedom and transportation back to Africa.
McDonogh was established as an all-white, semi-military school for orphan boys, who worked on the farm in exchange for their studies, room, and board. Tuition students arrived in 1922, and daily commuting students in 1927. African Americans were first admitted in 1960. In 1971, the military traditions of the school were discontinued. The school became coeducational 1975. Full and partial McDonogh scholarships continue to this date.
Charlie Britton is currently serving as the 12th head of school. He received this position beginning in 2007, succeeding W. Boulton "Bo" Dixon.
Campus
The campus covers over 800 acres (323.7 ha) along McDonogh Road south of Owings Mills, MarylandOwings Mills, Maryland
Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population was 20,193 at the 2000 census. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus for the Baltimore Metro Subway and to Owings Mills Mall....
. In the center of the campus, there are separate buildings for the Lower (K-4), Middle (5-8), and Upper (9-12) Schools, a non-denominational chapel
Chapel
A chapel is a building used by Christians as a place of fellowship and worship. It may be part of a larger structure or complex, such as a church, college, hospital, palace, prison or funeral home, located on board a military or commercial ship, or it may be an entirely free-standing building,...
, a performing arts center, Tuttle Gallery for student and professional art exhibits, athletic facilities, and housing for some upper school students. The remainder of the school lands include farming fields and woodlands, a horse barn with riding facilities, and a corporate campus.
The chapel houses a 48-bell carillon
Carillon
A carillon is a musical instrument that is typically housed in a free-standing bell tower, or the belfry of a church or other municipal building. The instrument consists of at least 23 cast bronze, cup-shaped bells, which are played serially to play a melody, or sounded together to play a chord...
, one of only two of this size in Maryland.
One of several large ponds on the campus is home to the annual cardboard boat race
Cardboard boat race
A cardboard boat race, sometimes known as a boat regatta, is a common school-spirit competition for students of high school and college age.The earliest documented cardboard boat regatta was the result of a design problem created by Davis Pratt at Southern Illinois University in 1962...
at the end of the scholastic year for upper schoolers.
Athletics
The McDonogh School sports mascot is the Eagle, representative of the American eagle found on the McDonogh School seal. This mascot replaced the "Cadets" in 1972 commensurate with the abandonment of the school's military past.McDonogh's men's teams compete in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA). Their chief rivals are the Gilman
Gilman School
Gilman School is a private preparatory school for boys located in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1897 as the Country School for Boys, it was the first country day school in the United States. Gilman enrolls approximately 978 students, ranging from kindergarten to...
Greyhounds. The Eagles and Greyhounds conclude their respective men's football seasons against each other on the second Saturday in November. This highly competitive match-up is one of Maryland's oldest rivalries, and has been played since the early 1900s. The game typically caps a week of on-campus celebrations and festivities known as "Spirit Week".
McDonogh's women's teams compete in the Independent Athletic Association of Maryland (IAAM). Most men's and women's teams compete in either the "A" or "B" divisions of their respective sports conferences, and it is not unusual for McDonogh's teams to play for simultaneous conference titles in several sports in a single season. Notable past athletes include Pam Shriver
Pam Shriver
Pamela Howard Shriver Lazenby , is a former professional tennis player and is currently a sports broadcaster from the United States for ESPN2. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments...
, professional tennis player/commentator; Eric King
Eric King (football player)
Eric King is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wake Forest...
, defensive back for the Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
; current Detroit Pistons
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are a franchise of the National Basketball Association based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The team's home arena is The Palace of Auburn Hills. It was originally founded in Fort Wayne, Indiana as the Fort Wayne Pistons as a member of the National Basketball League in 1941, where...
and former Georgetown Hoyas
Georgetown Hoyas
Georgetown's nickname is The Hoyas, but its mascot is "Jack the Bulldog." Various breeds of dogs have been used by the sports teams as mascots since the early 1900s. Several notable bull terriers like Sergeant Stubby and "Hoya" were used at football games in the 1920s, as was a Great Dane in the...
forward DaJuan Summers
DaJuan Summers
DaJuan Michael Summers is an American professional basketball player. In the 2009 NBA Draft Summers was drafted in the 2nd round by the Detroit Pistons. In college at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Summers was a starting small forward for the Hoyas.Summers grew up in Baltimore,...
; Brandon Erbe
Brandon Erbe
Brandon Edward Erbe is a baseball pitcher who was once on the Baltimore Orioles 40-man roster.-External links:...
, a pitching prospect for the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
; and current Wide Receiver for the Oakland Raiders Darrius Heyward-Bey
Darrius Heyward-Bey
-Oakland Raiders:During Organized Team Activities following the draft, Heyward-Bey practiced early but was plagued by multiple hamstring injuries. On July 30, 2009, the Oakland Raiders agreed to terms on a five-year deal with Heyward-Bey.-External links:***...
. McDonogh's men's and women's lacrosse teams are widely considered to be among the elite high school lacrosse programs in the nation, and McDonogh lacrosse alumnae are well-represented on NCAA Division I-A, I-AA and III rosters. In 2009 & 2010, the women's varsity lacrosse team won back to back IAAM championships. The team received the #2 national ranking in 2009 and the #1 national ranking in 2010.
International Exchange
McDonogh School has an international exchange programStudent exchange program
A student exchange program generally could be defined as a program where students from secondary school or university choose to study abroad in partner institutions...
with Seijo Gakuen High School, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Each year two students from Seijo Gakuen High School attend McDonogh School for a year, and McDonogh students attend Seijo Gakuen High School for two weeks every other year.
Every other year the school conducts an exchange with Faust Gymnasium, in Staufen
Staufen, Germany
Staufen im Breisgau is a German town in the Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald district of Baden-Württemberg. It has a population of approximately 7700.-General:...
, a town in the Black Forest Region
Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald
Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald is a district in the south of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are Emmendingen, Schwarzwald-Baar, Waldshut, Lörrach and the French départements of the Haut-Rhin and the Bas-Rhin. The district-free city of Freiburg is surrounded by the district...
. Up to twenty German language
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
students from McDonogh travel to Germany in late June and early July, and the students from Faust Gymnasium come to stay with their exchange partners for the month of October.
Notable graduates
- Grant AleksanderGrant AleksanderGrant Aleksander Kunkowski , better known as Grant Aleksander, is an American actor.-Early life:Aleksander was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He was well known at McDonogh School as both a football player and a thespian. He attended the Washington and Lee University...
(1978), actor, director, most famously appearing as Phillip Spaulding on The Guiding Light - John R. BoltonJohn R. BoltonJohn Robert Bolton is an American lawyer and diplomat who has served in several Republican presidential administrations. He served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 on a recess appointment...
(1966), former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations - Wallace E. Boston, Jr.Wallace E. Boston, Jr.Wallace E. Boston, Jr. is the CEO of American Public University System and the author of . Dr. Boston guided APUS through its accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association in 2006, and in 2007, he led American Public Education, Inc., the parent of APUS, to a...
President and Chief Executive Officer, American Public University SystemAmerican Public University SystemThe American Public University System is a for-profit, online learning institution of higher education that is composed of the American Military University and the American Public University... - Bruce DavidsonBruce Davidson (equestrian)Bruce Oram Davidson is an American equestrian who competes in the sport of eventing. He grew up in a family uninterested in horses, but began to compete in Pony Club events after a family friend introduced him to horses...
, world champion equestrian, Olympic gold medalist - Brandon ErbeBrandon ErbeBrandon Edward Erbe is a baseball pitcher who was once on the Baltimore Orioles 40-man roster.-External links:...
(2005), Baltimore Orioles pitching prospect - Henry GanttHenry GanttHenry Laurence Gantt, A.B., M.E. was an American mechanical engineer and management consultant who is most famous for developing the Gantt chart in the 1910s....
(1878), a mechanical engineer and management consultant. Most famous for developing the Gantt chartGantt chartA Gantt chart is a type of bar chart that illustrates a project schedule. Gantt charts illustrate the start and finish dates of the terminal elements and summary elements of a project. Terminal elements and summary elements comprise the work breakdown structure of the project. Some Gantt charts...
in the 1910s. - Darrius Heyward-BeyDarrius Heyward-Bey-Oakland Raiders:During Organized Team Activities following the draft, Heyward-Bey practiced early but was plagued by multiple hamstring injuries. On July 30, 2009, the Oakland Raiders agreed to terms on a five-year deal with Heyward-Bey.-External links:***...
(2005), former University of MarylandUniversity of MarylandWhen the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
wide receiver, current NFL wide receiver - Eric KingEric King (football player)Eric King is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Wake Forest...
(2000), Defensive back for Buffalo BillsBuffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Tennessee TitansTennessee TitansThe Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
. - James McDanielJames McDanielJames McDaniel is an American stage, film and television actor. He is best known for playing Lt. Arthur Fancy on the television show NYPD Blue. He also played a police officer in the ill-fated 1990 series Cop Rock, and a close advisor to activist Malcolm X in the 1992 film Malcolm X. He also...
(1976), actor, played Lt. Fancy on NYPD BlueNYPD BlueNYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan... - Pam ShriverPam ShriverPamela Howard Shriver Lazenby , is a former professional tennis player and is currently a sports broadcaster from the United States for ESPN2. During the 1980s and 1990s, she won 133 top-level titles, including 21 women's doubles titles and one mixed doubles title at Grand Slam tournaments...
(1979), a former professional tennis player and current sports broadcaster - Frederic N. SmalkinFrederic N. SmalkinThe Honorable Frederic N. Smalkin is a Retired Judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland and is currently an Instructor at the University of Baltimore School of Law. He was awarded the James A...
(1964), Maryland's Chief Federal District Judge and Brigadier General - DaJuan SummersDaJuan SummersDaJuan Michael Summers is an American professional basketball player. In the 2009 NBA Draft Summers was drafted in the 2nd round by the Detroit Pistons. In college at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Summers was a starting small forward for the Hoyas.Summers grew up in Baltimore,...
(2006), former Georgetown UniversityGeorgetown UniversityGeorgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
basketball player, drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 2009 NBA Draft. - Evan TaubenfeldEvan TaubenfeldEvan David Taubenfeld is an American singer-songwriter, best known for being Avril Lavigne's lead guitarist. Taubenfeld's debut album, Welcome to the Blacklist Club, was released on May 18, 2010.-Early life:...
(2001), Sire/Warner Bros.Sire RecordsSire Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Beginnings:The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehrer, each investing ten thousand dollars into the new company. Its early releases as a...
recording artist, EMI professional pop staff songwriter. Avril LavigneAvril LavigneAvril Ramona Lavigne is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She was born in Belleville, Ontario, but spent most of her youth in the small town of Napanee. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain; by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more...
's lead guitarist from spring 2002 to September 2004. - Joseph D. Tydings (1946), a Democratic member of the United States Senate, representing the State of Maryland from 1965-1971