Montgomery Blair High School
Encyclopedia
Montgomery Blair High School (MBHS) is a public high school located in unincorporated Silver Spring
in Montgomery County
, Maryland, United States. MBHS has two specialized programs and seven academies, containing a total of 15 academic departments.
The school was named after Montgomery Blair
, a lawyer who represented Dred Scott
in his United States Supreme Court
case and who served as Postmaster General
under President Abraham Lincoln
. It originally opened in 1925 as Takoma Park-Silver Spring High School. In 1935, however, Montgomery Blair High School opened at 313 Wayne Avenue, a location overlooking Sligo Creek
, now occupied by Silver Spring International Middle School. In 1998, the campus moved two miles (3 km) north to the Kay Tract, a long-vacant tract of land adjacent to the Capital Beltway
.
The school is nationally recognized for its magnet program
and Communication Arts Program (CAP), which draw students from both the Silver Spring area and across Montgomery County
, and make up approximately 20% of Blair's student population. The school has won a plethora of awards, particularly in math, science, computer science
, and journalism. It is a member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology
(NCSSSMST), although unlike other member schools, only a small percentage of the school's population is enrolled in the specialized programs. Blair perennially has a significant number of semifinalists and finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search
.
when it opened in 1925 with 86 students. The 3.8 acres (15,378.1 m²) campus was located at the corner of Philadelphia Avenue and Chicago Avenue in suburban Takoma Park, Maryland
. By the end of the 1920s the school had expanded to host students in eighth and ninth grades, who attended the school's junior high school
, as well as tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades, who attended the school's senior high school
. As Silver Spring and Takoma Park continued to rapidly grow, the school eventually encompassed all levels from kindergarten to twelfth grade. By 1934, the school was over-capacity with a total enrollment of 450 students, and so, in September 1935, the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades relocated to a new high school named Montgomery Blair Senior High School, also known as the Wayne Avenue Campus. During the transition period, students, teachers, and administrators had to commute between the two campuses, and collectively began creating some of the new traditions that would be the foundation for Montgomery Blair High School, among them the annual yearbook, Silverlogue.
After 1935, the Takoma-Silver Spring School reverted to a combination elementary/junior high school, containing kindergarten through ninth grade. Before long, however, further population growth fueled the need for a separate junior high school, and in 1938, grades seven through nine relocated to the new Takoma Park Junior High School
. Takoma-Silver Spring School was then renamed Silver Spring Intermediate School (SSI), which served as an elementary school until 1972, not to be confused with Silver Spring International Middle School. During those years, SSI's gymnasium became the home basketball court for nearby Montgomery College
. In 1992, the historic school building was demolished and the former high school campus became a community park.
, and the first in the lower county. The facility the consisted only of the C building, overlooking Sligo Creek. In 1936, the Auxiliary Gymnasium was added, followed by the B building in 1940, and the D building in 1942. MBHS's first football team was founded in 1944, and the War Memorial Stadium opened in 1947. In 1950, the A building was constructed, containing the Blair Library/Media Center. With the addition of the Main Gymnasium/Fieldhouse in 1954, MBHS possessed one of the finest basketball and football facilities in the county. The E building was added in 1959 as an administrative section, followed by the 1969 opening of the renowned 1200-seat Elizabeth Stickley Auditorium. The most recent addition came in 1973, with the unique automotive shop building. The class of 1937, the first to spend all three years at the Wayne Avenue campus, gave MBHS its school song.
World War II posed a challenge for Montgomery Blair High School, as many teachers and students left to fight overseas. Everyone stepped in to support the war effort, as students from the University of Maryland
taught several classes, and in some cases, able senior students taught sophomore classes. The Blair Library created the "Senior Corner" to honor those who had not returned from war. Life magazine featured the school's Victory Corps close order drill team. Furthermore, other students added to the war effort by assisting local farmers after school and on weekends.
The 1950s were a sports highlight for Montgomery Blair High School. Both the football and basketball teams went undefeated in 1955. Over the next nine years, the basketball team went on to five state championships, and the football team had similar success. The most satisfying wins were over arch-rival Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
, with 3000 spectators on hand. Following the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education
, the school became much more racially and economically diverse during the post-war era. With Silver Spring's ever-increasing population, the school's enrollment jumped from 600 students in 1946, to 1900 by 1956 and 2200 by 1993. In addition, the debut of the Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Magnet program in the fall of 1985 brought 80 new students. The Communication Arts Program (CAP) followed two years later, bringing 75 new students. Towards the latter part of the twentieth century, overcrowding remained as the main issue for Montgomery Blair High School, as portable buildings covered what was once open land. The administration began searching for a solution in 1988. Proposals included underground construction or expanding outwards, but by 1994, it was decided that the school should relocate to an empty tract of land 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the north. Construction began on the Kay Tract in the mid-nineties and the Four Corners Campus opened in the fall of 1998. After the move, Blair's Wayne Avenue campus converted into a combination Elementary/Middle School; currently Sligo Creek Elementary School and Silver Spring International Middle School each take up half the campus. The Elizabeth Stickley Auditorium, however, was not included in the conversion plans, and has remained closed since 1997. Nevertheless, the auditorium has received a significant amount of attention throughout the region as it has fallen into disrepair. Several local politicians and leaders, including former Maryland state senator Ida Ruben, current state senator Jamie Raskin
and U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski
, have endorsed projects to restore the auditorium to its former condition.
. When it opened, the new facilities were the largest in the county, spanning a 42 acres (169,968.1 m²) region, which was nearly twice as large as the old Wayne Avenue site. During the early- to mid- 2000s, the school population spiked to its highest in history at approximately 3400 students, rivaling that of some community colleges. Although enrollment has since receded to about 2,900 students, the school still has the largest student population in the county. The 2008 year marked a technological breakthrough for MBHS, as interactive digital Promethean
boards were installed in many classrooms.
. Over 300 panels lined the walls, bleachers and floor of the old field house on Wayne Avenue. More than 5,000 children, their families, teachers and friends came to see the Quilt. The dedicated students, faculty, parents and public at-large received a Governor’s Citation for supporting this special project which sought to remember those who have died from AIDS-related complications, while helping to increase AIDS awareness and understanding in our communities.
It has been a popular stop for many politicians because of the school's diversity. On February 5, 1998, President Bill Clinton
and UK Prime Minister
Tony Blair
stopped at Montgomery Blair High School during a state visit.
Montgomery Blair has welcomed other government officials in recent years, including United States Secretary of Homeland Security
Tom Ridge
and Secretary of Education
Rod Paige
during a visit in 2003.
On June 23, 2005, President George W. Bush
visited the school to discuss his plan to partially privatize Social Security
. Students were not permitted to attend. Bush's presence at the school drew approximately 400 protesters, who, despite the last-minute announcement of the visit, questioned both his proposed policies and the fact that this town hall-style meeting was not open to the general public. The demonstration included community members, students and union members. The police tried to move the demonstration to a park more than a block away, but protesters pointed out that there was no reason they couldn't continue their peaceful protest on the public sidewalk outside the fence around the school.
Events occurring at the school and students attending the school have been featured several times in The Washington Post
. In late 2006, the Post picked up a story about the controversial new ID policy, making the front page of the Metro section.
On November 11, 2008, a 16-year-old girl stabbed a 16-year-old boy with a sharp-edged object. The boy survived with non-life-threatening injury in the upper portion of one of his arms and received treatment at Holy Cross Hospital. The girl was arrested. Community members originally felt concerned as they wondered if this was related to a November 1 shooting of a Blair student on a transit bus by a male who was not a public school student. The incidents were not related.
, U.S. Route 29
, and Maryland Route 193
in Silver Spring's Four Corners neighborhood. As such, the school's campus is approximately triangular with the side bordered by the Capital Beltway being the longest. The school contains 386567 sq ft (35,913.2 m²) of space and was originally designed for 2,830 students. Only eight school years after its completion, the school was more than 500 students over capacity, with a population of about 3,400. As a result, the school at one point had eight auxiliary portable classroom
s. Over the past few years, population has decreased slightly due to the opening of other schools and the Downcounty Consortium
, and as a result 2 portables were removed at the beginning of the 2006–2007 school year. As of April 2010, the enrollment at Blair is 2,788, and the portable classrooms have been removed. Still, Blair remains the county's largest school.
The school has baseball and softball fields to the east of the main building as well as Blazer Stadium which serves as the home of the school's football
, soccer, and lacrosse
teams. Silver Spring Fire Station 16 conveniently lies adjacent to the baseball field. Residing between the baseball field and the Capital Beltway are two ponds, occasionally visited by marine biology
classes for observation and field experience. A large auxiliary field resides south of the main building, adjacent to the Capital Beltway. To the southwest of the building are three basketball and eight-and-a-half tennis courts, as well as a 400-meter track, which encloses another field, home to the field hockey
team. Marvin Memorial United Methodist Church lies at the edge of the campus, just beyond eastbound University Boulevard, and is used as an AP testing facility. The school has three main parking lots, one for over 40 busses, one reserved for students, and another reserved for both faculty members and visitors. There are three courtyard
s located throughout the main building; the main one is located to the east of the building and opens out to the rest of the outdoor space. The other two courtyards are located within the school building and therefore are surrounded by walls on all four sides. Traditionally, the central courtyard is reserved for the seniors and the west one for the faculty members, especially during lunch periods. A greenhouse
and accompanying patio is located on the second floor on the west side of the main building for the use of horticulture classes. One of Montgomery Blair's more recent additions came in March 2006, when the school's astronomy
class added a sundial
to the east courtyard. In the spring of 2008, members of the Science, Math, and Computer Science Magnet Program installed a 10-ring labrynth in a the northwest corner of the campus, in honor of the late former Magnet Earth system science
teacher, Mr. Rogers.
The school building contains a 750-seat auditorium, but it has not received as much acclaim from the community as the aged, 1,200-seat Elizabeth Stickley Auditorium at Blair's old Wayne Avenue campus. The school also has various computer, science, and engineering labs, media production facilities, and standard classrooms and academic facilities. However, instead of a typical cafeteria
, Blair has a Student Activities Center (SAC) which serves as the lunchroom as well as a main site of Blair events. Connecting the auditorium and SAC, which are on two ends of the building, is a large, unique, three-story corridor dubbed Blair Boulevard. The Blair Library (Media Center), school store, and bank (The Vault) also reside on Blair Boulevard. Another hallway is named after Sligo Creek
because it snakes through the building, much like its namesake. All other hallways in the building are given similar street names, but are seldom referred to as such, because they are also numbered by level.
Perhaps one of the building's most unusual features is its vibrant color scheme, which include various shades of red and green throughout the school. The SAC contains numerous shades as well as a mural depicting both the Wayne Avenue and Four Corners campuses. The ceiling of Blair Boulevard is not a standard white, but "cilantro" or "poseidon" according to the administration. The front wall of each classroom is painted in a light color while the other walls are white. According to staff, the school's designers came up with its color scheme based on research on how directed color affected learning. The main hallway of the school, 'Blair Boulevard" displays flags from many countries, representing its extremely diverse student body.
in 2004. Blair is notable for the diversity of its student body: African Americans make up 28.9% of the population, Caucasians 25.8%, Hispanics 27.5% and Asians 17.6%. Because of its proximity to Washington, DC, its large, diverse population, and the numerous awards it has won, Montgomery Blair High School has hosted heads of state
and other dignitaries over the years.
and an Advanced Placement Program. The school is one of the few US high schools to have a .edu
domain name
, with its internet connection having gone live in the late 1980s. MBHS is home to the award winning print newspaper Silver Chips and online newspaper Silver Chips Online, which received the National Scholastic Press Association Online Pacemaker Award in 2004, 2005 and 2006. MBHS has a student television and radio production unit known as Blair Network Communications (BNC). BNC produces a daily announcement program called InfoFlow which airs at 9:00 on weekday mornings, along with other weekly programs. MBHS is also home to Silver Quill, the award-winning literary arts magazine which is designed by students and features student artwork and literature. Silver Quill is distributed with the school yearbook at the end of the school year.
Most of the school's approximately 3,000 students reside in nearby areas of Silver Spring. Several hundred other students commute by bus from areas throughout Montgomery County. The specialized programs, which were initially created as a single desegregation
program, account for about 800 students within the school.
MBHS consists of two specialized programs, seven academies, and 15 academic departments, offering a diverse range of disciplines and courses.
opened its first Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Magnet Program within Montgomery Blair High School. The Magnet Program offers accelerated, interdisciplinary courses in science, mathematics, and computer science for students who are particularly interested in these subjects. The current coordinator of the Magnet Program is Peter Ostrander. The previous coordinator, Dennis Heidler, left Blair after the 2008–2009 school year. Despite the racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity in the Blair student body as a whole, the Magnet Program is largely composed of affluent Caucasian or Asian-American students.
Before the start of second semester in 8th grade, students who reside in Montgomery County
are eligible to apply to the Magnet Program. The application process involves a written application including essays, teacher recommendations, and middle school transcripts. All applicants are required to take a written entrance exam in the spring which tests math, science, humanities, and logical thinking. The program accepts only 100 students from across the county each year and students can only enter the program in their freshman year of high school. On average, 50% of incoming Magnet students have graduated from the Mathematics/Science/Computer Science Magnet Program at Takoma Park Middle School
. In recent years, the number of applicants has reached record highs in the 700–800 student range. For the class entering in the fall of 2007, there were 380 students evaluated. It, along with the recently opened Magnet Program at Poolesville High School
, and the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Richard Montgomery High School
in Rockville, MD are the only countywide magnet programs at the high-school level in MCPS.
Since Magnet students have extra academic requirements, they have an additional class at the end of their school days (eight periods instead of the usual seven), causing Magnet students to end school 50 minutes later than most other county high-schoolers. Ninth and tenth grade Magnet students take four courses each semester within the Magnet curriculum – science, mathematics, interdisciplinary engineering (research & experimentation), and computer science – and four courses each semester in other disciplines (English, social studies, fine arts, foreign language, physical education, etc.) with the rest of the Blair student body. Freshmen in the Magnet take accelerated physics in the first semester and chemistry in the second semester; sophomores take earth systems science
followed by biology. In addition to science courses, freshmen in the Magnet are required to take Fundamentals of Computer Science and sophomores are required to take Algorithms and Data Structures (ADS) where they study programming techniques in the Java
programming language. Freshmen who pass a screening test are allowed to start ADS one semester early; this section is known as the "Accelerated Computer Science Track". Juniors and seniors have fewer required Magnet courses, and therefore complete their schedules with magnet electives, AP courses, or other departments' electives. The Magnet Program offers over 45 unique in-depth courses including Quantum Physics, Thermodynamics
, Optics
, Mathematical Physics
, Biochemistry
, Linear Algebra
, Discrete Mathematics
, Multivariable Calculus
with Differential Equations, Complex Analysis
, Genetics
, Cell Physiology
, Marine Biology
, 3D Computer Graphics
, Artificial Intelligence
, Material Science, Astronomy
, Origins of Science
, and Origins of Mathematics
. Qualified students who are not in the Magnet Program can and do enroll in Magnet elective courses.
One of the main components of the Magnet Program is the Senior Research Project (SRP). While not strictly required, completing an SRP is strongly encouraged, and about 90% of the program's students choose to do so. Beginning in the spring of junior year, the students complete independent, original study on topics of their choice in the sciences or the social sciences. Usually, the project will involve an internship of at least eight weeks in length at one of the many research institutions in and around Montgomery County, Maryland, including the National Institutes of Health
, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the University of Maryland
, the National Institute of Standards and Technology
, and the Carnegie Institute
, or at other research institutions of choice around the globe. After completing their research, students write formal scientific papers and present their projects at the Magnet Research Convention, which takes place each year in the early spring.
Magnet students have been winners of National Science Bowl
,
National Merit semi-finalists, Montgomery County
Science Fair Grand Award Winners, first place winners in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, Montgomery County Mathematics League champions for 22 straight years, SuperQuest
finalist teams, national winners in the NASA Space Science Student Involvement Project, American Computer Science League
National Championship Teams, Grand Winners of the Physics Olympics for the Baltimore/Washington Metropolitan Area, and first place winners in the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. Prior to the SAT changes, SAT scores consistently fell above 1400. Now, the average SAT score for the Magnet program consistently falls above 2100.
Over the years 2002–2010, Montgomery Blair has had the greatest total number of semi-finalists (108) in the Intel Science Talent Search
of any school in the United States; it has also had the most finalists (16).
A select group of magnet students work as system operators (sysops) to maintain Montgomery Blair High School's computer network and server systems. The sysops are also the webmasters of mbhs.edu and all of its subdomains.
The program now boasts alumni who are math and science professors and researchers at institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, Harvard University
, New York University
, the National Institutes of Health
, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Multiple alumni have also gone on to become Rhodes Scholars. Some alumni have even returned to the program to teach. In recent years, the program has seen the children of some of the first students who graduated through the program.
Two asteroids, 16234 Bosse
and 16241 Dvorsky
, were named in honor of Magnet teachers Angie Bosse and Mary Ann Dvorsky for mentoring finalists in the 2002 Intel Science Talent Search
. A third asteroid, 23014 Walstein
, was named in honor of Magnet teacher Eric Walstein for mentoring a 2007 Intel finalist.
Each year, a number of students in the Magnet program produce the annual Magnet magazine, Silver Quest. In addition, the Magnet Arts Night (MAN) show is a major highlight each February, in which Magnet students showcase their artistic talent on the stage of Blair Auditorium.
In ninth grade, students take courses in photography, drama, American history and English
. Tenth grade requires journalism, media, AP U.S. Government and Politics and English. In eleventh grade, students have AP World History
, AP English Language and Composition
and one semester of Research Methods. Finally, students need to take a portfolio prep class in the last semester of their junior and first semester of their senior year.
The CAP Portfolio is the final, defining, and most important project of the CAP experience. During their junior and senior years, students select their best work in a variety of categories (including writing skills, media literacy skills, and social awareness) completed for classes that are a part of the program's curriculum. After students have put together their Portfolio to the satisfaction of CAP faculty members, they undergo interviews wherein they present and discuss the contents. Failure to put together a Portfolio or failure of the interview process results in removal from the program.
The CAP attracts highly able students from all around the county. Admission to the program, like that of the Magnet, is highly selective. Students may be eligible to join the CAP if they are a member of the Downcounty Consortium
of high schools, or were a member of the middle school Magnet Programs at Eastern Middle School or Takoma Park Middle School
. Applicants must have at least an average grade of a B in honors-level English and social studies courses. The CAP admits approximately 75 ninth grade students each year, occasionally admitting students to the program even after the first semester of freshman year. Once admitted to the program, students are required to successfully complete the twelve CAP courses, maintain a minimum GPA of 2.75, and complete the CAP Portfolio to graduate with the CAP diploma.
Social Action, and Student Government Association (SGA). The academy head is Ms. Lisa Seid.
, and other various auditoriums and concert halls in the state of Maryland. The Symphonic has consistently earned superior ratings at county and state orchestra festivals for many years. Members of the Symphonic Orchestra and Symphonic Band have performed with various other ensembles, such as the Montgomery County Honors, Maryland All-State Honors, and All-Eastern Honors Bands and Orchestras. They also participate in high-level select orchestra groups such as the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras
, District of Columbia Youth Orchestras, and the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras
.
, and InToneNation, an acapella group.
, and up to honors-level in Japanese and Arabic.
, Algebra II, Precalculus
, Calculus
, Statistics, and Business Mathematics
.
, Chemistry
, Biology
, and Earth Science
. Physics teacher James Schafer was named Montgomery County, Maryland's 2010 Teacher of the Year, and was a finalist for the state's Teacher of the Year Award.
, the department also offers elective courses such as African American History
, Latin American History, European History, Middle East History
, Comparative Government
, Comparative religion
, Cultural Anthropology
, Administration of Justice
, International Human Rights, Peace Studies Seminar
, Economics, and Psychology
.
On June 15, 2007, BEN was shut down to make way for Edline
, an online service for schools across the country. Many students and teachers attending the school opposed this change due to BEN's uniqueness, user-friendly format and familiarity among Blair staff and students. Furthermore, Edline does not offer the full range of services BEN had, so the Blair Information & Learning Locus (BILL) was released to provide services formerly found on the now-defunct BEN. BILL has significantly improved on the email services formerly found on BEN, but generally speaking, the remaining features remain constant.
and 8 junior varsity
sports, equating to 41 teams:
, French Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, National Art Honor Society
, and the W. E. B. Du Bois Honor Society.
Popular activities and competitions include: Knowledge Master Open
, American Computer Science League
, Envirothon, Science Bowl, Ocean Science Bowl, Doodle4Google
, and Youth and Government
. MBHS holds several "spirit weeks" throughout the year, during which students are encouraged to show their school spirit. Each day of a spirit week is focused on a different aspect of school spirit (i.e. Pajama Day, Greek Toga Day, etc.). Traditionally, the first spirit week of each year has been dubbed "Freshman Hell Week", as historically, riots have ensued between new freshmen students and upper classmen. Senior pranks, such as hacking
, are also a common tradition among Montgomery Blair High School's populace. The 2009 senior prank was acted out on Blair Boulevard, as a senior student climbed a light pole and gave a dramatic recitation of lines from The Lord of the Rings
through a loud megaphone to students traveling in the halls between lunch periods. Students crowded the hall before running out of the building. The 2010 senior prank included the hacking of electronic signs throughout the campus to make them read "Prom Canceled" or "Open Lunch is now in Effect".
's Math Team, in which applicants are required to take an extrance screening exam. Members of the Math Team participate in competitions including: Montgomery County Mathematics League, Maryland Math League, Mandelbrot
, University of Maryland (UMD) Math Competition, American Mathematics Competition (AMC), American Invitational Mathematics Examination
(AIME), USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO), Calculus League, Princeton University Mathematics Competition
(PUMaC), Harvard–MIT Mathematics Tournament, and the American Regions Mathematics League
(ARML). The Math Team has won county competitions for 22 straight years.
and want to use their knowledge to solve problems and build machines, while pursuing the field to great depths. The upperclassmen student instructors often give lectures on advanced-level physics concepts that aren't commonly taught in the public school curriculum. Team members participate in competitions such as Final Frontiers, Physics Olympics, U.S. Physics Olympiad, International Physics Olympiad
(IPhO), and the AAPT Physics Bowl. The team prepares for these competitions by working on practice problems and discussing efficient solutions. In addition, the Physics Team does hands-on demonstrations and labs on a variety of topics.
, assembly language
, and relational databases. The Computer Team participates in the American Computer Science League
(ACSL), Loyola Programming Contest, University of Maryland Programming Contest, and the USA Computing Olympiad
(USACO).
(FRC). The team is unique because it is almost entirely student-run, withholding a strict hierarchical system which consists of a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and five subdivisions (Mechanics, Electronics, Programming, Tech, Public Relations), each with their own respective leaders. The course of each year is broken into four "seasons", similar to those of American sports: Training Season (fall), Build Season (winter), Competition Season (winter/spring), and Outreach/Fundraising Season (spring/summer). In the training season, veteran team members recruit and train the incoming freshmen in each specialized subdivision, so that they will acquire the experience and skill needed to assist in building the robot. After receiving competition specifications from FIRST
, the team brainstorms a design and frantically works during the six-week Build Season to complete the robot. Upon completion, the robot is tested and shipped off to a facility for inspection. During Competition Season, team members travel with the robot to various locations to compete with other robots built by teams around the nation and the world. In the Outreach/Fundraising Season, the team participates in public events and demonstrations, and works on minor improvement projects. The team's Tech Subdivision maintains at least three UNIX
servers, one of which hosts the student-run team website, robot.mbhs.edu. In 2004, the MBHS Robotics Team was a Chesapeake Regional Winner. In 2008, the team was a New Jersey Regional quarter-finalist, a Chesapeake Regional semi-finalist, and won the Driving Tomorrow's Technology Award. In 2009, the team was a Chesapeake Regional quarter-finalist. The Robotics team provides an enriching engineering experience, and great teamwork, leadership, and scholarship opportunities. In 2010 it reached the semi-finals in the Washington D.C. Regional and was an alliance captain for the North Carolina Regional and reached the quarter-finals. It also won the Creativity Award at the 2010 North Carolina Regional. In 2011, the team was a Washington D.C. Regional quarter-finalist and a North Carolina Regional semi-finalist. In addition, the team won the Team Spirit Award in the North Carolina Regional.
is made up of a group of trivia buffs who practice year round to compete in trivia competitions, such as the Knowledge Master Open
, Quizmaster Challenge, and the Rumble on the Pike. The Academic Team has won the It's Academic
DC Regional championship in 1995 and in 2009, as well as the Knowledge Master Open
in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, and in 2009. In 2010 the team reached the It's Academic
semifinal and placed 36th out of 64 teams at the PACE NSC tournament.
Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
, Maryland, United States. MBHS has two specialized programs and seven academies, containing a total of 15 academic departments.
The school was named after Montgomery Blair
Montgomery Blair
Montgomery Blair , the son of Francis Preston Blair, elder brother of Francis Preston Blair, Jr. and cousin of B. Gratz Brown, was a politician and lawyer from Maryland...
, a lawyer who represented Dred Scott
Dred Scott
Dred Scott , was an African-American slave in the United States who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom and that of his wife and their two daughters in the Dred Scott v...
in his United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
case and who served as Postmaster General
United States Postmaster General
The United States Postmaster General is the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence...
under President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. It originally opened in 1925 as Takoma Park-Silver Spring High School. In 1935, however, Montgomery Blair High School opened at 313 Wayne Avenue, a location overlooking Sligo Creek
Sligo Creek
Sligo Creek is a free-flowing tributary of the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River in Maryland. The creek is approximately long, with a drainage area of about .- Geography :The creek rises in the Kemp Mill section of Silver Spring in Montgomery County and...
, now occupied by Silver Spring International Middle School. In 1998, the campus moved two miles (3 km) north to the Kay Tract, a long-vacant tract of land adjacent to the Capital Beltway
Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)
Interstate 495 is a Interstate Highway that surrounds the United States' capital of Washington, D.C., and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. I-495 is widely known as the Capital Beltway or simply the Beltway, especially when the context of Washington, D.C., is clear...
.
The school is nationally recognized for its magnet program
Magnet school
In education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...
and Communication Arts Program (CAP), which draw students from both the Silver Spring area and across Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
, and make up approximately 20% of Blair's student population. The school has won a plethora of awards, particularly in math, science, computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, and journalism. It is a member of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology
National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology
National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science and Technology is an alliance of specialized high schools in the United States whose focus is advanced preparatory studies in mathematics, science and technology....
(NCSSSMST), although unlike other member schools, only a small percentage of the school's population is enrolled in the specialized programs. Blair perennially has a significant number of semifinalists and finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search
Intel Science Talent Search
The Intel Science Talent Search , known for its first 57 years as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search is a research-based science competition in the United States for high school seniors. It has been referred to as "the nation's oldest and most prestigious" science competition. In his speech...
.
Philadelphia-Chicago Campus Era (1925–1935)
Montgomery Blair High School, then known as Takoma-Silver Spring High School, became the first high school to serve Silver Spring, MarylandSilver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It had a population of 71,452 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth most populous place in Maryland, after Baltimore, Columbia, and Germantown.The urbanized, oldest, and...
when it opened in 1925 with 86 students. The 3.8 acres (15,378.1 m²) campus was located at the corner of Philadelphia Avenue and Chicago Avenue in suburban Takoma Park, Maryland
Takoma Park, Maryland
Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., and part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City," is a Tree City USA and a nuclear-free zone...
. By the end of the 1920s the school had expanded to host students in eighth and ninth grades, who attended the school's junior high school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
, as well as tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades, who attended the school's senior high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. As Silver Spring and Takoma Park continued to rapidly grow, the school eventually encompassed all levels from kindergarten to twelfth grade. By 1934, the school was over-capacity with a total enrollment of 450 students, and so, in September 1935, the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades relocated to a new high school named Montgomery Blair Senior High School, also known as the Wayne Avenue Campus. During the transition period, students, teachers, and administrators had to commute between the two campuses, and collectively began creating some of the new traditions that would be the foundation for Montgomery Blair High School, among them the annual yearbook, Silverlogue.
After 1935, the Takoma-Silver Spring School reverted to a combination elementary/junior high school, containing kindergarten through ninth grade. Before long, however, further population growth fueled the need for a separate junior high school, and in 1938, grades seven through nine relocated to the new Takoma Park Junior High School
Takoma Park Middle School
Takoma Park Middle School is a public middle school in Takoma Park in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. TPMS contains a total of 18 academic departments, as well as a specialized magnet program...
. Takoma-Silver Spring School was then renamed Silver Spring Intermediate School (SSI), which served as an elementary school until 1972, not to be confused with Silver Spring International Middle School. During those years, SSI's gymnasium became the home basketball court for nearby Montgomery College
Montgomery College
Montgomery College is a public, open access community college located in Montgomery County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. in the United States. The college has three campuses, the largest of which is in Rockville; the other campuses are in Takoma Park/Silver Spring and Germantown...
. In 1992, the historic school building was demolished and the former high school campus became a community park.
Wayne Avenue Campus Era (1935–1998)
When Montgomery Blair High School's 23.5 acres (95,101.2 m²) Wayne Avenue campus opened in March 1935, it was the sixth high school in Montgomery CountyMontgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
, and the first in the lower county. The facility the consisted only of the C building, overlooking Sligo Creek. In 1936, the Auxiliary Gymnasium was added, followed by the B building in 1940, and the D building in 1942. MBHS's first football team was founded in 1944, and the War Memorial Stadium opened in 1947. In 1950, the A building was constructed, containing the Blair Library/Media Center. With the addition of the Main Gymnasium/Fieldhouse in 1954, MBHS possessed one of the finest basketball and football facilities in the county. The E building was added in 1959 as an administrative section, followed by the 1969 opening of the renowned 1200-seat Elizabeth Stickley Auditorium. The most recent addition came in 1973, with the unique automotive shop building. The class of 1937, the first to spend all three years at the Wayne Avenue campus, gave MBHS its school song.
World War II posed a challenge for Montgomery Blair High School, as many teachers and students left to fight overseas. Everyone stepped in to support the war effort, as students from the University of Maryland
University of Maryland
When 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:...
taught several classes, and in some cases, able senior students taught sophomore classes. The Blair Library created the "Senior Corner" to honor those who had not returned from war. Life magazine featured the school's Victory Corps close order drill team. Furthermore, other students added to the war effort by assisting local farmers after school and on weekends.
The 1950s were a sports highlight for Montgomery Blair High School. Both the football and basketball teams went undefeated in 1955. Over the next nine years, the basketball team went on to five state championships, and the football team had similar success. The most satisfying wins were over arch-rival Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School
Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School is a Montgomery County, Maryland, USA, public school named for two of the towns it serves along with Kensington and Silver Spring, Maryland. It is located at 4301 East-West Highway, in Bethesda, an unincorporated community in Montgomery County...
, with 3000 spectators on hand. Following the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
, the school became much more racially and economically diverse during the post-war era. With Silver Spring's ever-increasing population, the school's enrollment jumped from 600 students in 1946, to 1900 by 1956 and 2200 by 1993. In addition, the debut of the Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Magnet program in the fall of 1985 brought 80 new students. The Communication Arts Program (CAP) followed two years later, bringing 75 new students. Towards the latter part of the twentieth century, overcrowding remained as the main issue for Montgomery Blair High School, as portable buildings covered what was once open land. The administration began searching for a solution in 1988. Proposals included underground construction or expanding outwards, but by 1994, it was decided that the school should relocate to an empty tract of land 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the north. Construction began on the Kay Tract in the mid-nineties and the Four Corners Campus opened in the fall of 1998. After the move, Blair's Wayne Avenue campus converted into a combination Elementary/Middle School; currently Sligo Creek Elementary School and Silver Spring International Middle School each take up half the campus. The Elizabeth Stickley Auditorium, however, was not included in the conversion plans, and has remained closed since 1997. Nevertheless, the auditorium has received a significant amount of attention throughout the region as it has fallen into disrepair. Several local politicians and leaders, including former Maryland state senator Ida Ruben, current state senator Jamie Raskin
Jamie Raskin
Jamie Raskin is an American law professor and politician. He teaches at American University, Washington College of Law, in Washington, D.C. He serves as the Director of the college's LL.M. program on Law and Government...
and U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Ann Mikulski is the senior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Mikulski, a former U.S. Representative, is the longest-serving female senator in U.S...
, have endorsed projects to restore the auditorium to its former condition.
Four Corners Campus Era (1998–present)
Montgomery Blair High School remained at the Wayne Avenue Campus for over six decades until its 1998 move to the current Four Corners Campus at the intersection of University Boulevard, Colesville Road, and the Capital BeltwayInterstate 495 (Capital Beltway)
Interstate 495 is a Interstate Highway that surrounds the United States' capital of Washington, D.C., and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. I-495 is widely known as the Capital Beltway or simply the Beltway, especially when the context of Washington, D.C., is clear...
. When it opened, the new facilities were the largest in the county, spanning a 42 acres (169,968.1 m²) region, which was nearly twice as large as the old Wayne Avenue site. During the early- to mid- 2000s, the school population spiked to its highest in history at approximately 3400 students, rivaling that of some community colleges. Although enrollment has since receded to about 2,900 students, the school still has the largest student population in the county. The 2008 year marked a technological breakthrough for MBHS, as interactive digital Promethean
Promethean
Promethean may refer to:*Prometheus, a character from Greek mythology, who was punished by the gods for stealing fire from the heavens to give to humans*Mary Shelley gave her novel Frankenstein the subtitle The Modern Prometheus...
boards were installed in many classrooms.
Notable events
In April 1992, Montgomery Blair High School was the first high school in the nation to initiate and sponsor a display of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial QuiltNAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt
The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, often abbreviated to AIDS Memorial Quilt, is an enormous quilt made as a memorial to and celebration of the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes...
. Over 300 panels lined the walls, bleachers and floor of the old field house on Wayne Avenue. More than 5,000 children, their families, teachers and friends came to see the Quilt. The dedicated students, faculty, parents and public at-large received a Governor’s Citation for supporting this special project which sought to remember those who have died from AIDS-related complications, while helping to increase AIDS awareness and understanding in our communities.
It has been a popular stop for many politicians because of the school's diversity. On February 5, 1998, President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and UK Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
stopped at Montgomery Blair High School during a state visit.
Montgomery Blair has welcomed other government officials in recent years, including United States Secretary of Homeland Security
United States Secretary of Homeland Security
The United States Secretary of Homeland Security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the body concerned with protecting the American homeland and the safety of American citizens. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. The position was created by the...
Tom Ridge
Tom Ridge
Thomas Joseph "Tom" Ridge is an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives , the 43rd Governor of Pennsylvania , Assistant to the President for Homeland Security , and the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security...
and Secretary of Education
United States Secretary of Education
The United States Secretary of Education is the head of the Department of Education. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet, and 16th in line of United States presidential line of succession...
Rod Paige
Rod Paige
Roderick Raynor "Rod" Paige served as the 7th United States Secretary of Education from 2001 to 2005. Paige, who grew up in Mississippi, built a career on a belief that education equalizes opportunity, moving from classroom teacher to college dean and school superintendent to be the first African...
during a visit in 2003.
On June 23, 2005, President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
visited the school to discuss his plan to partially privatize Social Security
Social Security (United States)
In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
. Students were not permitted to attend. Bush's presence at the school drew approximately 400 protesters, who, despite the last-minute announcement of the visit, questioned both his proposed policies and the fact that this town hall-style meeting was not open to the general public. The demonstration included community members, students and union members. The police tried to move the demonstration to a park more than a block away, but protesters pointed out that there was no reason they couldn't continue their peaceful protest on the public sidewalk outside the fence around the school.
Events occurring at the school and students attending the school have been featured several times in The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
. In late 2006, the Post picked up a story about the controversial new ID policy, making the front page of the Metro section.
On November 11, 2008, a 16-year-old girl stabbed a 16-year-old boy with a sharp-edged object. The boy survived with non-life-threatening injury in the upper portion of one of his arms and received treatment at Holy Cross Hospital. The girl was arrested. Community members originally felt concerned as they wondered if this was related to a November 1 shooting of a Blair student on a transit bus by a male who was not a public school student. The incidents were not related.
Campus
The current campus of Montgomery Blair High School covers forty-two acres between the Capital BeltwayInterstate 495 (Capital Beltway)
Interstate 495 is a Interstate Highway that surrounds the United States' capital of Washington, D.C., and its inner suburbs in adjacent Maryland and Virginia. I-495 is widely known as the Capital Beltway or simply the Beltway, especially when the context of Washington, D.C., is clear...
, U.S. Route 29
U.S. Route 29
U.S. Route 29 is a north–south United States highway that runs for from the western suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland, to Pensacola, Florida. This highway's northern terminus is at Maryland Route 99 in Ellicott City, Maryland...
, and Maryland Route 193
Maryland Route 193
Maryland Route 193 is a state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for most of its length as University Boulevard and Greenbelt Road, the state highway runs from MD 185 in Kensington east to MD 202 in Greater Upper Marlboro...
in Silver Spring's Four Corners neighborhood. As such, the school's campus is approximately triangular with the side bordered by the Capital Beltway being the longest. The school contains 386567 sq ft (35,913.2 m²) of space and was originally designed for 2,830 students. Only eight school years after its completion, the school was more than 500 students over capacity, with a population of about 3,400. As a result, the school at one point had eight auxiliary portable classroom
Portable classroom
A portable classroom A portable classroom A portable classroom (in Australian English a demountable and often referred to as a demountable, a "Terrapin" or a "Portakabin" (after the two companies) in the UK and called a prefab in Ireland (not to be confused with a prefabricated building) is a...
s. Over the past few years, population has decreased slightly due to the opening of other schools and the Downcounty Consortium
Downcounty Consortium
The Downcounty Consortium is a group of five high schools that rising middle-schoolers in a select part of Montgomery County, Maryland choose from to attend for high school education. These high schools are Albert Einstein High School, John F. Kennedy High School, Montgomery Blair High School,...
, and as a result 2 portables were removed at the beginning of the 2006–2007 school year. As of April 2010, the enrollment at Blair is 2,788, and the portable classrooms have been removed. Still, Blair remains the county's largest school.
The school has baseball and softball fields to the east of the main building as well as Blazer Stadium which serves as the home of the school's football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, soccer, and lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
teams. Silver Spring Fire Station 16 conveniently lies adjacent to the baseball field. Residing between the baseball field and the Capital Beltway are two ponds, occasionally visited by marine biology
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
classes for observation and field experience. A large auxiliary field resides south of the main building, adjacent to the Capital Beltway. To the southwest of the building are three basketball and eight-and-a-half tennis courts, as well as a 400-meter track, which encloses another field, home to the field hockey
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
team. Marvin Memorial United Methodist Church lies at the edge of the campus, just beyond eastbound University Boulevard, and is used as an AP testing facility. The school has three main parking lots, one for over 40 busses, one reserved for students, and another reserved for both faculty members and visitors. There are three courtyard
Courtyard
A court or courtyard is an enclosed area, often a space enclosed by a building that is open to the sky. These areas in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court....
s located throughout the main building; the main one is located to the east of the building and opens out to the rest of the outdoor space. The other two courtyards are located within the school building and therefore are surrounded by walls on all four sides. Traditionally, the central courtyard is reserved for the seniors and the west one for the faculty members, especially during lunch periods. A greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
and accompanying patio is located on the second floor on the west side of the main building for the use of horticulture classes. One of Montgomery Blair's more recent additions came in March 2006, when the school's astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
class added a sundial
Sundial
A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. The style is the time-telling edge of the gnomon, often a thin rod or a...
to the east courtyard. In the spring of 2008, members of the Science, Math, and Computer Science Magnet Program installed a 10-ring labrynth in a the northwest corner of the campus, in honor of the late former Magnet Earth system science
Earth system science
Earth system science seeks to integrate various fields of academic study to understand the Earth as a system. It considers interaction between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere , biosphere, and heliosphere....
teacher, Mr. Rogers.
The school building contains a 750-seat auditorium, but it has not received as much acclaim from the community as the aged, 1,200-seat Elizabeth Stickley Auditorium at Blair's old Wayne Avenue campus. The school also has various computer, science, and engineering labs, media production facilities, and standard classrooms and academic facilities. However, instead of a typical cafeteria
Cafeteria
A cafeteria is a type of food service location in which there is little or no waiting staff table service, whether a restaurant or within an institution such as a large office building or school; a school dining location is also referred to as a dining hall or canteen...
, Blair has a Student Activities Center (SAC) which serves as the lunchroom as well as a main site of Blair events. Connecting the auditorium and SAC, which are on two ends of the building, is a large, unique, three-story corridor dubbed Blair Boulevard. The Blair Library (Media Center), school store, and bank (The Vault) also reside on Blair Boulevard. Another hallway is named after Sligo Creek
Sligo Creek
Sligo Creek is a free-flowing tributary of the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River in Maryland. The creek is approximately long, with a drainage area of about .- Geography :The creek rises in the Kemp Mill section of Silver Spring in Montgomery County and...
because it snakes through the building, much like its namesake. All other hallways in the building are given similar street names, but are seldom referred to as such, because they are also numbered by level.
Perhaps one of the building's most unusual features is its vibrant color scheme, which include various shades of red and green throughout the school. The SAC contains numerous shades as well as a mural depicting both the Wayne Avenue and Four Corners campuses. The ceiling of Blair Boulevard is not a standard white, but "cilantro" or "poseidon" according to the administration. The front wall of each classroom is painted in a light color while the other walls are white. According to staff, the school's designers came up with its color scheme based on research on how directed color affected learning. The main hallway of the school, 'Blair Boulevard" displays flags from many countries, representing its extremely diverse student body.
Demographics
In 2004, the school had the largest enrollment in the Montgomery County public school system, with 3,294 students. The number has since dropped to 2,788 for the 2009–2010 school year, in part because of the reopening of nearby Northwood High SchoolNorthwood High School (Silver Spring, Maryland)
Northwood High School is located in Silver Spring, Maryland, and is part of Montgomery County Public Schools. Northwood originally opened in 1956. In 1985 it was closed in a contested decision by the Montgomery County School Board in an effort to alleviate the concentration of minorities enrolling...
in 2004. Blair is notable for the diversity of its student body: African Americans make up 28.9% of the population, Caucasians 25.8%, Hispanics 27.5% and Asians 17.6%. Because of its proximity to Washington, DC, its large, diverse population, and the numerous awards it has won, Montgomery Blair High School has hosted heads of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
and other dignitaries over the years.
Academics
Montgomery Blair High School is one of the top schools in the nation. In 2010, MBHS was ranked by Newsweek as the eighth best public school in the state of Maryland, and as the 139th best public school nationwide. Because of its Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Magnet Program and its Communication Arts Program, MBHS attracts students from across the entire county. Additionally, the school has an Honors ProgramHonors course
Honors course is a distinction applied in the United States to certain classes to distinguish them from standard course offerings. The difference between a regular class and the honors class is not necessarily the amount of work, but the type of work required and the pace of studying...
and an Advanced Placement Program. The school is one of the few US high schools to have a .edu
.edu
The domain name edu is a sponsored top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. The "domain is intended for accredited post-secondary educational U.S. institutions" and this intention is strictly enforced....
domain name
Domain name
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control in the Internet. Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the Domain Name System ....
, with its internet connection having gone live in the late 1980s. MBHS is home to the award winning print newspaper Silver Chips and online newspaper Silver Chips Online, which received the National Scholastic Press Association Online Pacemaker Award in 2004, 2005 and 2006. MBHS has a student television and radio production unit known as Blair Network Communications (BNC). BNC produces a daily announcement program called InfoFlow which airs at 9:00 on weekday mornings, along with other weekly programs. MBHS is also home to Silver Quill, the award-winning literary arts magazine which is designed by students and features student artwork and literature. Silver Quill is distributed with the school yearbook at the end of the school year.
Most of the school's approximately 3,000 students reside in nearby areas of Silver Spring. Several hundred other students commute by bus from areas throughout Montgomery County. The specialized programs, which were initially created as a single desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
program, account for about 800 students within the school.
MBHS consists of two specialized programs, seven academies, and 15 academic departments, offering a diverse range of disciplines and courses.
Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Magnet Program
In 1985, Montgomery County Public SchoolsMontgomery County Public Schools
Montgomery County Public Schools ' is a school district that serves Montgomery County, Maryland, USA. It is the largest school district in Maryland. As of the 2009–2010 school year, the district had 11,500 FTE teachers serving 141,777 students at 200 schools.Students in the district score among the...
opened its first Science, Mathematics, and Computer Science Magnet Program within Montgomery Blair High School. The Magnet Program offers accelerated, interdisciplinary courses in science, mathematics, and computer science for students who are particularly interested in these subjects. The current coordinator of the Magnet Program is Peter Ostrander. The previous coordinator, Dennis Heidler, left Blair after the 2008–2009 school year. Despite the racial, ethnic, cultural, and socioeconomic diversity in the Blair student body as a whole, the Magnet Program is largely composed of affluent Caucasian or Asian-American students.
Before the start of second semester in 8th grade, students who reside in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
are eligible to apply to the Magnet Program. The application process involves a written application including essays, teacher recommendations, and middle school transcripts. All applicants are required to take a written entrance exam in the spring which tests math, science, humanities, and logical thinking. The program accepts only 100 students from across the county each year and students can only enter the program in their freshman year of high school. On average, 50% of incoming Magnet students have graduated from the Mathematics/Science/Computer Science Magnet Program at Takoma Park Middle School
Takoma Park Middle School
Takoma Park Middle School is a public middle school in Takoma Park in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. TPMS contains a total of 18 academic departments, as well as a specialized magnet program...
. In recent years, the number of applicants has reached record highs in the 700–800 student range. For the class entering in the fall of 2007, there were 380 students evaluated. It, along with the recently opened Magnet Program at Poolesville High School
Poolesville High School
Poolesville High School is a public high school located in Poolesville, Maryland. It is home to a Global Ecology Studies Program, a Math Science/Computer Science Magnet Program, and a Humanities Program.-History:...
, and the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Richard Montgomery High School
Richard Montgomery High School
Richard Montgomery High School is a secondary public school located in Rockville, Maryland.Richard Montgomery High School is named for Richard Montgomery, an American General who died while attempting to capture the British-held city of Quebec...
in Rockville, MD are the only countywide magnet programs at the high-school level in MCPS.
Since Magnet students have extra academic requirements, they have an additional class at the end of their school days (eight periods instead of the usual seven), causing Magnet students to end school 50 minutes later than most other county high-schoolers. Ninth and tenth grade Magnet students take four courses each semester within the Magnet curriculum – science, mathematics, interdisciplinary engineering (research & experimentation), and computer science – and four courses each semester in other disciplines (English, social studies, fine arts, foreign language, physical education, etc.) with the rest of the Blair student body. Freshmen in the Magnet take accelerated physics in the first semester and chemistry in the second semester; sophomores take earth systems science
Earth science
Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...
followed by biology. In addition to science courses, freshmen in the Magnet are required to take Fundamentals of Computer Science and sophomores are required to take Algorithms and Data Structures (ADS) where they study programming techniques in the Java
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
programming language. Freshmen who pass a screening test are allowed to start ADS one semester early; this section is known as the "Accelerated Computer Science Track". Juniors and seniors have fewer required Magnet courses, and therefore complete their schedules with magnet electives, AP courses, or other departments' electives. The Magnet Program offers over 45 unique in-depth courses including Quantum Physics, Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is a physical science that studies the effects on material bodies, and on radiation in regions of space, of transfer of heat and of work done on or by the bodies or radiation...
, Optics
Optics
Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...
, Mathematical Physics
Mathematical physics
Mathematical physics refers to development of mathematical methods for application to problems in physics. The Journal of Mathematical Physics defines this area as: "the application of mathematics to problems in physics and the development of mathematical methods suitable for such applications and...
, Biochemistry
Biochemistry
Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...
, Linear Algebra
Linear algebra
Linear algebra is a branch of mathematics that studies vector spaces, also called linear spaces, along with linear functions that input one vector and output another. Such functions are called linear maps and can be represented by matrices if a basis is given. Thus matrix theory is often...
, Discrete Mathematics
Discrete mathematics
Discrete mathematics is the study of mathematical structures that are fundamentally discrete rather than continuous. In contrast to real numbers that have the property of varying "smoothly", the objects studied in discrete mathematics – such as integers, graphs, and statements in logic – do not...
, Multivariable Calculus
Multivariable calculus
Multivariable calculus is the extension of calculus in one variable to calculus in more than one variable: the differentiated and integrated functions involve multiple variables, rather than just one....
with Differential Equations, Complex Analysis
Complex analysis
Complex analysis, traditionally known as the theory of functions of a complex variable, is the branch of mathematical analysis that investigates functions of complex numbers. It is useful in many branches of mathematics, including number theory and applied mathematics; as well as in physics,...
, Genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, Cell Physiology
Cell physiology
Cell physiology is the biological study of the cell's mechanism and interaction in its environment. The term "physiology" refers to all the normal functions that take place in a living organism. Absorption of water by roots, production of food in the leaves, and growth of shoots towards light are...
, Marine Biology
Marine biology
Marine biology is the scientific study of organisms in the ocean or other marine or brackish bodies of water. Given that in biology many phyla, families and genera have some species that live in the sea and others that live on land, marine biology classifies species based on the environment rather...
, 3D Computer Graphics
3D computer graphics
3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
, Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, Material Science, Astronomy
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, Origins of Science
History of science
The history of science is the study of the historical development of human understandings of the natural world and the domains of the social sciences....
, and Origins of Mathematics
History of mathematics
The area of study known as the history of mathematics is primarily an investigation into the origin of discoveries in mathematics and, to a lesser extent, an investigation into the mathematical methods and notation of the past....
. Qualified students who are not in the Magnet Program can and do enroll in Magnet elective courses.
One of the main components of the Magnet Program is the Senior Research Project (SRP). While not strictly required, completing an SRP is strongly encouraged, and about 90% of the program's students choose to do so. Beginning in the spring of junior year, the students complete independent, original study on topics of their choice in the sciences or the social sciences. Usually, the project will involve an internship of at least eight weeks in length at one of the many research institutions in and around Montgomery County, Maryland, including the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
, the National Institute of Standards and Technology
National Institute of Standards and Technology
The National Institute of Standards and Technology , known between 1901 and 1988 as the National Bureau of Standards , is a measurement standards laboratory, otherwise known as a National Metrological Institute , which is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce...
, and the Carnegie Institute
Carnegie Institution for Science
The Carnegie Institution for Science is an organization in the United States established to support scientific research....
, or at other research institutions of choice around the globe. After completing their research, students write formal scientific papers and present their projects at the Magnet Research Convention, which takes place each year in the early spring.
Magnet students have been winners of National Science Bowl
Science Bowl
Science Bowl is a high school and middle school academic competition, similar to Quiz Bowl, held in the United States. Two teams of four students each compete to answer various science-related questions. In order to determine which student has the right to answer the question, a buzzer system is...
,
National Merit semi-finalists, Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
Science Fair Grand Award Winners, first place winners in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, Montgomery County Mathematics League champions for 22 straight years, SuperQuest
SuperQuest
SuperQuest is an American computational competition for high school students. Computational projects are proposed by various high school teams. An expert panel evaluates all of the entries and selects about four winning teams for each participating center...
finalist teams, national winners in the NASA Space Science Student Involvement Project, American Computer Science League
American Computer Science League
ACSL , or the American Computer Science League, is an international computer science competition among more than 200 schools. Each round consists of two parts: a written section and a programming section...
National Championship Teams, Grand Winners of the Physics Olympics for the Baltimore/Washington Metropolitan Area, and first place winners in the National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. Prior to the SAT changes, SAT scores consistently fell above 1400. Now, the average SAT score for the Magnet program consistently falls above 2100.
Over the years 2002–2010, Montgomery Blair has had the greatest total number of semi-finalists (108) in the Intel Science Talent Search
Intel Science Talent Search
The Intel Science Talent Search , known for its first 57 years as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search is a research-based science competition in the United States for high school seniors. It has been referred to as "the nation's oldest and most prestigious" science competition. In his speech...
of any school in the United States; it has also had the most finalists (16).
A select group of magnet students work as system operators (sysops) to maintain Montgomery Blair High School's computer network and server systems. The sysops are also the webmasters of mbhs.edu and all of its subdomains.
The program now boasts alumni who are math and science professors and researchers at institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Multiple alumni have also gone on to become Rhodes Scholars. Some alumni have even returned to the program to teach. In recent years, the program has seen the children of some of the first students who graduated through the program.
Two asteroids, 16234 Bosse
16234 Bosse
16234 Bosse is a main-belt asteroid discovered on March 29, 2000 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research Team at Socorro.- History :...
and 16241 Dvorsky
16241 Dvorsky
16241 Dvorsky is a main-belt asteroid discovered on April 7, 2000 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research Team at Socorro.- History :...
, were named in honor of Magnet teachers Angie Bosse and Mary Ann Dvorsky for mentoring finalists in the 2002 Intel Science Talent Search
Intel Science Talent Search
The Intel Science Talent Search , known for its first 57 years as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search is a research-based science competition in the United States for high school seniors. It has been referred to as "the nation's oldest and most prestigious" science competition. In his speech...
. A third asteroid, 23014 Walstein
23014 Walstein
23014 Walstein is a main-belt asteroid discovered on November 15, 1999 by the Lincoln Laboratory Near-Earth Asteroid Research Team at Socorro.- History :...
, was named in honor of Magnet teacher Eric Walstein for mentoring a 2007 Intel finalist.
Each year, a number of students in the Magnet program produce the annual Magnet magazine, Silver Quest. In addition, the Magnet Arts Night (MAN) show is a major highlight each February, in which Magnet students showcase their artistic talent on the stage of Blair Auditorium.
Communication Arts Program
The Communication Arts Program (CAP) at Montgomery Blair High School was established in 1988, three years after the Math, Science and Computer Science Magnet Program opened. The program strives to provide a comprehensive approach to the humanities and the media by offering accelerated, interdisciplinary courses in English, social studies, and media production for participating students. The CAP also places a great deal of importance on social awareness and community service.In ninth grade, students take courses in photography, drama, American history and English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
. Tenth grade requires journalism, media, AP U.S. Government and Politics and English. In eleventh grade, students have AP World History
AP World History
Advanced Placement World History is a college-level course offered through the College Board's Advanced Placement Program designed to help students develop greater understanding of the evolution of global processes and contacts and interactions between different types of Human societies...
, AP English Language and Composition
AP English Language and Composition
Advanced Placement English Language and Composition is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program....
and one semester of Research Methods. Finally, students need to take a portfolio prep class in the last semester of their junior and first semester of their senior year.
The CAP Portfolio is the final, defining, and most important project of the CAP experience. During their junior and senior years, students select their best work in a variety of categories (including writing skills, media literacy skills, and social awareness) completed for classes that are a part of the program's curriculum. After students have put together their Portfolio to the satisfaction of CAP faculty members, they undergo interviews wherein they present and discuss the contents. Failure to put together a Portfolio or failure of the interview process results in removal from the program.
The CAP attracts highly able students from all around the county. Admission to the program, like that of the Magnet, is highly selective. Students may be eligible to join the CAP if they are a member of the Downcounty Consortium
Downcounty Consortium
The Downcounty Consortium is a group of five high schools that rising middle-schoolers in a select part of Montgomery County, Maryland choose from to attend for high school education. These high schools are Albert Einstein High School, John F. Kennedy High School, Montgomery Blair High School,...
of high schools, or were a member of the middle school Magnet Programs at Eastern Middle School or Takoma Park Middle School
Takoma Park Middle School
Takoma Park Middle School is a public middle school in Takoma Park in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. TPMS contains a total of 18 academic departments, as well as a specialized magnet program...
. Applicants must have at least an average grade of a B in honors-level English and social studies courses. The CAP admits approximately 75 ninth grade students each year, occasionally admitting students to the program even after the first semester of freshman year. Once admitted to the program, students are required to successfully complete the twelve CAP courses, maintain a minimum GPA of 2.75, and complete the CAP Portfolio to graduate with the CAP diploma.
The Academies at Montgomery Blair
The Montgomery Blair Career Academies are communities of students and educators unified by common interests and career goals, and aimed at preparing students who are particularly interested in working in a specialized field. Any qualified student can apply to a Blair academy in their final year of middle school.Entrepreneurship Academy
Montgomery Blair's Entrepreneurship Academy is one of the only high school entrepreneurship programs in the region. Originally started by Blair teacher Derek Sontz, the program has grown and is now supervised by academy head Kevin Murley. The Entrepreneurship Academy works on students' financial literacy and knowledge of investment strategies, as well as on their general business skills. Students can take one of three strands in the Academy (accounting, business management, and entrepreneurship).Human Service Professions Academy
The Human Service Professions Academy focuses on fields such as Early Childhood Development, Teacher Education, Psychology & Social Services, Health & Fitness, and Justice, Law & Society. Related activities include: Mock Trial Team, SkillsUSASocial Action, and Student Government Association (SGA). The academy head is Ms. Lisa Seid.
International Studies Academy
The International Studies Academy includes studies in: Comparative Government, Comparative Religions, Middle East Studies, Latin American Studies, East Asian Studies, Human Geography, Economics, World History, European History, International Human Rights, African American History, Africa South of the Sahara, Seminar in Peace Studies, Cultural Anthropology, and Foreign languages. The academy head is Mr. Paul K. Moose. The International Studies Academy hosts biannual tours of MBHS for groups of Japanese high school students in order to further its international relations.Media Literacy Academy
The Media Literacy Academy includes studies in: TV Production, Literature as Film, Creative Writing, Journalism, Photography, Digital Art, Web Page Design, Ceramics, Studio Art, Instrumental Music, Vocal Music, and Theater. The academy head is Mr. Michael Horne.Science, Math, and Technology Academy
Montgomery Blair's Science, Math, and Technology Academy specializes in: Life Science, Physical Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Computer Networking, and Computer Programming. The academy head is Mr. John Haigh.English Department
In addition to offering standard English courses, the English Department also offers AP courses in Language and Literature, as well as studies in dramatics, journalism, and theater.Fine Arts Department
The Fine Arts Department consists of two sub-departments of Music and Visual Arts. The Music Department includes instrumental music, choral music, and general music. Each year the department hosts a fine arts festival, in which students showcase their artistic talent.Instrumental Music Department
MBHS's Instrumental Music Department consists of three orchestras, three bands, and two jazz bands: Symphonic Orchestra (Honors), String Orchestra, Pit Orchestra, Symphonic Band (Honors), Concert Band, Marching Band, Jazz Band (Honors), and Jazz Band. The department also houses an audio library and a professional recording studio. The well-established Symphonic Orchestra has performed at venues in Orlando, New York City, and Chicago over the years, in addition to performing at the world-class Strathmore Hall, DAR Constitution HallDAR Constitution Hall
DAR Constitution Hall is a concert hall in Washington, D.C. It was built in 1929 by the Daughters of the American Revolution to house its annual convention when membership delegations outgrew Memorial Continental Hall. Later, the two buildings were connected by a third structure housing the DAR...
, and other various auditoriums and concert halls in the state of Maryland. The Symphonic has consistently earned superior ratings at county and state orchestra festivals for many years. Members of the Symphonic Orchestra and Symphonic Band have performed with various other ensembles, such as the Montgomery County Honors, Maryland All-State Honors, and All-Eastern Honors Bands and Orchestras. They also participate in high-level select orchestra groups such as the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras
Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras
The Maryland Classic Youth Orchestras, or MCYO, is a youth orchestra program in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area founded in 1946 as the Montgomery County Youth Orchestras. Along with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the National Philharmonic, MCYO is affiliated with the Strathmore...
, District of Columbia Youth Orchestras, and the American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras
American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras
The American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras is group of orchestras formerly known as Northern Virginia Youth Symphony Association. Comprising two full orchestras , a training orchestra , a string orchestra The American Youth Philharmonic Orchestras (AYPO) is group of orchestras formerly known as...
.
Choral Music Department
The Choral Music Department consists of Concert Choir, Chamber Choir (Honors), a CabaretCabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
, and InToneNation, an acapella group.
General Music Department
The General Music Department offers studies in music history, technology, business, composition, and theory. There are also courses offered in solo and ensemble techniques for piano and guitar playing.Visual Arts Department
MBHS's Visual Arts Department offers studies in art & culture, ceramics & sculpture, digital art, photography, and studio art.Foreign Language Department
The Foreign Language Department offers classes up to AP-level in Spanish, French, and LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, and up to honors-level in Japanese and Arabic.
Mathematics Department
The Mathematics Department offers a variety of honors- and AP-level courses, including: Algebra 1, GeometryGeometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
, Algebra II, Precalculus
Precalculus
In American mathematics education, precalculus , an advanced form of secondary school algebra, is a foundational mathematical discipline. It is also called Introduction to Analysis. In many schools, precalculus is actually two separate courses: Algebra and Trigonometry...
, Calculus
Calculus
Calculus is a branch of mathematics focused on limits, functions, derivatives, integrals, and infinite series. This subject constitutes a major part of modern mathematics education. It has two major branches, differential calculus and integral calculus, which are related by the fundamental theorem...
, Statistics, and Business Mathematics
Business Mathematics
Business mathematics is mathematics used by commercial enterprises to record and manage business operations. Commercial organizations use mathematics in accounting, inventory management, marketing, sales forecasting, and financial analysis. Mathematics typically used in commerce includes...
.
Science Department
The Science Department contains sub-departments in the core sciences of PhysicsPhysics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, and Earth Science
Earth science
Earth science is an all-embracing term for the sciences related to the planet Earth. It is arguably a special case in planetary science, the Earth being the only known life-bearing planet. There are both reductionist and holistic approaches to Earth sciences...
. Physics teacher James Schafer was named Montgomery County, Maryland's 2010 Teacher of the Year, and was a finalist for the state's Teacher of the Year Award.
Social Studies Department
MBHS's Social Studies Department is unique in its diverse and enriched course offerings. In addition to offering honors- and AP-level U.S. History, American Government and Politics, and World HistoryWorld History
World History, Global History or Transnational history is a field of historical study that emerged as a distinct academic field in the 1980s. It examines history from a global perspective...
, the department also offers elective courses such as African American History
African American history
African-American history is the portion of American history that specifically discusses the African American or Black American ethnic group in the United States. Most African Americans are the descendants of captive Africans held in the United States from 1619 to 1865...
, Latin American History, European History, Middle East History
History of the Middle East
This article is a general overview of the history of the Middle East. For more detailed information, see articles on the histories of individual countries and regions...
, Comparative Government
Comparative politics
Comparative politics is a subfield of political science, characterized by an empirical approach based on the comparative method. Arend Lijphart argues that comparative politics does not have a substantive focus in itself, but rather a methodological one: it focuses on "the how but does not specify...
, Comparative religion
Comparative religion
Comparative religion is a field of religious studies that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions...
, Cultural Anthropology
Cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Anthropologists use a variety of methods, including participant observation,...
, Administration of Justice
Justice
Justice is a concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, or equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics; justice is the act of being just and/or fair.-Concept of justice:...
, International Human Rights, Peace Studies Seminar
Peace and conflict studies
Peace and conflict studies is a social science field that identifies and analyses violent and nonviolent behaviours as well as the structural mechanisms attending social conflicts with a view towards understanding those processes which lead to a more desirable human condition...
, Economics, and Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
.
Silver Chips Online
Silver Chips Online is the online version of the student-run newspaper. Founded in the 1998–1999 school year, the online newspaper gives public access to the student-written articles. Since then, the site has expanded and the interactivity for the site's users has increased. Aside from providing access to current news and events, Silver Chips Online currently offers the community an open forum to discuss contents and themes of written articles. The site also contains many unique features, such as continuously-updated weather reports from the MBHS weather station, an extensive image gallery, interactive polls, and snoWatch reports, which accurately predict school closings or delays due to inclement weather.Blair Educational Network (BEN) and Blair Information & Learning Locus (BILL)
The Blair Educational Network (BEN) was a Web-based gradebook and groupware program used by students and teachers to keep track of assignments, upcoming events such as quizzes and tests, and as file and email servers. On BEN, each teacher could upload files and assign homework and create discussion forums. Parents could log on and access their children's schedules, including upcoming/current assignments as well as tests (if the teacher posted such). However, unlike the now popularized Edline, parents could not access grades. BEN also included functions such as a school email service and a small storage unit, along with access to teachers and other students. The software behind BEN, known as AUC, was developed in-house by students and staff beginning in 1998. Versions of AUC were released as open source from 1999 through 2001 and the system was adopted by a number of other schools around the world.On June 15, 2007, BEN was shut down to make way for Edline
Edline
Edline is a Learning Community Management System that many schools use for school and class organization. It provides district, school and classroom level website support for administrators, parents, teachers and students from kindergarten through 12th grade...
, an online service for schools across the country. Many students and teachers attending the school opposed this change due to BEN's uniqueness, user-friendly format and familiarity among Blair staff and students. Furthermore, Edline does not offer the full range of services BEN had, so the Blair Information & Learning Locus (BILL) was released to provide services formerly found on the now-defunct BEN. BILL has significantly improved on the email services formerly found on BEN, but generally speaking, the remaining features remain constant.
Athletics
The student athletics program currently offers 23 different varsityVarsity
Varsity, a term originally derived from university, may refer to:In geography:*Varsity, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Calgary, Alberta, Canada*Varsity Lakes, Queensland, a suburb of the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia...
and 8 junior varsity
Junior varsity
Primarily in North America, junior varsity or JV players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition , usually at the high school and college levels in the United States and Canada. The main players comprise the varsity team...
sports, equating to 41 teams:
Fall
- FootballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
* - Girls Field HockeyField hockeyField Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
* - Boys Soccer*
- Girls Soccer*
- Girls VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
* - Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- Golf
- Girls TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Pom PonsPom-ponA pom-pon is a fluffy, decorative ball or tuft. Pom-pons may come in many colors, sizes, and varieties and are made from a wide array of materials, including wool, cotton, paper, plastic, and occasionally feathers....
Winter
- Boys BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
* - Girls BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
* - Swimming and DivingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
- Ice HockeyIce hockeyIce hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
^ - WrestlingWrestlingWrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
- Indoor Track
- CheerleadingCheerleadingCheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
Spring
- Boys BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
* - Girls SoftballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
* - Boys LacrosseLacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
* - Girls LacrosseLacrosseLacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
* - Track and Field
- Boys VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
- Co-ed VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
- Boys TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Gymnastics
Year-Round
- Badminton^
- Ultimate Frisbee^
- RowingRowing (sport)Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...
^ - BowlingBowlingBowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
^ - Horseback Riding^
- * indicates a sport for which there is also a junior varsityJunior varsityPrimarily in North America, junior varsity or JV players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition , usually at the high school and college levels in the United States and Canada. The main players comprise the varsity team...
team. - ^ indicates a sport that is not officially sanctioned by the school and is thus considered a club team.
Boys Basketball (State Champions)
- 1952
- 1953
- 1955 (22–0)
- 1961 (22–0–1)
- 1962
- 1969
- 1975
- 1977
- 1979
Boys Baseball
- 1955 – Bi-County Champions
- 1956 – Bi-County Champions
- 1957 – Bi-County Champions
- 1962 – State Champions
- 1975 – County Champions
Football
- 1949 – County Champions
- 1955 – County Champions (undefeated)
- 1956 – Bi-County Champions
- 1959 – Bi-County Champions
- 1962 – County Champions
- 1965 – County Champions (undefeated)
Boys Soccer
- 1953 – Metro Interscholastic Champions
- 1961 – Bi-County Champions
- 1965 – County and Regional Champions (undefeated)
- 1971 – County Champions (undefeated)
- 1975 – County Champions
- 1976 – State Champions
- 1984 – Regional Champions
Boys Track and Field
- 1959 – State Champions
- 1961 – State Champions
- 1964 – State Champions
Boys Volleyball
- 2005 – County Champions
- 2011 – County Champions (uncontested at States since only MCPS has boys volleyball)
Girls Basketball
- 1981 – County Champions
- 1982 – State Champions (undefeated)
- 1983 – County Co-Champions
- 1988 – Regional Champions
- 1990 – Regional Champions
- 1995 – Regional Champions
Cross Country
- 1964 – State Champions
- 1971 – Section Champions
- 2008 – Division Champions
- 2009 – DCC Champions (Girls)
Boys Rifle
- 1961 – State Champions
- 1966 – State Champions
- 1982 – National Champions
Honor Societies
Montgomery Blair High School's Honor Societies include the National Honor SocietyNational Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
, French Honor Society, Spanish Honor Society, National Art Honor Society
National Art Honor Society
The National Art Honor Society was established in 1978 in the United States by the National Art Education Association for high school students grades 10-12, for "the purpose of inspiring and recognizing those students who have shown an outstanding ability in art" from the National Art Honor Society...
, and the W. E. B. Du Bois Honor Society.
Student activities and traditions
MBHS has over 95 specialized teams or clubs, some of which are entirely student-run, including the Blair Radio Station, Montgomery Blair Linux Users Group (MBLUG), Marching Band, Debate Team, Jewish Culture Club and Philosophy Club.Popular activities and competitions include: Knowledge Master Open
Knowledge Master Open
The Knowledge Master Open is a computer-based semiannual worldwide academic competition in which teams of students from many schools earn points by answering multiple-choice questions quickly and accurately...
, American Computer Science League
American Computer Science League
ACSL , or the American Computer Science League, is an international computer science competition among more than 200 schools. Each round consists of two parts: a written section and a programming section...
, Envirothon, Science Bowl, Ocean Science Bowl, Doodle4Google
Doodle4Google
Doodle4Google is an annual competition held by Google to have children create a logo that will be featured on the Google homepage. In 2008 there was a competition in Sweden.-History:Google features logos on their homepage, usually for public holidays...
, and Youth and Government
YMCA Youth and Government
YMCA Youth and Government, or Y&G is a YMCA civic engagement and service-learning program in the United States that offers high school students the opportunity to serve in a model government process at the local, state, national, and international levels...
. MBHS holds several "spirit weeks" throughout the year, during which students are encouraged to show their school spirit. Each day of a spirit week is focused on a different aspect of school spirit (i.e. Pajama Day, Greek Toga Day, etc.). Traditionally, the first spirit week of each year has been dubbed "Freshman Hell Week", as historically, riots have ensued between new freshmen students and upper classmen. Senior pranks, such as hacking
Hacking
Hacking may refer to:* Computer hacking, including the following types of activity:** Hacker , activity within the computer programmer subculture** Hacker , to access computer networks, legally or otherwise...
, are also a common tradition among Montgomery Blair High School's populace. The 2009 senior prank was acted out on Blair Boulevard, as a senior student climbed a light pole and gave a dramatic recitation of lines from The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
through a loud megaphone to students traveling in the halls between lunch periods. Students crowded the hall before running out of the building. The 2010 senior prank included the hacking of electronic signs throughout the campus to make them read "Prom Canceled" or "Open Lunch is now in Effect".
Math Team
In the Math Team, students gain a broader view of algebra and geometry, which they are not able to obtain in their math classes. Most meetings include the practice and review of non-calculus-based competition-oriented mathematics problems, as well as the teaching of useful lesser-known proofs or problem-solving methods. Older, more experienced members often teach the younger members, building a strong mentorship among the students. The Math Team is open to anyone who wishes to join, unlike Takoma Park Middle SchoolTakoma Park Middle School
Takoma Park Middle School is a public middle school in Takoma Park in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. TPMS contains a total of 18 academic departments, as well as a specialized magnet program...
's Math Team, in which applicants are required to take an extrance screening exam. Members of the Math Team participate in competitions including: Montgomery County Mathematics League, Maryland Math League, Mandelbrot
Mandelbrot Competition
Named in honor of the Mandelbrot set, the Mandelbrot Competition is a mathematics competition founded by Sam Vandervelde, Richard Rusczyk and Sandor Lehoczky that allows high school students to compete individually and in four-person teams.-Competition:...
, University of Maryland (UMD) Math Competition, American Mathematics Competition (AMC), American Invitational Mathematics Examination
American Invitational Mathematics Examination
The American Invitational Mathematics Examination is a 15-question 3-hour test given since 1983 to those who rank in the top 5% on the AMC 12 high school mathematics contest , and starting in 2010, those who rank in the top 2.5% on the AMC 10.The AIME is the second of two tests used to determine...
(AIME), USA Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO), Calculus League, Princeton University Mathematics Competition
Princeton University Mathematics Competition
The Princeton University Mathematics Competition is an annual high school mathematics competition started in 2006. The contest is written, organized, and staffed entirely by Princeton students. In the past, it has been held variously in December, November, and January of the school year...
(PUMaC), Harvard–MIT Mathematics Tournament, and the American Regions Mathematics League
American Regions Mathematics League
The American Regions Mathematics League , is an annual high school mathematics team competition held simultaneously at four locations in the United States: the University of Iowa, Penn State, UNLV, and the newly added site at the University of Georgia. Past sites have included San Jose and at Duke...
(ARML). The Math Team has won county competitions for 22 straight years.
Physics Team
The Physics Team is designed for those who have a strong interest in physicsPhysics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and want to use their knowledge to solve problems and build machines, while pursuing the field to great depths. The upperclassmen student instructors often give lectures on advanced-level physics concepts that aren't commonly taught in the public school curriculum. Team members participate in competitions such as Final Frontiers, Physics Olympics, U.S. Physics Olympiad, International Physics Olympiad
International Physics Olympiad
The International Physics Olympiad is an annual physics competition for high school students. It is one of the International Science Olympiads. The first IPhO was held in Warsaw, Poland in 1967....
(IPhO), and the AAPT Physics Bowl. The team prepares for these competitions by working on practice problems and discussing efficient solutions. In addition, the Physics Team does hands-on demonstrations and labs on a variety of topics.
Computer Team
Montgomery Blair's Computer Team specializes in advanced computer science topics and programming algorithms which greatly extend the classroom curriculum. Upperclassmen students teach new and complex algorithms, data structures, and programming techniques, including Dijkstra's shortest-path algorithm, dynamic programing, and greedy algorithms. The team also delves into other miscellaneous theoretical computer science topics including turing machines, nondeterministic polynomial time, random number generationRandom number generation
A random number generator ) is a computational or physical device designed to generate a sequence of numbers or symbols that lack any pattern, i.e. appear random....
, assembly language
Assembly language
An assembly language is a low-level programming language for computers, microprocessors, microcontrollers, and other programmable devices. It implements a symbolic representation of the machine codes and other constants needed to program a given CPU architecture...
, and relational databases. The Computer Team participates in the American Computer Science League
American Computer Science League
ACSL , or the American Computer Science League, is an international computer science competition among more than 200 schools. Each round consists of two parts: a written section and a programming section...
(ACSL), Loyola Programming Contest, University of Maryland Programming Contest, and the USA Computing Olympiad
United States of America Computing Olympiad
The United States of America Computing Olympiad is a computer programming competition aimed primarily at secondary school students in the United States. Participants of the USACO submit programs in one of five languages, C, C++, Java, Pascal, and Python, to various competitions held throughout the...
(USACO).
Robotics Team
Founded in 2000, the MBHS Robotics Team consists of over 50 members and specializes on designing, building, and programming a refrigerator-sized robot to compete in the annual international FIRST Robotics CompetitionFIRST Robotics Competition
The FIRST Robotics Competition is an international high school robotics competition organized by FIRST. Each year, teams of high school students compete to build robots weighing up to , not including battery and bumpers, that can complete a task, which changes every year...
(FRC). The team is unique because it is almost entirely student-run, withholding a strict hierarchical system which consists of a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and five subdivisions (Mechanics, Electronics, Programming, Tech, Public Relations), each with their own respective leaders. The course of each year is broken into four "seasons", similar to those of American sports: Training Season (fall), Build Season (winter), Competition Season (winter/spring), and Outreach/Fundraising Season (spring/summer). In the training season, veteran team members recruit and train the incoming freshmen in each specialized subdivision, so that they will acquire the experience and skill needed to assist in building the robot. After receiving competition specifications from FIRST
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one.First or 1st may also refer to:* First , minor summit below the Schwarzhorn in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland* First , mountain in Bernese Alps in Switzerland...
, the team brainstorms a design and frantically works during the six-week Build Season to complete the robot. Upon completion, the robot is tested and shipped off to a facility for inspection. During Competition Season, team members travel with the robot to various locations to compete with other robots built by teams around the nation and the world. In the Outreach/Fundraising Season, the team participates in public events and demonstrations, and works on minor improvement projects. The team's Tech Subdivision maintains at least three UNIX
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
servers, one of which hosts the student-run team website, robot.mbhs.edu. In 2004, the MBHS Robotics Team was a Chesapeake Regional Winner. In 2008, the team was a New Jersey Regional quarter-finalist, a Chesapeake Regional semi-finalist, and won the Driving Tomorrow's Technology Award. In 2009, the team was a Chesapeake Regional quarter-finalist. The Robotics team provides an enriching engineering experience, and great teamwork, leadership, and scholarship opportunities. In 2010 it reached the semi-finals in the Washington D.C. Regional and was an alliance captain for the North Carolina Regional and reached the quarter-finals. It also won the Creativity Award at the 2010 North Carolina Regional. In 2011, the team was a Washington D.C. Regional quarter-finalist and a North Carolina Regional semi-finalist. In addition, the team won the Team Spirit Award in the North Carolina Regional.
Academic Team
MBHS's Academic TeamQuizbowl
Quiz bowl is a family of games of questions and answers on all topics of human knowledge that is commonly played by students enrolled in high school or college, although some participants begin in middle or even elementary school...
is made up of a group of trivia buffs who practice year round to compete in trivia competitions, such as the Knowledge Master Open
Knowledge Master Open
The Knowledge Master Open is a computer-based semiannual worldwide academic competition in which teams of students from many schools earn points by answering multiple-choice questions quickly and accurately...
, Quizmaster Challenge, and the Rumble on the Pike. The Academic Team has won the It's Academic
It's Academic
It's Academic is a televised academic quiz competition for high school students, currently airing on two NBC affiliates in Washington, D.C. and Central Virginia and one CBS affiliate Baltimore, Maryland . The show has been on the air since October 7, 1961, making it the longest...
DC Regional championship in 1995 and in 2009, as well as the Knowledge Master Open
Knowledge Master Open
The Knowledge Master Open is a computer-based semiannual worldwide academic competition in which teams of students from many schools earn points by answering multiple-choice questions quickly and accurately...
in 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, and in 2009. In 2010 the team reached the It's Academic
It's Academic
It's Academic is a televised academic quiz competition for high school students, currently airing on two NBC affiliates in Washington, D.C. and Central Virginia and one CBS affiliate Baltimore, Maryland . The show has been on the air since October 7, 1961, making it the longest...
semifinal and placed 36th out of 64 teams at the PACE NSC tournament.
Government and Politics
- Stan GreenbergStan GreenbergStanley Bernard Greenberg is a leading Democratic pollster and political strategist who has advised the campaigns of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and John Kerry, as well as hundreds of other candidates and organizations in the United States and around the world, including the former Bundeskanzler ...
, pollster for U.S. president Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and others - Craig L. RiceCraig L. RiceCraig L. Rice is an American politician, a member of the Montgomery County Council and a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing District 15 in western and northern Montgomery County.-Background:...
, Member of Maryland House of Delegates, (District 15)
Academia
- Maneesh AgrawalaManeesh AgrawalaManeesh Agrawala is an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley, in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, where he leads the Visualization Lab.He received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2009....
, Professor of Computer Science at Berkeley, Winner of the 2009 MacArthur Fellowship (aka MacArthur Genius Award). - Michael Fischer, PhD, Anthropologist, Harvard/MIT Faculty.
- Wei-Hwa HuangWei-Hwa HuangWei-Hwa Huang is an award-winning American puzzler and member of the US Team for the World Puzzle Federation....
, member of the US Team for the World Puzzle Federation - Jacob LurieJacob LurieJacob Alexander Lurie is an American mathematician, who is currently a professor at Harvard University.-Life:While in school, Lurie took part in the International Mathematical Olympiad, where he won a gold medal with a perfect score in 1994...
, professor of mathematics at Harvard UniversityHarvard UniversityHarvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
Sports
- Steve BarberSteve BarberStephen David Barber was an American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1960-1974 for seven different teams, but is noted primarily for his time with the Baltimore Orioles...
, pitcher for the Major League BaseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
team Baltimore OriolesBaltimore OriolesThe 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...
in the 1960s - Tom Brown, player for National Football LeagueNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
teams the Green Bay PackersGreen Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
and Washington RedskinsWashington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
and for Major League Baseball's Washington SenatorsTexas Rangers (baseball)The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have... - Dominique DawesDominique DawesDominique Margaux Dawes is a retired United States artistic gymnast. She was 10-year member of the U.S. national gymnastics team, the 1994 U.S. all-around senior National Champion, a three-time Olympian, a World Championships silver medalist and a member of the gold-medal winning "Magnificent...
, Olympic Gymnast (transferred to Gaithersburg High SchoolGaithersburg High SchoolGaithersburg High School is located in Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States. Part of Montgomery County Public Schools, the school was founded in 1904 as "Gaithersburg School" and offered grades K-12. Since 1951, the school resides at 314 South Frederick Avenue and currently offers education for...
) - David Dzenitis, Linebacker, Manitoba Minotaurs (Canadian Football LeagueCanadian Football LeagueThe Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
) - Steve FrancisSteve FrancisSteven D'Shawn Francis is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. He had also played for the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, and New York Knicks...
, National Basketball AssociationNational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
player with the Houston RocketsHouston RocketsThe Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being... - Sonny Jackson, professional baseball player
- Visanthe ShiancoeVisanthe ShiancoeVisanthe Shiancoe is an American football tight end who currently plays for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League.-High school:...
, starting tight endTight endThe tight end is a position in American football on the offense. The tight end is often seen as a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like offensive linemen, they are usually lined up on the offensive line and are large enough to be...
for the NFL team the Minnesota VikingsMinnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960... - David VanterpoolDavid VanterpoolDavid Vanterpool is a retired American professional basketball player who played for various teams around the globe. An all-around 6 ft 5 in shooting guard-small forward, he earned an All-Euroleague Second Team selection during the Euroleague 2003-04 season, while playing for Euroleague...
, National Basketball AssociationNational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
player - Willis WilsonWillis WilsonWillis Thomas Wilson, Jr. is the head coach of the Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders men's basketball team. He previously served an assistant coach for the Memphis Tigers basketball team. Previously, Wilson was head coach of the college basketball team at Rice University for 16 seasons...
, former head men's basketball coach at Rice UniversityRice UniversityWilliam Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States... - Bob WindsorBob WindsorRobert Edward Windsor is a former tight end in the National Football League.Windsor played a total of nine seasons in the NFL, five with the San Francisco 49ers and four with the New England Patriots...
, player for National Football LeagueNational Football LeagueThe National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
teams the San Francisco 49ersSan Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
and New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... - Morgan WoottenMorgan WoottenMorgan Bayard Wootten is an American former high school basketball coach.From 1956 to 2002, he coached at DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. He has the most wins as a head coach in the history of basketball on any level. A number of his players went on to play in the NBA,...
, Hall of Fame basketball coach
Arts and Media
- Carl BernsteinCarl BernsteinCarl Bernstein is an American investigative journalist who, at The Washington Post, teamed up with Bob Woodward; the two did the majority of the most important news reporting on the Watergate scandal. These scandals led to numerous government investigations, the indictment of a vast number of...
, journalistJournalismJournalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
who helped break the Watergate scandalWatergate scandalThe Watergate scandal was a political scandal during the 1970s in the United States resulting from the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement...
for The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation... - Kiran ChetryKiran ChetryKiran Carrie Chetry was a co-anchor of CNN's early morning cable news program, American Morning.-Early life:Kiran means "ray of light". Chetry refers to the large traditional caste of rulers and soldiers among Hindus in the Middle Hills of Nepal. Kiran's father Hom Chetry belongs to this caste...
, journalist, CNN Anchor - Connie ChungConnie ChungConnie Chung, full name: Constance Yu-Hwa Chung Povich is an American journalist who has been an anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and MSNBC. Some of her more famous interview subjects include Claus von Bülow and U.S...
, broadcast journalist - Doug Curran, singer/recording artist, The LettermenThe LettermenThe Lettermen are an American male pop music vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959...
- Matt DrudgeMatt DrudgeMatthew Nathan Drudge is the American creator and editor of the Drudge Report, a news aggregation website. Drudge is self-described as being conservative and populist. Drudge has also authored a book and hosted a radio show and a television show.-Early years:Matthew Drudge was raised in Takoma...
, news aggregator - Tyrone GiordanoTyrone GiordanoTyrone Giordano is a deaf American actor.An alumnus of Montgomery Blair High School and Gallaudet University, he began acting in Washington, DC in 1999...
, Actor - Goldie HawnGoldie HawnGoldie Jeanne Hawn is an American actress, film director, producer, and occasional singer. Hawn is known for her roles in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Private Benjamin, Foul Play, Overboard, Bird on a Wire, Death Becomes Her, The First Wives Club, and Cactus Flower, for which she won the 1969...
, actress - Ron HollowayRon HollowayRonald Edward "Ron" Holloway is an American tenor saxophonist. He is listed in the Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz where veteran jazz critic Ira Gitler described Holloway as a "bear-down-hard-bopper who can blow authentic R&B and croon a ballad with warm, blue feeling." Holloway is the recipient...
, tenor saxophonist - Eric HutchinsonEric HutchinsonEric Hutchinson is an American singer-songwriter. He signed with Madonna's Maverick Records, but the label shut down before his album was released. Hutchinson recorded and released the album Sounds Like This on his own...
, Singer-songwriter - Rick LeventhalRick LeventhalRichard Gary Leventhal , known professionally as Rick Leventhal, is an American reporter. He is a senior correspondent for Fox News Channel since June 1997. Before joining FNC he spent 10 years in local news, reporting and anchoring in markets including Columbia and Spartanburg, West Palm Beach and...
, broadcast journalist, Correspondent, Fox News Channel - Bob LongBob Long (disambiguation)Bob Long may refer to:*Bob Long, football player *Bob Long , football player *Bob Long , former Major League Baseball pitcher...
, Vice President, NBC - Tom MarrTom MarrTom Marr is an American talk radio host on WCBM in Baltimore, Maryland known for his conservative political views. His radio career spans close to 45 years, mostly in Baltimore, although he has worked in other major markets during that same period of time.In the Talkers Magazine list for 2010 he...
, Former Baltimore OriolesBaltimore OriolesThe 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...
radio broadcaster, and longtime radio talk show host on Baltimore's WCBMWCBMWCBM is a Talk formatted broadcast radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. The station is owned by WCBM Maryland, Inc., which also owns WVIE, 1370 AM...
(680-AM) - Peter Myers, author of motivational texts.
- Ananth Panagariya, writer for Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
comic and web comic AppleGeeksApplegeeksApplegeeks was a webcomic illustrated by Mohammad Haque, and written by Ananth Panagariya. The comic was usually updated every Monday and Thursday. A small, spin-off comic, dubbed Applegeeks Lite, was begun on April 18, 2006, and updates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays... - Chuck ReddChuck ReddChuck Redd is an American drummer and vibraphonist. Chuck joined the Charlie Byrd Trio in 1980 at the age of 21. The same year, he joined the Great Guitars Chuck has done twelve European tours and five tours of Japan, with the Barney Kessel Trio, Ken Peplowski, Terry Gibbs and Conte...
, jazzJazzJazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
percussionist who played with Charlie ByrdCharlie ByrdCharlie Lee Byrd was a famous and versatile American guitarist born in Suffolk, Virginia. His earliest and strongest musical influence was Django Reinhardt, the famous gypsy guitarist. Byrd became the American guitarist who best understood and played Brazilian music, especially the Bossa Nova genre...
, Barney KesselBarney KesselBarney Kessel was an American jazz guitarist born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, USA. Generally considered to be one of the greatest jazz guitarists of the 20th century, he was noted in particular for his vast knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies...
, Dizzy GillespieDizzy GillespieJohn Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie was an American jazz trumpet player, bandleader, singer, and composer dubbed "the sound of surprise".Together with Charlie Parker, he was a major figure in the development of bebop and modern jazz...
, Mel TorméMel TorméMelvin Howard Tormé , nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician, known for his jazz singing. He was also a jazz composer and arranger, a drummer, an actor in radio, film, and television, and the author of five books...
and Ken PeplowskiKen PeplowskiKen Peplowski is a jazz clarinetist born in Cleveland, Ohio, known primarily for playing in the swing music idiom. He is sometimes compared to Benny Goodman in terms of tone and virtuosity... - William Addams ReitwiesnerWilliam Addams ReitwiesnerWilliam Addams Reitwiesner was a genealogist who traced the ancestry of United States political figures, European royalty and celebrities.- Biography :...
, genealogist - Todd Rex (T-Rexx), comedian
- Barry Richards, disc jockey, WHMC, host of Groove-in on television
- Donna RichardsonDonna RichardsonDonna Richardson Joyner is an American fitness and aerobics instructor, author and ESPN television sports commentator. Widely known for her series of fitness videos, she was appointed in 2006 by President George W. Bush to serve on the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports...
, American fitness and aerobics instructor, author and ESPN television sports commentator; wife of radio personality Tom Joyner - Nora RobertsNora RobertsNora Roberts is a bestselling American author of more than 209 romance novels. She writes as J.D. Robb for the "In Death" series, and has also written under the pseudonym Jill March...
, romance novelRomance novelThe romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
ist - Eric ShansbyEric ShansbyEric Shansby, commonly known as Shansby, is a cartoonist and illustrator for various American periodicals, including the Washington Post. His cartoons appear weekly next to humorist Gene Weingarten's "Below The Beltway" column. Shansby is from Silver Spring, Maryland. He studied philosophy at Yale...
, The Washington Post cartoonistCartoonistA cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising... - Norman SolomonNorman SolomonNorman Solomon is an American journalist, media critic, antiwar activist, and current candidate for the United States House of Representatives. Solomon is a longtime associate of the media watch group Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting...
, journalist - Ben SteinBen SteinBenjamin Jeremy "Ben" Stein is an American actor, writer, lawyer, and commentator on political and economic issues. He attained early success as a speechwriter for American presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford...
, economist; actor; speech writer for U.S. President Richard NixonRichard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under... - Lisa Ann WalterLisa Ann WalterLisa Ann Walter is an American actress, comedienne, writer and film producer. She has appeared in such films as the 1998 version of The Parent Trap, Bruce Almighty, Shall We Dance, and War of the Worlds as Cheryl. Walter also created and starred in the short-lived 1996-1997 sitcom, Life's Work...
, TV and movie actress, comedienne