Towson Catholic
Encyclopedia
Towson Catholic High School was a private
Catholic
, co-educational high school in the Baltimore
suburb of Towson, Maryland
, whose closing was announced in July, 2009. At its peak enrollment in the 1960s and 1970s, more than 400 children attended. Founded in 1922 by a Catholic priest, Phillip Sheridan, it was the oldest Catholic high school in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore
when it closed. During its 86 years, the small school was long noted for its successful athletics program as well as personalized secondary-level education.
The high school's original classroom building was replaced by a modern, masonry structure constructed in 1953 on the same campus as Towson's Immaculate Conception Church and its affiliated Immaculate Conception School for elementary and middle grades. The high school was renowned for its successful basketball
program, producing a number of NBA
players, including Gene Shue
, Carmelo Anthony
and Donté Greene
. The girls' basketball team was ranked #1 nationwide in the U.S. three times during the early 1980s, as it fielded one of the most competitive teams in Maryland basketball history, going undefeated for 70 consecutive games from 1982 to 1985. Towson Catholic's athletic teams participated in the Baltimore Catholic League
.
. The parish's adjacent Immaculate Conception elementary-middle school is unaffected by the high school's closing and is said to be "thriving", according to the Archdiocese. At the announcement of the venerable school's closing, alumni said its students "got a solid education and learned to appreciate classical musicals as well as a good game of basketball". They praised the small school's personalized instruction and sense of community, "where everyone was popular". The news sparked a large demonstration by placard-wielding parents, students, and alumni in front of the school the next day protesting its closing, prompting a front page headline story, "Anger in Towson", in the Baltimore Sun. The protesters said they had no warning of the school's abrupt closing and told a reporter that greater fund-raising efforts should have been made to save the school. Baltimore Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien
said in a news release that the school's administrators had "expended great energy and countless hours to save the school from this fate."
Amidst continuing demonstrations and meetings with parents and alumni in the aftermath of the closing announcement, a lawsuit was filed by some parents on July 14, 2009, seeking to keep the school open. Alumni also began a fund-raising effort to overcome the school's financial deficit, although a Baltimore County Circuit Court judge declined on July 24 to grant an injunction
that would have kept the school open.
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
, co-educational high school in the Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
suburb of Towson, Maryland
Towson, Maryland
Towson is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 at the 2010 census...
, whose closing was announced in July, 2009. At its peak enrollment in the 1960s and 1970s, more than 400 children attended. Founded in 1922 by a Catholic priest, Phillip Sheridan, it was the oldest Catholic high school in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore
The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore is a particular church of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore as well as Allegany, Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Howard, and Washington Counties in Maryland...
when it closed. During its 86 years, the small school was long noted for its successful athletics program as well as personalized secondary-level education.
History
Towson Catholic High School was founded in 1922 by Phillip Sheridan, priest at Immaculate Conception Church, to provide secondary-level education to Roman Catholics in the growing Baltimore suburb of Towson.The high school's original classroom building was replaced by a modern, masonry structure constructed in 1953 on the same campus as Towson's Immaculate Conception Church and its affiliated Immaculate Conception School for elementary and middle grades. The high school was renowned for its successful basketball
Basketball
Basketball 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...
program, producing a number of NBA
National Basketball Association
The 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...
players, including Gene Shue
Gene Shue
Eugene William "Gene" Shue is a retired American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association . During his playing days he was a 6'2" 170 lb guard....
, Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Anthony
Carmelo Kiyan Anthony , nicknamed "Melo", is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association...
and Donté Greene
Donté Greene
Donté Dominic Greene is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the NBA...
. The girls' basketball team was ranked #1 nationwide in the U.S. three times during the early 1980s, as it fielded one of the most competitive teams in Maryland basketball history, going undefeated for 70 consecutive games from 1982 to 1985. Towson Catholic's athletic teams participated in the Baltimore Catholic League
Baltimore Catholic League
The Baltimore Catholic League , locally known as the Catholic League is a competitive basketball association composed of private Catholic high schools in the Baltimore, Maryland geographic area.- History :...
.
Closing
The Archdiocese announced on July 7, 2009, that the school would not re-open for the 2009–2010 term due to declining enrollment, which dropped from 244 students in the 2008–2009 school year to only 160 anticipated for 2009–2010. The resulting budget deficit of $650,000 projected for the following year necessitated the school's closure, an Archdiocesan spokesman told the Baltimore SunThe Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
. The parish's adjacent Immaculate Conception elementary-middle school is unaffected by the high school's closing and is said to be "thriving", according to the Archdiocese. At the announcement of the venerable school's closing, alumni said its students "got a solid education and learned to appreciate classical musicals as well as a good game of basketball". They praised the small school's personalized instruction and sense of community, "where everyone was popular". The news sparked a large demonstration by placard-wielding parents, students, and alumni in front of the school the next day protesting its closing, prompting a front page headline story, "Anger in Towson", in the Baltimore Sun. The protesters said they had no warning of the school's abrupt closing and told a reporter that greater fund-raising efforts should have been made to save the school. Baltimore Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien
Edwin Frederick O'Brien
Edwin Frederick O'Brien is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He is the current Pro-Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI on 29 August 2011...
said in a news release that the school's administrators had "expended great energy and countless hours to save the school from this fate."
Amidst continuing demonstrations and meetings with parents and alumni in the aftermath of the closing announcement, a lawsuit was filed by some parents on July 14, 2009, seeking to keep the school open. Alumni also began a fund-raising effort to overcome the school's financial deficit, although a Baltimore County Circuit Court judge declined on July 24 to grant an injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
that would have kept the school open.
Notable alumni
Past students at Towson Catholic High School include:- Carmelo AnthonyCarmelo AnthonyCarmelo Kiyan Anthony , nicknamed "Melo", is an American professional basketball player who currently plays for the New York Knicks in the National Basketball Association...
, NBA basketball player, attended three years before completing high school at Oak Hill AcademyOak Hill Academy (Virginia)Oak Hill Academy is a co-educational, private Baptist-affiliated secondary school in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, United States. Oak Hill's enrollment of approximately 150 students is 98% boarders, serving grades 8–12...
in Virginia - Donte GreeneDonté GreeneDonté Dominic Greene is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the NBA...
, NBA basketball player with the Sacramento KingsSacramento KingsThe Sacramento Kings are a professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California, United States. They are currently members of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association... - Melissa R. KellyMelissa R. KellyMelissa R. Kelly was appointed in 2001 to represent District 9B, which covers a portion of Baltimore County, Maryland.-Background:...
, former Maryland Delegate - Katherine A. KlausmeierKatherine A. KlausmeierKatherine A. "Kathy" Klausmeier is a Democratic politician from Maryland. She is currently serving in the Maryland State Senate and is a member of the Senate Finance Committee. She was first elected as a Delegate in 1994, and as a State Senator in 2002...
, member of the Maryland House of DelegatesMaryland House of DelegatesThe Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland, and is composed of 141 Delegates elected from 47 districts. The House chamber is located in the state capitol building on State Circle in Annapolis... - Janna LongJanna LongJanna Potter Long , born on February 5, 1971 in Florence, South Carolina, is a member of the contemporary Christian pop band Avalon. Janna is currently married to fellow Avalon band member Greg Long as of May 13, 2000 and have 3 daughters: Lillian, born 2004, Julia, born 2006, and Eleanor, born...
, singer - Jimmy MathisJimmy MathisJames Dunn Mathis at age 16 was the youngest pilot to fly solo across the United States. He was formerly the Republican candidate for the United States Congress in Maryland's 2nd congressional district.-Early life, career, and family:...
, Maryland politician - Anita NallAnita NallNadia Anita Nall , more familiarly known as Anita Nall and now Anita Nall-Richesson since her marriage to Luke Richesson in 2002, is a U.S. Olympic medalist in competitive swimming...
, 1992 Olympic swimming gold medalist - Gene ShueGene ShueEugene William "Gene" Shue is a retired American professional basketball player and coach in the National Basketball Association . During his playing days he was a 6'2" 170 lb guard....
, former NBA player and coach - Ambrose T. HartmanAmbrose T. HartmanAmbrose Thomas "Andy" Hartman , served as Deputy City Solicitor for Baltimore City from 1959 to 1961 and 1968 to 1993.- Biography :...
, former BaltimoreBaltimoreBaltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
Deputy City Solicitor - Malcolm DelaneyMalcolm DelaneyMalcolm Hakeem Delaney is an American college basketball player for the Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team. He is from Baltimore, Maryland and attended Towson Catholic High School.-Early life:...
, Virginia Tech basketball player - Marah Strickland, University of MarylandUniversity of MarylandWhen the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
basketball player - Billy DePaola, Stevenson University soccer player