McDonogh School

This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources:  "McDonogh School"  –  news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2013) ( Learn how and when to remove this message )

McDonogh School
Allan Building on the school campus
Address
8600 McDonogh Road Owings Mills , Maryland 21117 United States
Coordinates	39°23′40″N76°46′40″W / 39.39444°N 76.77778°W / 39.39444; -76.77778
Information
Type	Independent School, Boarding
Established	1873 (1873)
Head of school	David J. Farace
Grades	Pre-K to 12
Enrollment	1,431 (2020–2021)
Color(s)	Orange and Black
Mascot	Eagle
Endowment	$80 million
Tuition	Pre-Kindergarten $22,250; Kindergarten and Pre-First $32,100; Lower School $34,800; Middle School $36,850; Upper School $38,750; Upper School Five-day Boarding $52,250 (2023–2024) [1]
Website	www.mcdonogh.org

McDonogh School is a private, coeducational, PK-12, non-denominational school situated on an 800-acre campus in Owings Mills, Maryland. McDonogh enrolls 1,460 students, approximately 75 of whom participate in the Upper School's five-day boarding program. ^[2] The school employs approximately 190 full-time faculty members, more than 67% of whom hold advanced degrees and more than 50 of whom live on-campus. ^[2]

Contents

• History
• Academics
• Roots Farm
• Notable alumni
• References
• External links

Founded in 1873, McDonogh has a long legacy of delivering educational excellence. It is regarded as one of the Baltimore region's most prestigious preparatory schools and has been called a "Power School" by Baltimore magazine. ^[3] The school's students frequently matriculate to Ivy League and other top-ranked colleges and universities. ^[4] McDonogh's athletic programs have also seen widespread success, particularly in lacrosse, soccer, wrestling, track, and football, where the school's teams have been nationally ranked in recent years.

The school is a member of the Association of Independent Maryland Schools and the National Association of Independent Schools. ^{[2] [5]}

History

The school was established outside of Baltimore, Maryland in 1873 and funded by the estate of John McDonogh (1779 - 1850), a former Baltimore resident and enslaver. ^{[6] [7]} The McDonogh campus encompasses 800 acres of land and houses more than 15 educational buildings including a new home for the middle school, The Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Building.

McDonogh was established as a semi-military school for orphan boys who worked on the farm in exchange for their tuition, room, and board. Paying students arrived in 1922, and day students in 1927. The first African-American student was admitted in 1959, eight years after Brown v. Board of Education outlawed school segregation. ^[7] In 1971, the military traditions of the school were discontinued. ^[8] The school became coeducational in 1975. McDonogh School's annual tuition ranges from $23,550 for Pre-Kindergarten students up to $41,050 for students of the Upper School. ^[9] Financial aid continues to this day, with $7.1 million in need-based aid awarded in the 2023-2024 school year. ^[2]

David J. Farace, the present head of school, is the 13th person to hold this position. He assumed the role in 2018, succeeding Charles W. Britton. ^[10]

Academics

McDonogh's curriculum is centered around LifeReady, the school's distinctive academic framework that elevates programs with enhanced rigor and ignites creativity in its faculty, empowering students to excel and distinguish themselves as self-reliant, critical thinkers ready to make a meaningful impact in an ever-evolving world. LifeReady classrooms are vibrant spaces of inquiry, analysis, and understanding where students take an active role in their learning. ^[11]

The Upper School offers a college preparatory curriculum that includes English, world languages, social studies and history, mathematics, science and computer science, visual and performing arts, debate, wellness, and physical education courses. Honors or Advanced courses are available in all academic departments. ^[12] Upper School students must also complete a community service requirement. All students perform an academic project independently or in small groups during the final three weeks of their senior year. ^[13]

At every grade level, students grow from purposeful character education and are guided by the virtues on McDonogh’s Character Compass: honesty, kindness, respect, responsibility, and service. ^[14]

Academic and personal integrity is emphasized in the Middle and Upper School's Honor Code, which a student-run Honor Council enforces. The Honor Code reads:

I will not lie, cheat, or steal. I will respect the rights and well-being of myself and others. ^[13]

Roots Farm

Roots Farm started as a community garden in 2009 and is now a 10-acre vibrant outdoor classroom on the edge of McDonogh’s campus. With an ever-changing landscape, two barns, a greenhouse, 10 beehives, chickens and turkeys, and a culinary kitchen and outdoor brick oven, Roots is a teaching and learning space used by faculty in all disciplines. ^[15]

In keeping with the school's commitment to "do the greatest amount of good," the bulk of produce harvested by students and community volunteers is donated to the Maryland Food Bank’s Farm to Food Bank program. The produce is also served in the School’s dining halls, and a portion is sold to local restaurants with proceeds supporting our seed-to-table program. In 2023, the farm donated 6,685 pounds of produce to the Maryland Food Bank. ^[16]

Roots Farm also hosts Honey of a JamFest, an annual celebration held usually in late September. It includes a corn maze and farm games such as outdoor Connect 4. ^[17] In 2024, the event was postponed from late September to mid-October due to rain from Hurricane Helene.

Notable alumni

• David Adkins, ^[18] actor and playwright
• Grant Aleksander (1978), actor and director
• Nina Basu (1998), arts administrator and attorney
• John R. Bolton (1966), National Security Advisor of the United States
• Edward Marshall Boehm (1929), sculptor
• Wallace E. Boston, Jr., president and chief executive officer, American Public University System
• Luke Broadwater (1998), journalist, Pulitzer Prize and George Polk Award winner ^[19]
• Henry G. Chiles, Jr. (1956), former commander-in-chief of the United States Strategic Command
• Ken Cloude, former professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners ^[20]
• Jazwyn Cowan, professional basketball player.
• Taylor Cummings (2012), women's field lacrosse player for the University of Maryland, first person to win the Tewaaraton Award three times
• Bruce Davidson (1968), world champion equestrian, Olympic gold medalist
• Dani Dennis-Sutton (2022), college football defensive end for the Penn State Nittany Lions ^[21]
• W. Timothy Finan, Maryland state delegate and judge ^[22]
• Henry Gantt (1878), mechanical engineer and management consultant, most famous for developing the Gantt chart in the 1910s
• Darrius Heyward-Bey (2005), 7th pick of 2009 NFL draft and former University of Maryland wide receiver, current NFL wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers
• Louis Hyman (1995), economic historian
• Curtis Jacobs (2020), college football linebacker for the Penn State Nittany Lions ^[23]
• Eric King (2000), defensive back for the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans
• Kayel Locke, professional basketball player.
• Myles Martin (2015), freestyle and collegiate wrestler, NCAA champion
• James McDaniel (1976), actor, played Lt. Fancy on NYPD Blue
• Ben Queen (1992), screenwriter, television producer, wrote Disney/Pixar's Cars 2 and Cars 3
• Pam Shriver (1979), former professional tennis player and current sports broadcaster
• Frederic N. Smalkin (1964), Maryland's Chief Federal District Judge and brigadier general ^[24]
• Giles Smith (2009), competitive swimmer, Pac 12 Scholar athlete of the year, ^[25] NCAA medley champion, ^[26] 2015 Pan American Games gold medalist in 100-meter fly with Pan American Games record time. ^[27]
• DaJuan Summers (2006), former Georgetown University basketball player, drafted by the Detroit Pistons in the 2009 NBA Draft
• Evan Taubenfeld (2001), Sire/Warner Bros. recording artist, EMI professional pop staff songwriter; Avril Lavigne's lead guitarist from spring 2002 to September 2004
• Joseph D. Tydings (1946), former senator for Maryland, 1965–1971
• Jenn Wasner (2004), indie rock musician
• Josh Woods (2014), professional football player for the Chicago Bears ^[28]

Related Research Articles

Salisbury University is a public university in Salisbury, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1925, Salisbury University is a member of the University System of Maryland, with a fall 2022 enrollment of 7,123.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs and the first university research park in Maryland. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very High Research Activity".

Towson University is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university has evolved into eight subsidiary colleges with over 20,000 students. Its 329-acre campus is situated in Baltimore County, Maryland, eight miles north of downtown Baltimore. Towson is one of the largest public universities in Maryland and still produces the most teachers of any university in the state.

Bowie State University is a public historically black university in Prince George's County, Maryland, north of Bowie. It is part of the University System of Maryland. Founded in 1865, Bowie State is Maryland's oldest historically black university and one of the ten oldest in the country. Bowie State is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

The University of Baltimore is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is part of the University System of Maryland. UBalt's schools and colleges provide education in business, law, public affairs, and the applied arts and sciences. The university is the location of one of Maryland's two law schools.

The University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) is a public university in Adelphi, Maryland. It is the largest institution in the University System of Maryland. Established in 1947 as the College of Special and Continuation Studies of the University of Maryland, College Park for mid-career working professionals and non-traditional students, UMGC offers online, hybrid and face-to-face instruction at education centers across the Washington–Baltimore metropolitan area, throughout Maryland, and across the world.

Notre Dame of Maryland University is a private Catholic university in Baltimore, Maryland. NDMU offers certificate, undergraduate, and graduate programs for women and men.

Loyola Blakefield is a private Catholic, college preparatory school run by the USA East Province of the Society of Jesus in Towson, Maryland and within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. It was established in 1852 by the Jesuits as an all-boys school for students from Baltimore, Baltimore County, Harford County, Carroll County, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, and Southern Pennsylvania. It enrolls over 900 students in grades six through twelve. The school was originally called Loyola High School when it was established in 1852. The name change occurred when it added a middle school.

Gilman School is an all-boys independent school located in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. There are three school divisions: Lower School, grades pre-kindergarten through five; Middle School, grades six through eight; and Upper School, grades nine through twelve. Founded in 1897 as the Country School for Boys, it was the first country day school in the US. It is named for Daniel Coit Gilman, the first president of Johns Hopkins University and an early supporter of efforts by Anne Galbraith Carey to form an all-boys day school.

Boys' Latin School of Maryland is an all-boys, university-preparatory school located in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1844, it is the oldest independent, nonsectarian secondary school in the state of Maryland. The school is divided into Lower, Middle and Upper Schools. There are approximately 640 students in kindergarten through twelfth grades.

Concord Academy is a coeducational, independent college-preparatory school for boarding and day students in Concord, Massachusetts. CA educates approximately 400 students in grades 9-12. Unusually for a boarding school, a majority of CA students are day students.

Stratford University was a private university based in Virginia. Founded in 1976, Stratford delivered online, classroom, and blended online/classroom programs. It closed at the end of the Fall 2022 semester after losing its accreditation.

Garrison Forest School (GFS) is a non-denominational private college preparatory boarding and day school located on a 110 acres (45 ha) campus in Owings Mills, Maryland. GFS offers kindergarten through 12th grade for girls as well as a co-educational program for pre-K. The school is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and the Association of Independent Maryland Schools.

Archbishop Spalding High School is a private, Catholic co-educational high school located in Severn, Maryland, USA. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore. Most of its students live in Annapolis, Crownsville, Arnold, Pasadena, Severna Park, Crofton, Millersville, Glen Burnie, or Davidsonville in Anne Arundel County. Some also travel from southern Baltimore County, east Prince George's County and parts of Howard County. Spalding has numerous clubs for student involvement and/or academic competition, including Academic Bowl, Mock Trial, Strategic Gaming, HOPE and a NAIMUN award-winning Model United Nations team. It also has many competitive sports teams, such as rugby, soccer, cheerleading, dance, basketball, softball, american football, ice hockey, baseball, lacrosse, track and cross country. These athletic teams compete in the MIAA and the IAAM Conferences. The school sponsors a highly competitive music program, in which students participate in interstate competitions each year. Archbishop Spalding's mascot is the Cavalier.

Benedictine College Preparatory is a private Catholic military high school in Goochland, Virginia. It is owned and operated by the Benedictine Society of Virginia, part of the American-Cassinese Congregation. Benedictine offers education through a private military institute model, which has long been a traditional form of education for young men in Virginia.

The Catholic High School of Baltimore is an independent, private, all-girls, Catholic high school in Baltimore, Maryland, sponsored by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia.

St. Paul's School for Girls is an independent college-preparatory school in Brooklandville, Maryland, founded in 1959 to replace an older girls' school which had been closed.

Frostburg State University (FSU) is a public university in Frostburg, Maryland. The university is the only four-year institution of the University System of Maryland west of the Baltimore-Washington passageway in the state's Appalachian highlands. Founded in 1898 by Maryland State Senator, John Leake, Frostburg was selected because the site offered the best suitable location without a cost to the state. Today, the institution is a largely residential university.

The University of Maryland, College Park is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Maryland.

Calvert Hall College High School is a Catholic college preparatory high school for boys, located in Towson, Maryland, United States. The school was established in 1845 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools as a Catholic college preparatory high school for boys. It is the oldest Christian Brothers school in the United States.

References

External links

• McDonogh School official website