Chopticon High School
 |
| Chopticon High school | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
| , | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public Secondary |
| Motto | Pride Inside |
| Established | 1965 |
| School district | St. Mary's County Public Schools |
| Principal | Mr. Garth Bowling |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Number of students | 1,687 (2005–2006) |
| Campus | Rural |
| Color(s) | Red and Black |
| Athletics | Southern Maryland Athletic Conference |
| Newspaper | The Icon |
| Faculty | 119 |
| Website | Chopticon High |
38°21′35″N 76°42′21″W / 38.35973°N 76.70589°W Chopticon High School is a comprehensive public high school of 1,600+ students in grades 9–12. It offers college preparatory programs and programs that prepare students for business and technical occupations. It serves the community in the northern portion of St. Mary's County, Maryland, between the Potomac River and Patuxent River. The area is mainly rural communities, with a recent rise in suburban development. Many of the families are employed by NAS Patuxent River, government contractors, St. Mary's College of Maryland, St Mary's County government, and traditional agriculture and water-related businesses.
Chopticon High School is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and the Maryland State Department of Education. Chopticon High School belongs to the St. Mary's County Public School System (or SMCPS) and is associated with two other county high schools: Great Mills High School and Leonardtown High School.
Chopticon High School Athletics belong to the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference, and competes in Division 3A in the state competitions.
Chopticon High School was founded in 1965, as a replacement to Margaret Brent High School (founded in 1921 – now Margaret Brent Middle School).
Motto
Chopticon's motto is "Pride inside".
Course Selection
By sophomore year (grade 10) students are given the option to take AP Government, which is the first college placement course available. By junior year the school offers AP Chemistry, AP Environmental, AP Biology, AP Psychology, AP Physics, AP World History, and AP English. These courses offer the students the benefit of potential college credit. This credit is received if the student achieves a set score on an end-of-year exam, one exam for each AP course taken.
Chopticon also offers enrollment into the James K. Polk career and technology center. The "tech" center offers a very wide variety of courses for students to take, most of which are heavily geared toward comprehensive experience in a real career field. A few examples of courses offered are Culinary Arts, Computer Networking, and Engineering Technology. Students who enroll in these courses receive hands-on training in their desired career field.