Crofton High School (Maryland)
| Crofton High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
2291 Davidsonville Road , 21054 United States | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public secondary |
| Established | 2020 |
| Principal | Kathryn Feuerherd[2] |
| Grades | 9–10 in 2020–21, 9–11 in 2021–22, 9–12 in 2022–23[3] |
| Gender | Co-ed |
| Enrollment | 854[4] (2020–2021) |
| Capacity | 1,696[4] |
| Hours in school day | 7:30 am – 2:18 pm[1] |
| Campus size | 123.89 acres (50.14 ha)[4] |
| Campus type | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Red and Black[5][6] |
| Mascot | Cardinal[5][6] |
| Rival | TBD |
| Website | https://www.croftonhigh.com/ |
Crofton High School is a high school located in the suburban community of Crofton, Maryland, United States. It is part of the Anne Arundel County Public Schools system and lies about 10 minutes northwest of Annapolis, 25 minutes east of the District of Columbia, and 35 minutes southwest of Baltimore. It will serve students from the greater Crofton area.[7]
The school opened its doors (virtually[8]) on September 8, 2020, to students in grades 9 and 10 only. The school will have 11th grade students starting in the fall of 2021, and will have its first senior class in the fall of 2022 (comprising the school's first graduating class, the Class of 2023).[3]
History
Historically, all high school students in Crofton were served by Arundel High School in Gambrills. However, in the 1990s, Arundel High School began experiencing extreme overcrowding issues to point where the school held split sessions to alleviate the overcrowding. Eventually, community members started pushing for county officials to build a new high school in Crofton. In 1998, instead of building a new high school in Crofton, Anne Arundel County Public Schools officials decided to split Crofton Middle School students between two high schools in the county. The plan redistricted students zoned to Crofton Meadows and Crofton Woods Elementary Schools from Arundel High School to South River High School in Edgewater beginning in the fall of 1998.[9] Crofton residents were told by school district officials that the redistricting of students from Arundel to South River was only a temporary measure until a high school in Crofton would be built in the near future.[9] However, the "temporary" solution became permanent as Crofton Middle School graduates were continuously split between Arundel and South River High Schools for 17 years with no plans of a new Crofton High School. During those 17 years, Crofton residents (as well as residents of nearby towns such as Odenton and other areas in Anne Arundel County) were advocating for a new high school to be built, but many of the attempts were met with no success. The most recent was an activist group called "Build Crofton High School", formed in 2012 by Crofton residents.
In 2015, after AACPS did a professional study on their facilities and the results strongly suggested to build a new high school in Crofton, Anne Arundel County Public Schools adopted a plan to build a new high school in Crofton.[10] It was decided that the new high school would be built on a portion of the land that belongs to Crofton Park, behind Crofton Middle School. Construction for the new school building began in November 2017.[11]
Attendance boundaries for the school were finalized in April 2019.[12] On August 26, 2019, a community meeting was held at Crofton Middle School with attendance by parents, students, and area residents; the meeting included a ballot on an unofficial name for the new high school, in which voters favored the name "Crofton High School" with 323 out of 402 votes.[13] The name "Crofton High School" was officially approved by the county's Board of Education on September 11, 2019.[14]
Students
Crofton High School gathers all students with Crofton addresses and some students with Gambrills and Odenton addresses that fall within the Crofton area. The attendance area also includes a small portion of Davidsonville. Crofton High School only has one feeder middle school, which is Crofton Middle School. Crofton Middle School has four feeder elementary schools: Crofton E.S., Crofton Meadows E.S., Crofton Woods E.S., and Nantucket E.S.[12]
Crofton High School's grand-opening was not held in person, as Crofton High opened during the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like most other Maryland school districts, Anne Arundel County Public Schools decided to start the first half of the 2020–2021 school year virtually due to the second rise in cases of COVID-19 in July 2020. Thus, Crofton High opened its doors to its first students online.[8]
References
- ^ "CROFTON HIGH SCHOOL". Anne Arundel County Public Schools. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Lumpkin, Lauren (May 15, 2019). "Southern High principal named first principal of new Crofton high". The Capital.
- ^ a b Belt, Deb (August 24, 2018). "Crofton High School Will Only Hold 2 Grades In First Year: Crofton Area High School will only house two grades when it first opens in 2020, school leaders say". Crofton Patch. Patch Media. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ a b c 2020 Educational Facilities Master Plan (PDF), Planning Office, Anne Arundel County Public Schools, July 2020, pp. 146–147, retrieved July 28, 2020
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b AACPS Communications Office (November 6, 2019). "A SCHOOL'S IDENTITY TAKES FLIGHT: FOR CROFTON HIGH, IT'S THE CARDINALS!" (Press release). Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
- ^ a b Danley-Greiner, Kristin (November 6, 2019). "Crofton High School Unveils Mascot, Colors: Crofton High School officials have announced the school's mascot, a cardinal, and its colors red and black". Crofton Patch. Patch Media.
- ^ Belt, Deb (April 18, 2019). "Crofton High School Attendance Boundaries Approved By Board". Crofton Patch. Crofton, Maryland: Patch Media. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
- ^ a b Harris, Naomi (July 22, 2020). "Years in the making, new Crofton High School will start online in the fall". Capital Gazette. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Tassy, Elaine (February 22, 1998). "School board earmarks $1.75 million for South River High School upgrades Funds to ease impact of rerouted students". The Baltimore Sun.
- ^ Huang, Cindy (September 2, 2015). "The report is out: Five new schools recommended for Anne Arundel". The Capital.
- ^ "Crofton High School Ground-Breaking Ceremony Held". Crofton Patch. Crofton, Maryland: Patch Media. November 16, 2017.
- ^ a b "Will you be attending the new Crofton High School? Check here!". Eye On Annapolis. April 27, 2019.
- ^ Harris, Naomi (August 26, 2019). "Public voted Crofton High School as name to recommend to board". Capital Gazette. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ AACPS Communications Office (September 11, 2019). "Board of Education Unanimously Approves Crofton High School Name" (Press release). Anne Arundel County Public Schools.