Suitland High School

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Suitland High School
Address
5200 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, MD

20747

United States
Coordinates38°51′16.5″N 76°55′3″W / 38.854583°N 76.91750°W / 38.854583; -76.91750Coordinates: 38°51′16.5″N 76°55′3″W / 38.854583°N 76.91750°W / 38.854583; -76.91750
Information
School typePublicThe, Magnet High School
Motto"4P Strong, All Day Long!" (Peaceful, Positive, Productive, and Purposed)
Founded1951
School districtPrince George's County Public Schools
SuperintendentKevin M. Maxwell
PrincipalRonald Hollis
Grades9–12
Enrollment2,157
LanguageEnglish
CampusSuburban
Color(s)Scarlet Red and White    
Athletics conference4A
MascotRam
Feeder schoolsDrew-Freeman Middle School
Andrew Jackson Academy
WebsiteSuitland HS Website

Suitland High School is a public magnet high school located in the Suitland census-designated place in unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, near Forestville.[1][2] It is a part of Prince George's County Public Schools.

It is long regarded[who?] for its Visual and Performing Arts magnet program.[citation needed] Suitland hosts the most specialized programs of instruction in the county, which includes the Center for Visual and Performing Arts magnet program, an International Baccalaureate (IB) magnet program, the Technical Academy[permanent dead link] signature program, the America's Choice School Design signature program, and the Academy of Finance. Suitland also hosted a third magnet program, the University High School, until this was eliminated throughout the school system in 2006.

Suitland High School is a unique campus within the school system, being divided into four facilities, with three separate physical buildings which together comprise the Suitland High School complex. The main building houses the majority of the school's academic classes. Directly ahead of the main building is the Annabelle Ferguson Auditorium. Directly behind the main building is the Visual and Performing Arts Annex, which is a former junior high school. Attached to the main building (but generally regarded as another facility) is the Jesse J. Warr Vocational Center, an addition which houses the school's Technical Academy, a vocational program offering different areas of training for eleventh and twelfth graders seeking career and technical education for entrance into the working world upon graduation from high school.

The school serves:[3] all of Suitland CDP,[2] a section of the City of District Heights,[4] a section of the town of Capitol Heights,[5] all of Coral Hills CDP,[6] portions of Forestville CDP,[7] and a portion of Silver Hill CDP.[8]

History[]

Dr. Joe Hairston was principal from the school's inception as a magnet school in 1987 until the mid-1990s, when he left to be Superintendent of the Clayton County Board of Education in Jonesboro, Georgia, and later, Superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools for 12 years.

Mark Fossett was principal for more than a decade. Nate Newman was principal from 2012–2017. Dr. Angelique Acevedo-Barron has been co-principal since 2016. During SY 2017–2018, Assistant Principal Danny Miller will become co-principal due to Nate Newman becoming principal of Green Valley Academy.

In 2009 Sheryll Cashin said in The Failures of Integration: How Race and Class are Undermining the American Dream that Suitland High was one of several mostly black, mostly middle class PG County public high schools that were "decidedly underachieving: fewer than half of the seniors at these schools went on to attend four-year colleges in recent years."[9]

Beginning with the 2016–2017 school year, students previously attending the closed Forestville High School (a.k.a. Forestville Military Academy) began attending Suitland High.[10] This was done so Suitland High School could get more funding from Maryland state agencies.[11]

The approximate student enrollment as of March 2017 stands at about 2,157 students in grades nine through twelve.

Suitland High has a mandatory uniform policy.

Academics[]

Center for the Visual and Performing Arts magnet program[]

The Center for the Visual and Performing Arts is a rigorous four-year arts program that offers artistically talented high school students from all over Prince George's County educational opportunities designed to prepare them artistically for college, professional study, or career options in the arts. Strong association with the arts in the Washington, DC area offers distinct advantages. Students study with professional artists, dancers, actors, musicians, singers, directors, and producers. Students explore and eventually major in music, dance, theater, and visual arts.

The Center has been in existence at Suitland High School since 1986 and functions as a school-within-a-school. Each year, graduating students earn millions in scholarship awards and attend some of the most prestigious conservatories, colleges, and universities in the country.

Frequent collaborations with local arts institutions such as the University of Maryland, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Clarice Smith Center, and the Washington Performing Arts Society provide students with opportunities to meet and learn from many of today's successful artists.

Admission into the VPA magnet program is through audition only.

Suitland High School offers the 950-seat Annabelle E. Ferguson Auditorium, an experimental theater, and a fully equipped dance studio.

International Baccalaureate magnet program[]

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program is an academically challenging and balanced course of study that prepares students for success in college and life beyond. Its mission is to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young people who help to create a better, more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

Benefits of the IB Diploma Program include:

  • Higher university and college acceptance rates for IB graduates than for total population applicants
  • Increased scholarship and grant opportunities
  • A college-level academic program that transitions students to university and college standards
  • Interdisciplinary instruction to encourage international-mindedness
  • Fostering of lifelong learning
  • Teacher development using IB strategies

Technical Academy[]

The Technical Academy Programs provide students with technical skills and knowledge that add value to their academic education. The programs are designed to prepare students with post-secondary options (college, workforce, and/or military) in their chosen career fields. The programs are organized into Maryland Career Clusters. These clusters are driven by what students need to know in order to graduate fully prepared for post-secondary education and a career. Students will be prepared for a high-skill, high-wage, high-demand career in this 21st-century global economy.

The academy currently offers seventeen programs, many of which lead to professional certifications and/or licensures. The programs are offered in nine high schools (Bladensburg, Croom Vocational, Crossland, Forestville, Gwynn Park, Laurel, Suitland, Tall Oaks Vocational, and Henry A. Wise) and serves the entire county. All of the schools serve students in grades 11 and 12.

The Technical Academy teaching pedagogy utilizes both theory and practical experiences. The Foundation of Automotive and Construction Technology for Students (FACTS) is one of the Academy partners responsible for the student-built house project and the Student Auto Group Enterprise. This project provides practical hands-on experience which enables students to build a house from start to finish, and provides the auto students the opportunity to learn the operations of the auto repair and sales industries. Students wishing to participate in the Technical Academy Program must go through the application process. Students are selected based on their career interest, academic achievement and attendance.

Technical Academy program offerings[]

Architecture and Design

  • Electrical
  • Carpentry
  • Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)
  • Masonry
  • Plumbing

Business and Finance

  • Business Management
  • NAF Finance

Consumer Services, Hospitality, and Tourism

  • Barbering
  • Cosmetology
  • ProStart Cooking/Culinary Arts

Health and Bio-Sciences

  • Health Professions in Nursing

Homeland Security and Military Science

  • Homeland Security Sciences
  • CISCO Networking Academy
  • Military Science

Transportation Technologies

  • Automotive Body Repair
  • Automotive Technician

Notable alumni[]

References[]

  1. ^ Home. Suitland High School. Retrieved on August 29, 2018. "5200 Silver Hill Road • Forestville, MD 20747"
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Suitland CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on August 29, 2018. Pages: 1 and 2.
  3. ^ "NEIGHBORHOOD HIGH SCHOOLS AND BOUNDARIES SCHOOL YEAR 2018-2019." Prince George's County Public Schools. Retrieved on August 26, 2018.
  4. ^ "Boundary Map." District Heights. Retrieved on March 1, 2018.
  5. ^ "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Capitol Heights town, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on August 31, 2018. - Residential areas are marked here: "Residential Land Use. Existing Conditions 2.5." In: "THE TOWN OF CAPITOL HEIGHTS COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY PLAN 2011-2016." Capitol Heights, Maryland. PDF p. 14/15. Retrieved on August 31, 2018.
  6. ^ "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Coral Hills CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on August 31, 2018.
  7. ^ "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Forestville CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on August 29, 2018. Pages: 1 and 2.
  8. ^ "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Silver Hill CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on August 29, 2018. Pages: 1 and 2.
  9. ^ Cashin, Sheryl. "The Dilemma of the Black Middle Class." Issue 9 - Segregation & Integration - November 2005. The Next American City. Retrieved on November 7, 2011.
  10. ^ "Welcome to the Forestville High School Transition Page." Prince George's County Public Schools. Retrieved on May 31, 2016.
  11. ^ Norwood, Jasmine (2016-05-11). "Teachers, parents fear consolidating schools will cause major safety issues". DC CW 50. Retrieved 2018-08-29.

External links[]

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