Walbrook High School

Infobox Education in the United States
name= Walbrook High School
imagesize= 200px
motto= Where success is expected and failure is not an option.
motto_translation=
streetaddress= 2000 Edgewood Street
city= Baltimore
state= Maryland
district= Baltimore City Public School System
zipcode= 21216
areacode= 410
phone= 410.396.0723
fax=
email=
url=
schoolnumber= 434(Liberal Arts Academy), 435(Institute of Business & Entreprenuership), 436(Homeland Security High)
schoolboard= BCPSS
affiliation=
superintendent= Andres Alonso, CEO
trustee=
principal=
viceprincipal=
administrator=
schooltype= Public
grades= 9-12
language= English
area= Urban
mascot= Warriors
teamname= Warriors
colors= Red, White, Gray
founded= 1971
enrollment= 1,920
enrollment_as_of= 2006

Walbrook High School formerly "Walbrook Senior High School" (1971-1996) "Walbrook Uniform Services Academy" (1996-2005), is a public high school located in Baltimore, Maryland.

History

Establishment

Walbrook was founded in 1971 as Walbrook Senior High School, and has undergone numerous changes in its name and status over the past decade. Recent scandal has caused several structural changes to the school's administration and academic curriculum, including the separation of the school into different academies. In the early 90's the school was marred by reports of high dropout rates, low test scores, gang violence, shootings, fires, and fights. The school board organized a plan to revamp the school into a new learning environment. Which included:

*Metal Detectors
*Uniforms
*Academies (Homeland Security, Business & Entrepreneurship, Liberal Arts)
*The renaming of the school to "Walbrook High School Uniform Services Academy", to reflect the new uniform policy.

Bundley era

In 1998, several news outlets in Baltimore were reporting the decline of the school, and the system was opting for a new principal. It approached Andrey Bundley, due to his success at Greenspring Middle School. Under Bundley's direction, the school reported record numbers of attendance (95%) and an increase in state test scores. The school also saw the addition of several successful extracurricular activities and sports, including their nationally recognized debate team and basketball team.

In Summer 2004, accusations arose that Bundley had graduated almost 1/3 of Walbrook seniors in 2003, who did not meet Maryland state requirements. [ [http://susanohanian.org/outrage_fetch.php?id=253 125 Graduations at West Baltimore School Called Into Question by Audit] ] In the preceding school year, violence had increased and attendance and school performance had decreased. This led to Bundley's transfer to another school, and an unsuccessful run for Mayor of Baltimore against Martin O'Malley. His transfer was to the dismay of teachers and students, who unsuccessfully petitioned for his return. In October 2004, Shirley Cathorne became principal, and oversaw the restructuring of Walbrook into smaller learning environments. However, Cathorne did not stay long due to family issues, and was replaced by Lamarge Wyatt.

The new administration phased out the school's old academies and curriculum and introduced new ones—the Homeland Security Academy, the Entrepreneurial High School, the Maritime Academy, and the Liberal Arts Academy—that were spread on different floors of the building, each with a different principal, uniform and teachers. The overall school and building is referred to as the "Walbrook Campus", since all of the schools share the same gym and cafeteria, but still refer to it as Walbrook High School.

Debate team

In 2003, Walbrook's debate team was featured in a "60 Minutes" segment to talk about the team and how their coach, Angelo Brooks, had inspired them to go to college. Along with the students at Walbrook, it helped the Baltimore Urban Debate League gain national attention as well for the progress it had made in the Baltimore area.

In September 2006, Sgt. Angelo Brooks and Officer Eugene Fields Jr, teachers in the Criminal Justice Academy, sued the school system and the Police Department, saying they were victims of retaliation resulting in their removal and the disbanding of the debate team. The suit accused Maisha Washington, who was principal of the Homeland Security Academy, of "conspiracy ... to destroy the debate program." The text of the lawsuit also says Washington and Major Mary S. Young, who oversaw the officers, knowingly relayed to their supervisors false information about the job performance of the officers who sued. The defendants in the lawsuit include former Mayor Martin O'Malley, Police Commissioner Leonard D. Hamm and former schools Chief Executive Officer Bonnie S. Copeland. In late 2006, Fields pulled out of the lawsuit, but the case in still pending in District Court with Brooks. [ [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/1127213231.html?dids=1127213231:1127213231&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Sep+14%2C+2006&author=Sara+Neufeld&pub=The+Sun&desc=OFFICERS+SUE+DEPARTMENT%2C+SCHOOLS+ Officers sue department, schools] ]

Academies

#434 Liberal Arts Academy is an academy located on the Walbrook High School campus. Established in 2006 it exclusively host students of zoned to Walbrook High School whos age is 16 and over. It is an alternative academy to separate them into one academy and focus directly on their specific educational needs. Their uniform colors are Yellow and Khaki or Maroon and Khaki. This school is located in the lower level of the Walbrook campus.

ATTENDANCE RATES

2007 "50.4%"

2006 "50.6%"

GRADUATION RATES

2007 "71.59%"

2006 "94.87%"

ENROLLMENT

References

External links

* [http://www.bcps.k12.md.us/School_Info/Index.asp?schoolNum=436&imageField.x=8&imageField.y=1 School profile on BCPSS]
* [http://www.art-of-vin-diesel.com/fora/viewtopic.php?p=25665&sid=7c4720f483c775e5115b7251ce95d5f6 Article about the diploma controversy]
* [http://www.andreybundleyformayor.com/index.htm Bundley's Campaign Website]
* [http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=3326 Biography of Dr. Bundley]