Richard Montgomery High School

Richard Montgomery High School
Aerial view in 2005
Location
Rockville, Maryland
United States
Information
Type Public (magnet) secondary
Established 1892
School district Montgomery County Public Schools
NCES School ID 240048000902[1]
Principal Damon Monteleone
Teaching staff 120.10 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 2,248 [1]{ (2015-16)
Student to teacher ratio 18.68 [1]
Campus Suburban
Color(s) Black and gold          
Nickname Rockets
Rival Rockville High School
Website Richard Montgomery

Richard Montgomery High School (RMHS) (#201) is a secondary public school located in Rockville, Maryland, United States.

Academics

The school houses Montgomery County's first International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB). This competitive-entry magnet program draws students from all over Montgomery County and has an IB diploma rate of 99%, the highest in the United States of its kind.[2] The IB programme has a 10% acceptance rate for incoming freshmen. Entry is based on an entrance examination, middle school transcripts and teacher recommendations, and personal essays. Incoming freshmen who have been accepted into the IB programme are first enrolled in a special two-year program consisting of courses designed to prepare them for the more demanding IB courses they will take in their junior and senior years.[3] The IB programme at RM sends students every year to some of the nation's top colleges and universities, including Ivy League schools, MIT, Caltech, Stanford, Duke, and the University of Chicago. The average class size is 24.8, although this number has recently been increasing, with a student to staff ratio of 14.5:1.[4]

Richard Montgomery also offers students the Middle Years Programme (MYP) curriculum. This program is mandatory to all students who attend Julius West Middle School, which is the sole middle school that feeds into RM. The MYP program stresses "life long learning," "critical thinking," and "responsible global citizenship." It is a five-year program designed for students in grades 6–10. Upon completion, students can apply to enroll in the IB programme. Students are accepted each year through this secondary application process for the IB programme.

In 2007, Richard Montgomery was featured in Newsweek magazine as the 27th highest-rated high school in the nation.[5] In June 2002, it won its first award in National Scholastic Championship at George Washington University. Richard Montgomery High School won the 2003 Blue Ribbon in Education Award by the United States Department of Education. RM has been identified as the number one school in the D.C. metropolitan area in the Challenge Index for Rigor. Richard Montgomery has also had multiple Marian Greenblatt Education Fund award winner teachers.[6]

Students

Upon graduation, 79.2% of the class of 2008 planned for only post-secondary education; 14.5% planned for post-secondary education and employment; 1.1% planned to go straight into the workforce; and 1.4% planned to go into the military. There was a 92.1% attendance rate and a 2.0% dropout rate in 2002-2003.

The student body of 2014-2015 was 30% Non-Hispanic White, 25.2% Asian, 16.2% African American, 23.5% Hispanic/Latino, and 0.2% American Indian.[7]

History and campus

Class in 1936

Richard Montgomery High School was established in 1892, when the state Board of Education first allocated funds to local school to educate high school students. The first class graduated from Rockville High School in 1897.

A new high school was constructed and opened for use in September 1905 on East Montgomery Avenue and Monroe Street. An addition was built in 1917, expanding the school to 19 classrooms. Rockville Colored High School was opened in 1927.[8] The school for white children was renamed Richard Montgomery High School to distinguish between the two in 1935.[9]

The building was completed in 1942 at 49,167 sq ft (4,567.8 m2), after a fire destroyed the old high school in 1940. Additions to the school were made in 1952 at 39,895 sq ft (3,706.4 m2), 1959 at 37,425 sq ft (3,476.9 m2), in 1964 at 56,703 sq ft (5,267.9 m2), 1969 at 4,000 sq ft (370 m2), 1975 at 35,890 sq ft (3,334 m2), 1976 at 8,300 sq ft (770 m2), and 1988 at 1,938 sq ft (180.0 m2). The current campus is 26.2 acres (106,000 m²) in size.[2][10]

In April 2008 stories appeared in the Washington Post,[11] the Montgomery County Gazette,[12] and the Montgomery Sentinel,[13] alleging that the school principal, Moreno Carrasco, had been running a private business on school time and that he was using materials that appeared to be plagiarized from a seminar that he had attended at school district expense. Carrasco went on extended sick leave.

During Carrasco's absence, the RMHS newspaper, The Tide, requested that administrators approve publication of an article about the investigation into Carrasco's alleged ethics violations and business endeavors. Assistant Principal Veronica McCall denied permission for publication of the article, but was overridden by Community Superintendent Dr. Sherry Liebes after The Tide editors announced that they would go public with news of the denial.[14] The article was finally published online on April 24, 2008.[15]

On June 10, 2008, Montgomery County Public Schools announced that Carrasco had been named the new director of secondary leadership training. The announcement also stated that the allegations about Carrasco's involvement in private consulting were "thoroughly investigated" and "not substantiated".[16]

On June 23, 2008, Nelson McLeod II was named the new principal of Richard Montgomery High School.[17] He left the position in May 2014 due to a cardiac medical condition,[18] and was replaced by Damon Monteleone in July 2014.[19]

Reconstruction

Richard Montgomery opened a new $71 million building following the end of students' 2007 winter break. The new building features wireless internet for the teachers which has since been opened to student access, LCD projectors in every classroom, dozens of Promethean interactive whiteboards and learner response devices, a modern auditorium, and a recording and TV studio. The new facilities lack the capability to access older forms of media, such as material on VHS and photographic slides; however, teachers sometimes bring in their own video players to rectify the problem.

The school has an artificial turf stadium next to tennis courts and a track.

Extracurricular activities

Sports

Several of RM's athletes have advanced to the professional level, including Gordy Coleman with the Cincinnati Reds and Mike Curtis (Class of '61) with the Baltimore Colts, and James David Riggleman (Class of '71) former manager of the Washington Nationals.

The boys' cross country team have won four state championships, in 1975, 1980, 1990 and 1995

Drama

The largest extracurricular club in the school is the Black Maskers Drama Club, boasting a membership of approximately 200. Members of Black Maskers may, upon participation in a sufficient number of shows in various capacities, become members of the International Thespian Society Troupe #1748.

Other activities

Richard Montgomery has its own student newspaper, The Tide,[20] and an award-winning student literary magazine, Fine Lines. Among numerous other awards, The Tide received First Place with Special Merit from the America Scholastic Press Association in 2013[21] and a Gold Medal from Columbia Scholastic Press Association in 2012. Fine Lines has won multiple awards.

Richard Montgomery's quizbowl team (known as It's Academic) has won numerous awards and honors, including a victory at the National Scholastics Championship in 2002.[22] In 2006, they won the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament in Chicago, defeating State College Area High School in the final.[23]

Richard Montgomery's International Space Settlement Design Competition team won the 2008 cycle at Houston, Texas.[24]

Mock Trial

The Richard Montgomery Varsity Mock Trial team placed second in the state in 2018 after losing to Allegheny High School in the Maryland State Championship. The team won the championship match but lost the title due to a point scoring system. RM has won the state title in 2014, 2005, and 1994.

Chess

The Richard Montgomery chess team won the Maryland State High School Chess Championship in 2014, 2015 and 2017 and came in second place in 2016. The team runs several chess clubs across Montgomery County that seek to introduce elementary and middle school students to the game of chess.

Robotics

The Richard Montgomery Robotics program operates two teams which compete in the FIRST Tech Challenge. In April 2014, Richard Montgomery Robotics qualified a team for the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, where the team earned the second place Inspire Award - second place overall in the world, and the best overall finish of any US team that year.[25]

Music

Ensembles such as the Madrigals, a chamber choir, and the Jazz Band often travel off campus to perform at various venues. The marching band, the Marching Rockets, is also a part of football season.

The school has a long tradition of student-led a cappella groups which rehearse on their own and perform both at official and unofficial venues such as the coffeehouses hosted by Fine Lines, the school's literary magazine. Stuck In The Mud, a popular American alternative rock band, played some of their first shows at Fine Lines coffeehouses.

DECA

The school's DECA club (Distributive Education Clubs of America) prepares emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for careers in marketing, finance, hospitality and management. Members compete at the state and international level. In 2014, membership was 26, with four members attending and winning awards at the State Career Development Conference. The team also attended the International Career Development Conference. In 2015, membership grew to more than 50 members, with 27 students attending the state competition. DECA members also participate in community service campaigns and reach out to local businesses and organizations.

Model United Nations

The school's Model United Nations team, with a membership of approximately 50, trains for, and attends conferences up and down the East Coast. Richard Montgomery delegates have been winners of multiple Model UN awards. Approximately 30 students attend each conference.[26]

Model Congress

The school's Model Congress team, with a membership of approximately 200, trains for and attends conferences. Richard Montgomery delegates have been winners of many Model Congress awards. Approximately 30 students attend each conference. Recently, they have sent as many as 43 delegates to Princeton Model Congress 2017.

Student government and politics

RM's student body is represented through the Student Government Association (SGA), whose officers are elected each April. The student body at large is represented through a system of delegates who attend monthly general assemblies. The SGA officers appoint an Executive Board to help in community service projects and special events. Each grade elects four officers every April. RM also has politically oriented clubs such as Young Democrats, Young Republicans, and Junior State of America.

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Richard Montgomery High". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  2. 1 2 "America's Best High Schools: Top International Baccalaureate Schools". US News and World Report. December 9, 2009. Archived from the original on December 13, 2009.
  3. "IB Magnet Course of Study at Richard Montgomery High School" (PDF). Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  4. Richard Montgomery High School - #201
  5. America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com
  6. "Winners". Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
  7. PDF of Richard Montgomery student and teacher data from Montgomery County Public Schools
  8. George Washington Carver High School Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  9. http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/rmhs/aboutus/HistoryofRM.aspx History of Richard Montgomery High School] Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  10. "Richard Montgomery High School". Archived from the original on 2005-10-17. Retrieved 2005-06-01.
  11. de Vise, Daniel (April 10, 2008). "Principal's Side Business Raises Questions ." The Washington Post. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  12. Melissa J. Brachfeld (April 16, 2008). "MCPS officials investigate possible ethics code violation". Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  13. The Sentinel
  14. Melissa J. Brachfeld (April 23, 2008). "Students win right to write". Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  15. The Tide Online- Richard Montgomery's Student Newspaper
  16. "MCPS Public Announcements". June 10, 2008. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  17. Melissa J. Brachfeld (June 25, 2008). "New principal tapped for Richard Montgomery". Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  18. "Richard Montgomery High School" (PDF). May 28, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  19. "Montgomery County Public Schools" (PDF). July 1, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  20. The Tide Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  21. American Scholastic Press Association Archived 2008-01-01 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  22. 2002 PACE NSC Results Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  23. National Academic Quiz Tournaments, LLC Archived 2017-10-11 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  24. ISSDC: Previous Finalist Teams Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  25. Dick Uliano (April 28, 2014). "Md. robotics students take 2nd place in international competition". Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  26. "RM Model UN". RM Model UN. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  27. Jacobs, Jay S. (2006). Pretty Good Years: A Biography of Tori Amos. Hal Leonard. p. 13.
  28. 1 2 Simms, Brandy L. (July 22, 2010). "RM's Mike Curtis should be in the Hall of Fame". Montgomery Sentinel. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  29. "B-CC training leaders". Montgomery Gazette. February 19, 1997. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  30. Meyer, Eugene L. (May–June 2011). "Touching Base with Jim Riggleman". Bethesda Magazine. Retrieved November 2, 2017.

Coordinates: 39°04′42″N 77°08′45″W / 39.078442°N 77.14583°W / 39.078442; -77.14583

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