Poolesville High School
Poolesville High School is a public all magnet high school located in Poolesville, Maryland, United States.
History
The core of the building was built in 1911 as an elementary school. The building housed Poolesville's middle school and high school up until 1997 when John Poole Middle School was built. Poolesville's first graduates were seven students in 1920.From the school's inception until 2002, the school's mascot was an Indian, and its logo was the profile of an Indian warrior in full headdress. In 2001, amid some controversy, the school's students and Poolesville Community voted on whether to keep the mascot or to change it to a falcon. Although the students and community elected to keep the Indian as the mascot, at the beginning of the 2001–2002 school year the Montgomery County Board of Education, under pressure from the Maryland Bureau of Indian Affairs, overruled the vote. Beginning in the 2002–2003 school year, the students voted to change the school's mascot to a falcon.
Academics
Starting in the 2006–2007 school year, honor students in northern Montgomery County have the opportunity to become a part of one of three magnet programs called "houses": Global Ecology; Humanities; or Science, Math, and Computer Science. Students test into high school during their last year of middle school and, if accepted and enrolled, are "certificate" students and are required to take the standard courses pertaining to their specific program. As Poolesville is considered a whole magnet high school, Poolesville resident students automatically become part of a fourth program called the Independent Studies program or ISP, but are "non-certificate" and can choose to take specialized courses. The Independent Studies Program is specifically for Poolesville resident students only and cannot be applied for by out-of-district students.Poolesville was ranked Washington Posts #1 Most Challenging High School in Maryland in 2016, U.S. News' #1 Best High School in Maryland, and Newsweeks #1 Top High School in Maryland in 2015. The school's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics program was ranked #121 in Newsweeks 2019 nationwide survey of US high schools.
A total of 1,180 students attend the school, across all grade levels and magnet programs, and are instructed by 65 full-time teachers.
Transportation
Because magnet students may come from anywhere within upper Montgomery County, 18 buses service out-of-area students. For Poolesville local students, there are nine buses.Notable alumni
- Matthew Heimbach, founder of the Traditionalist Worker Party
- Irvin Smith, football player
Sports
- Baseball
- Basketball
- *Girl's basketball went 22 and 0 in the 2017–2018 season. They won the 2A States championship game.
- Cross country
- Cheerleading
- Field hockey
- FIRST Robotics
- Football
- Golf
- Indoor track and field
- Lacrosse
- Poms
- Soccer
- Softball
- Swimming
- *The Falcons won six state titles from 2012 to 2015 under two-time Washington Post Coach of the Year Jon Leong.
- Tennis
- Track and field
- Volleyball
- Wrestling
Demographics
| Year | Enrollment | Native American/ Alaskan Native | % | Asian/ Pacific Islander | % | African American | % | Non-Hispanic White | % | Hispanic | % |
| 2012-13 | 1,235 | 3 | 0.2 | 286 | 23.1 | 62 | 5 | 717 | 58 | 99 | 8 |
| 2009-10 | 1,150 | 6 | 0.5 | 243 | 21.1 | 70 | 6.1 | 768 | 66.8 | 63 | 5.5 |
| 2008-09 | 1,049 | 8 | 0.8 | 186 | 17.7 | 60 | 5.7 | 750 | 71.5 | 45 | 4.3 |
| 2007-08 | 1,012 | 8 | 0.8 | 127 | 12.6 | 50 | 4.9 | 790 | 78.0 | 37 | 3.7 |
| 2006-07 | 939 | 5 | 0.1 | 69 | 7.34 | 54 | 5.8 | 777 | 82.7 | 34 | 3.6 |
| 2005-06 | 861 | 3 | 0.2 | 32 | 3.44 | 46 | 5.3 | 757 | 87.9 | 23 | 2.7 |
| 2004-05 | 825 | 4 | 0.4 | 35 | 3.34 | 35 | 4.2 | 728 | 88.2 | 23 | 2.8 |
| 2003-04 | 776 | 3 | 0.1 | 35 | 3.21 | 29 | 3.7 | 696 | 89.7 | 13 | 1.7 |
| 2002-03 | 753 | 3 | 0.2 | 28 | 2.98 | 23 | 3.1 | 682 | 90.6 | 17 | 2.3 |