Howard County and AA High Schools

[Anonymous]

Anyone have insight on these high schools? I have an acquaintance moving into the area and they have very specific housing needs so I'm trying to come up with a list of areas with decent high schools with a very limited budget. Commute is to College Park so living a bit further out is ok. The HS student isn't high achieving so I don't think that PG schools would be a good fit (I live in PG and my kids go to PGCPS) with the exception of maybe ERHS and Bowie High School.
My definition of a decent school is one that is well run, not extremely overcrowded and safe.

Hammond High School
Long Reach High School
Howard High School
Wilde Lake High School

Mead High School (I have heard it isn't good?)
Glen Burnie High School
Arundel High School
Old Mill High School

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have insight on these high schools? I have an acquaintance moving into the area and they have very specific housing needs so I'm trying to come up with a list of areas with decent high schools with a very limited budget. Commute is to College Park so living a bit further out is ok. The HS student isn't high achieving so I don't think that PG schools would be a good fit (I live in PG and my kids go to PGCPS) with the exception of maybe ERHS and Bowie High School.
My definition of a decent school is one that is well run, not extremely overcrowded and safe.

Hammond High School
Long Reach High School
Howard High School
Wilde Lake High School

Mead High School (I have heard it isn't good?)
Glen Burnie High School
Arundel High School
Old Mill High School

All four of the HoCo options are great high schools. However, crowding is an issue in Howard County at least until the new high school in Jessup is built. That school is slated to open in the fall of 2023, so depending on the age of the student, they might be redistricted during high school. I would say that Wilde Lake has the lowest possibility of redistricting. It can be looked down upon if you only look at test scores, but it has a very diverse student body, plenty of committed enthusiastic families, and more opportunities that the more crowded schools like Howard. Unfortunately, Long Reach has been crowded too, although that may change after the new school opens.

[Anonymous]

I don't know anything about the HoCO schools, but we're in AACo.

I wouldn't hesitate to send my kids to Arundel. I have several friends with kids there and they all like it. It's also perhaps *slightly* less crowded because a lot of the kids who used to go to Arundel are now at Crofton. (There's never been a fully in person year since Crofton HS opened, so this year will be exciting/interesting!)

I would be less comfortable sending my kids to Meade or Glen Burnie. I'm sure there are plenty of kids getting a good education there, but I've just heard some more concerning things.

Old Mill is interesting... some people love it and some hate it. It will be getting a new building in the next year or two, I think so that will be cool! It's also home to some of the cool magnet programs.

If possible, I'd add Crofton HS to the list. If she's looking at homes that feed into Arundel, anything that feeds into Crofton should work too.
Mea

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anything about the HoCO schools, but we're in AACo.

I wouldn't hesitate to send my kids to Arundel. I have several friends with kids there and they all like it. It's also perhaps *slightly* less crowded because a lot of the kids who used to go to Arundel are now at Crofton. (There's never been a fully in person year since Crofton HS opened, so this year will be exciting/interesting!)

I would be less comfortable sending my kids to Meade or Glen Burnie. I'm sure there are plenty of kids getting a good education there, but I've just heard some more concerning things.

Old Mill is interesting... some people love it and some hate it. It will be getting a new building in the next year or two, I think so that will be cool! It's also home to some of the cool magnet programs.

If possible, I'd add Crofton HS to the list. If she's looking at homes that feed into Arundel, anything that feeds into Crofton should work too.
Mea

One thing about Meade is that it has an IB program which was placed there to retain higher achieving students. Most of the people we know with kids at Meade are in the IB program. If a student isn't, I'm not sure what the environment would be like. I probably wouldn't recommend MEade for non-IB students.

[Anonymous]

The only one of the AA County schools that I would send my child to without my child being in an IB program is Arundel. If their child is in an IB program, Meade and Old Mill would be fine.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the positive information! I'll pass those suggestions on and keep for future reference in case PGCPS stops working for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't know anything about the HoCO schools, but we're in AACo.

I wouldn't hesitate to send my kids to Arundel. I have several friends with kids there and they all like it. It's also perhaps *slightly* less crowded because a lot of the kids who used to go to Arundel are now at Crofton. (There's never been a fully in person year since Crofton HS opened, so this year will be exciting/interesting!)

I would be less comfortable sending my kids to Meade or Glen Burnie. I'm sure there are plenty of kids getting a good education there, but I've just heard some more concerning things.

Old Mill is interesting... some people love it and some hate it. It will be getting a new building in the next year or two, I think so that will be cool! It's also home to some of the cool magnet programs.

If possible, I'd add Crofton HS to the list. If she's looking at homes that feed into Arundel, anything that feeds into Crofton should work too.
Mea

One thing about Meade is that it has an IB program which was placed there to retain higher achieving students. Most of the people we know with kids at Meade are in the IB program. If a student isn't, I'm not sure what the environment would be like. I probably wouldn't recommend MEade for non-IB students.

That definitely confirms my impression too. (First AACo poster)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have insight on these high schools? I have an acquaintance moving into the area and they have very specific housing needs so I'm trying to come up with a list of areas with decent high schools with a very limited budget. Commute is to College Park so living a bit further out is ok. The HS student isn't high achieving so I don't think that PG schools would be a good fit (I live in PG and my kids go to PGCPS) with the exception of maybe ERHS and Bowie High School.
My definition of a decent school is one that is well run, not extremely overcrowded and safe.

Hammond High School
Long Reach High School
Howard High School
Wilde Lake High School

Mead High School (I have heard it isn't good?)
Glen Burnie High School
Arundel High School
Old Mill High School

All four of the HoCo options are great high schools. However, crowding is an issue in Howard County at least until the new high school in Jessup is built. That school is slated to open in the fall of 2023, so depending on the age of the student, they might be redistricted during high school. I would say that Wilde Lake has the lowest possibility of redistricting. It can be looked down upon if you only look at test scores, but it has a very diverse student body, plenty of committed enthusiastic families, and more opportunities that the more crowded schools like Howard. Unfortunately, Long Reach has been crowded too, although that may change after the new school opens.

Plus one. WLHS grad with two ivy degrees.

[Anonymous]

Since moving to HoCo, I've been impressed with the communities that surround Hammond and Wilde Lake High Schools. Also Atholoton. I'm sure the others are excellent too - I'm just less familiar with them.

[Anonymous]

The Howard County high schools are mostly good. They just aren't building schools fast enough to accommodate the growth in development and population.

The new high school will help, but the county is still playing catch up.

Howard County also likes to redistrict fairly often, like once every 5 years or so.

You have to be willing to deal with that.

[Anonymous]

If your friend is looking in Howard County, you should suggest they check out Atholton HS. Atholton is one of the best schools in the county that has some lower income housing within the jurisdiction. There are several townhome and condo communities that are zoned for Atholton HS that will remain even through redistricting. If you look at the school boundaries for Atholton, you'll see that it is this odd figure 8 shape. The larger north-west block has a lot of high-income housing. The south-east block was added in to include some lower income housing including townhomes and condos. Howard County places a lot of emphasis on socio-economic balancing and trying to even out FARMS inclusion across schools. Because of this, the lower section of Atholton boundaries has not shifted much during the last three redistricting passes including the large one from 2 years ago.

I'm biased (we are zoned for Atholton), but I think that Atholton HS is a better school than all of the ones listed and there are definitely more affordable options in boundary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since moving to HoCo, I've been impressed with the communities that surround Hammond and Wilde Lake High Schools. Also Atholoton. I'm sure the others are excellent too - I'm just less familiar with them.

Hammond is a beloved community school. Draws from all income levels- high, middle, and low. Very community oriented.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only one of the AA County schools that I would send my child to without my child being in an IB program is Arundel. If their child is in an IB program, Meade and Old Mill would be fine.

I have a Meade student who isn't in IB. Ironically, because it is a IB Middle Years program, all 9th/10th grade students take IB classes. My non-IB student took the exact same classes as his IB brother for freshman/sophomore years (honors IB.) My guess is that the honors classes are on par with regular classes at other high schools, but there aren't any major behavioral issues in any of his classes and the teachers seem to be engaged and communicative. In 11th/12th, my non-IB student will do a combo of honors and AP classes. Academically, I think it is ok. If your student finds a good crowd of friends, does a sport, etc - they will be fine. Are there issues? Yes. There are fights, underperforming students, etc - but I know a lot of kids who graduated from there who went on to good schools and are successful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have insight on these high schools? I have an acquaintance moving into the area and they have very specific housing needs so I'm trying to come up with a list of areas with decent high schools with a very limited budget. Commute is to College Park so living a bit further out is ok. The HS student isn't high achieving so I don't think that PG schools would be a good fit (I live in PG and my kids go to PGCPS) with the exception of maybe ERHS and Bowie High School.
My definition of a decent school is one that is well run, not extremely overcrowded and safe.

Hammond High School
Long Reach High School
Howard High School
Wilde Lake High School

Mead High School (I have heard it isn't good?)
Glen Burnie High School
Arundel High School
Old Mill High School

All four of the HoCo options are great high schools. However, crowding is an issue in Howard County at least until the new high school in Jessup is built. That school is slated to open in the fall of 2023, so depending on the age of the student, they might be redistricted during high school. I would say that Wilde Lake has the lowest possibility of redistricting. It can be looked down upon if you only look at test scores, but it has a very diverse student body, plenty of committed enthusiastic families, and more opportunities that the more crowded schools like Howard. Unfortunately, Long Reach has been crowded too, although that may change after the new school opens.

Plus one. WLHS grad with two ivy degrees.

Thanks to AA

[Anonymous]

Arundel High School is considered to be one of the best in its county. Meade, Old Mill, and Glen Burnie have strong magnet programs and curriculums, so it’s very possible to get a good education at all these schools.