Poolesville High School facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Poolesville High School |
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| Address | |
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17501 W Willard Rd
, 20837
United States
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| Coordinates | 39°8′36″N 77°25′6″W / 39.14333°N 77.41833°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public magnet high school |
| Established | 1911 |
| School district | Montgomery County Public Schools |
| CEEB code | 210825 |
| NCES School ID | 240048000897 |
| Principal | Mark Carothers |
| Faculty | 71.02 FTE (2022-23) |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Enrollment | 1,309 (2022-23) |
| Student to teacher ratio | 18.43:1 |
| Campus type | Fringe town |
| Color(s) | Black Vegas gold |
| Athletics conference | AA |
| Mascot | Falcons |
| USNWR ranking | 140 |
| Newspaper | The Poolesville Pulse |
| Yearbook | The Echo |
Poolesville High School is a public magnet high school in Poolesville, Maryland, United States. It's part of the Montgomery County Public Schools system. This school is special because it's the only all-magnet high school in Montgomery County.
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School Rankings and Student Scores
Poolesville High is known for being one of the top schools in Maryland. In 2024, a group called U.S. News & World Report ranked it as the #3 high school in Maryland. It was also ranked #172 across the entire United States.
Students at Poolesville High School generally do very well on the SAT test. On average, they score around 1328 points. This includes about 664 points on the reading and writing part, and 665 points on the math part.
School History
The first part of the school building was built in 1911. Back then, it was an elementary school. By 1912, it was the only school in Montgomery County that combined both middle and high school grades. The very first group of students graduated from Poolesville in 1920, with seven students receiving their diplomas.
The main school building you see today was built in 1953. Since then, more than 22 additions have been made to it. The last big update happened in 1978. The building used to house both Poolesville's middle school and high school. But in 1997, a new school called John Poole Middle School was built, and the middle school students moved there.
Around 2013, people in Poolesville started asking for the school building to be rebuilt. They were concerned about the school being too crowded and having old facilities. There were also worries about the building's safety and air quality. A major renovation project was planned, but it was put on hold in 2017 due to budget cuts. This made many parents and students upset.
However, people kept pushing for the renovation. Finally, in 2021, the Board of Education planned and funded the project again. Construction began in 2022. The new high school building is expected to be finished by the start of the 2024-25 school year. It will be much larger, able to hold about 1,508 students, up from the current 1,170.
School Mascot: The Falcons
For many years, until 2002, the school's mascot was an Indian warrior. In 2001, there was a discussion about whether to keep the mascot or change it to a falcon. Students and the Poolesville community voted to keep the Indian mascot.
However, the Montgomery County Board of Education decided to change it anyway. This was after getting requests from the Maryland Bureau of Indian Affairs. The school was given $80,000 to help with the change. Starting in the 2002–2003 school year, the students voted again. This time, they chose the falcon as their new mascot.
How Students Join Poolesville High
Poolesville High School has special programs called "magnet houses." These programs are for honor students from the northern part of Montgomery County. Students can choose from three main magnet programs:
- Global Ecology
- Humanities
- Science, Math, and Computer Science
Students who want to join these programs take a test in their last year of middle school. If they are accepted, they become "certificate" students. This means they must take specific courses for their chosen program.
Poolesville is also a magnet school for students who live in the Poolesville area. These local students automatically become part of a fourth program called the Independent Studies Program (ISP). They are "non-certificate" students and can choose special courses. The ISP is only for students who live in the Poolesville area. Students from other areas cannot apply for it.
Poolesville High has received many awards for its challenging academics. In 2016, Washington Post named it the #1 Most Challenging High School in Maryland. U.S. News also ranked it #1 Best High School in Maryland. In 2015, Newsweek called it the #1 Top High School in Maryland. The school's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) program was ranked #121 nationwide by Newsweek in 2019.
Who Attends Poolesville High
Most students at Poolesville High School come from outside the immediate Poolesville area. However, there are also local students who attend. These local students usually come from John Poole Middle School, and two elementary schools: Monocacy and Poolesville Elementary.
School Sports and Activities
Poolesville High School offers many different sports and activities for students to join:
- Baseball
- Basketball (boys' and girls')
- The girls' basketball team had an amazing season in 2017–2018, winning all 27 of their games. They also won the 2A States championship!
- Bocce
- Beltway league
- Cross country (boys' and girls')
- Cheerleading
- Field hockey
- FIRST Robotics
- Football
- Golf (boys' and girls')
- History Bowl
- Indoor track and field (boys' and girls')
- Lacrosse (boys' and girls')
- Poms
- Quizbowl
- Soccer (boys' and girls')
- Softball
- Swimming (boys' and girls')
- The school's swim teams won six state titles between 2012 and 2015. The boys' team won four, and the girls' team won two.
- Tennis (boys' and girls')
- Track and field (boys' and girls')
- Volleyball (boys', girls', and coed)
- Wrestling
Famous Former Students
- Irvin Smith, a professional football player
- Robert Huang, a professional eSports player known as C9 Blaber, who plays the game League of Legends.
