Atholton High School is a

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland. It is one of the principal communities of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. It is a planned community consisting of 10 self-contained villages. Columbia began with ...

, United States and is a part of the

Howard County public school system The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) is the school district that manages and runs the public schools of Howard County, Maryland. It operates under the supervision of an elected, eight-member Board of Education. Antonia Watts is the chai ...

. The school hosts an Army

JROTC The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a Federal government of the United States, federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools acr ...

program. The school mascot is the Raider.

History

Atholton takes its name from a land grant named "Athol" granted from King Charlles to James MacGill 17 August 1732. He built a nearby manor house named "Athol" built between 1732 and 1740. The name "Athol" was created to honor MacGill's ancestral home in Scotland. In 1845, Nicolas Worthington freed seventeen of his slaves, and gave them of the "Athol enlarged" land which was then called "Freetown". The community was briefly a postal town named

Atholton, Maryland Atholton is an unincorporated community in Howard County, Maryland, United States. A postal office operated from May 26, 1897, to November 1900 and again from 1903 to July 1917. Atholton was founded at the crossroads of Old Columbia Pike, Guilf ...

. The school sites were later considered part of

Simpsonville, Maryland Simpsonville is an unincorporated community in Howard County, Maryland, United States. History People and nature have long flourished beside the Middle Patuxent River. Over 12,000 years ago, Native Americans hunted deer and gathered acorns and ...

, and later

. The Howard County school system was segregated since the building of the Ellicott City Colored School in 1888. The first Atholton school was a one-room colored school house next to Locust Church given by John R. and Susie Clark in 1885. Students transferred to Guilford in 1939. School property was bought for $200 by the Locust Church. In 1941, an additional acre was not accounted for, then sold on a separate bid for $701 to Herbert M Brown.

Harriet Tubman site

In 1948, a new 10-room high school called Atholton Colored School was ordered. It was designed by Francis Thuman to be built in Simpsonville with a $280,000 budget. The cornerstone was set on September 25, 1948, by the Colored Masonic Lodge. Clarksville students were used to operate the bulldozers used in grading. At the students request, the school was renamed to the Harriet Tubman High School. In 1954,

Segregation Segregation may refer to: Separation of people * Geographical segregation, rates of two or more populations which are not homogenous throughout a defined space * School segregation * Housing segregation * Racial segregation, separation of humans ...

was outlawed by the supreme court in ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

''. Howard County eliminated one class of segregated students a year, taking 11 years to implement integrated classes. Modern accounts of the development of Columbia note that

Rouse Company The Rouse Company, founded by Hunter Moss and James W. Rouse in 1939, was a publicly held shopping mall and community developer from 1956 until 2004, when General Growth Properties (GGP) purchased the company. Beginnings - Moss-Rouse Company T ...

donanted land for public schools, but prior to the requirement, the company sold unusable land from its 1963 purchases to build Columbia back to the school board. The company sold 10 usable acres (), and 10 unbuildable acres adjoining the school, at market rate, to "meet new state standards". The High School would later be renamed the Harriet Tubman building, to be used by the Board of Education. In 1981 Grassroots Crisis Center operated a homeless shelter from the facility. In 2006, James N. Robey issued $1.6 million in Howard County loans to Grassroots to build an enlarged homeless facility on the Atholton School grounds. Centered around the 50th anniversary of desegregation at the school, The Howard County Center of African American Culture has petitioned to relocate from Oakland Manor to the Harriet Tubman building. The offices used by school system were listed as the top endangered historical site in Howard county by Preservation Howard County in 2015.

Atholton High School

In 1966 a new integrated high school was built alongside the old school taking the name Atholton High School. The school has been renovated and expanded several times. In 2012 a $51.3 million project was started to renovate the school again with students in place. The structure will use temporary classrooms in its expansion from 206,000 square ft to 250,000 sf.

Students

Atholton's student population has been in flux over the past 15 years. In 2017, Atholton is designed for 1,460 students with a current enrollment of 1,479 students. Atholton is currently a 3A school. Proposed redistricting by the

Howard County Public School System The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) is the school district that manages and runs the public schools of Howard County, Maryland. It operates under the supervision of an elected, eight-member Board of Education. Antonia Watts is the chai ...

would move approximately 16 percent of the Howard County student population from their current school. However, there are doubts over whether such plans will take action. The student population as of December 2021 is <5% Native American, 31.5% Black or African American, 18.1% Asian, 31*.5% White or Caucasian, <5% Pacific Islander, 12% Hispanic, and 6.6%Two or more races.

Athletics

Atholton has won the following state championships & athletic accomplishments: *2019 - Girls' Volleyball, 3A State Champions *2018 - Girls Outdoor Track and Field, State Champions *2017 - Ice Hockey, Howard Conference Finalist, State Semi-Finalist *2017 - Ice Hockey, Howard Conference Champions, Undefeated *2017- Girls Basketball, 3A State Finalists *2016 - Girls' Volleyball, 3A State Champions *2016 - Ice Hockey, Howard Conference Varsity Finalist, State Semi-Finalist *2015 - Ice Hockey, Howard Conference Varsity Finalist, State Semi-Finalist *2014 - Golf District 3A Champion *2014 - Ice Hockey, Howard Conference Varsity Champions, State Semi-Finalist *2013 - Ice Hockey, Howard Conference Varsity Champions, State Semi-Finalist *2012 - Ice Hockey, Maryland Student Hockey League State 2A Varsity Champions *2012 - Ice Hockey, Howard Conference 2A Varsity Champions *2012 - Field Hockey, 3A State Champions *2012 - Girls' Golf County Champions *2011 - Howard County Football Champions *2011 - Boys' Indoor Track *2008 - Boys' Cross Country *2007 - Girls' Basketball *2007 - Tennis Mixed Doubles *2006 - Boys' Indoor Track 3A-2A *2005 - Girls' Track & Field *2004 - Boys' Soccer - *2003 - Ice Hockey, Howard Conference 2A Varsity Champions *2002 - Ice Hockey, Howard Conference 2A Varsity Champions *2002 - Baseball *2001 - Girls' Track & Field *1998 - Boys' Indoor Track 2A-1A *1997 - Boys' Indoor Track 2A-1A *1997 - Boys' Track & Field *1996 - Boys' Track & Field *1995 - Boys' Indoor Track 2A-1A *1995 - Tennis Mixed Doubles *1990 - Boys' Soccer *1989 - Girls' Volleyball *1989 - Boys' Cross Country *1989 - Girls' Cross Country *1988 - Girls' Volleyball *1988 - Girls' Cross Country *1988 - Ice Hockey, Founding Member, Maryland Student Hockey League *1987 - Girls' Cross Country *1967 - Boys' Cross Country

Notable alumni

* John H. Brodie, theoretical

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

Jack Douglass John Patrick "Jack" Douglass (born June 30, 1988), better known as jacksfilms, is an American YouTuber. Douglass began his online career in 2006. His YouTube channel initially consisted of infomercial parodies, sketches, and comedic music vide ...

, YouTube celebrity * Gallant, singer-songwriter * Lauren Giddings, graduate of Mercer Law School and murder victim *

Greg Hawkes Gregory A. Hawkes (born October 22, 1952) is an American musician best known as the keyboardist for the rock band The Cars. Hawkes, a native of Fulton, Maryland, United States, attended Atholton High School where he played in a band called Teet ...

, keyboardist for

The Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes ( keyboard ...

* Thomas Hong, short track speed skater *

Brendan Iribe Brendan Trexler Iribe (; born August 12, 1979) is an American game programmer, entrepreneur and the original CEO and co-founder of Oculus VR, Inc. and Scaleform. He is the managing partner at BIG Ventures, an early-stage venture fund. Early l ...

, former CEO and co-founder of

Oculus Rift Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a division of Meta Platforms, released on March 28, 2016. In 2012 Oculus initiated a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Rift's development, af ...

* Josh Kelly, actor * Allan H. Kittleman, former Howard County Executive, former Maryland State Senator and Minority Leader *

Alan Landsman Alan Landsman is an American former vocalist and bass guitarist, noted for having played in several Florida-based metalcore bands, including Poison the Well, Until the End and Target Nevada. He also worked for the independent record label Eu ...

, former vocalist and bass guitarist (member of Poison the Well) and convicted mail fraudster * Steve Lombardozzi Jr., former infielder in the Miami Marlins organization * Tatyana McFadden, Paralympian athlete and first person, able bodied or other, to win the four major marathons in the same year ( Boston Marathon,

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically he ...

, New York Marathon, and the

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a marathon (long-distance foot race) held every October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the six World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is the fourth-largest r ...

.) *

DeWanda Wise DeWanda Wise (née Jackson) (born May 30, 1984) is an American actress. She starred in Spike Lee's Netflix comedy-drama series ''She's Gotta Have It'' (2017–19), a contemporary adaptation of his 1986 film. Early life and education Wise was ...

, actress

Special programs

*Raider Review (school newspaper) *

FIRST Robotics For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (''FIRST'') is an international youth organization that operates the ''FIRST'' Robotics Competition, ''FIRST'' LEGO League Challenge, ''FIRST'' LEGO League Explore, ''FIRST'' LEGO Leagu ...

Space Raiders 2537
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References and notes

External links

WebsiteImage on Google Maps
{{Authority control Public high schools in Maryland Educational institutions established in 1966 Public schools in Howard County, Maryland 1966 establishments in Maryland Buildings and structures in Columbia, Maryland