Governor Thomas Johnson High School (GTJHS) is a four-year public high school in

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

, United States. The school is home to the Academy of Fine Arts, an auditioned-only visual and performing arts program for talented students in Frederick County from Grades 9th to 12th. The school is also home to the naval

Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC -- commonly pronounced "JAY-rotsee") is a federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools and also in some middle schools across the United States and at US military ...

for Frederick County.

Thomas Johnson

The school is named after former Maryland Governor Thomas Johnson who was the first post-colonial governor of the state. He was also a delegate to the Continental Congress and an associate justice of the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. Johnson himself received no formal education and taught himself the law while working for an attorney and qualified at age 28.

Buildings

The school is located on

Maryland Route 355 Maryland Route 355 (MD 355) is a north–south road in western central Maryland in the United States. The southern terminus of the route, Wisconsin Avenue, is located in the Bethesda, Maryland, Bethesda Census-designated place, C ...

, north of 14th Street, and southeast of

U.S. Route 15 U.S. Route 15 (US 15) is a -long United States highway, designated along South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York. The route is signed north–south, from U.S. Route 17 Alternate in Walterboro, South Caro ...

. The building has of space located on of land. The address is 1501 N. Market Street in Frederick, MD 21701.

Students

Gov. Thomas Johnson High has around 1,850 students and the demographics are as follows for 2021-2022 year 30.5% White 23.7% African American 35.1% Hispanic 4.7% Multiracial Thomas Johnson's graduation rate has been steadily rising over the past 12 years. In 2007 the school graduated 93.85%, the highest rate in the past 12 years and The school had a low of 84.91% in 1999. The school's population had been steadily rising over the years, but has been decreasing over the last 4 years due to the redistricting of some students to Oakdale High School. GTJ HS

Academies

Governor Thomas Johnson High School is home to 2 "academies" for Frederick County Public Schools. The "Academy for the Fine Arts" has been at GTJHS since the late 1980s. AFA, as it is called, offers various college level classes pertaining to the arts for students in 10th, 11th, and 12th grade. The Naval

was a new addition to GTJHS for the 2015–16 school year. The program had previously been held at

Linganore High School Linganore High School is an American high school in Frederick County, Maryland. It serves the eastern portion of Frederick County. The school's mascot is the Lancer and its colors are red and black. History Linganore High School Junior-Senior ...

. The NJROTC features an orienteering team, a rifle team, and a drill team.

Sports

State Champions * 2017 - Unified track * 2013 - Boys' cross country * 2012 - Boys' indoor track & field * 2011 - Boys' outdoor track & field * 2010 - Boys' outdoor track & field * 2010 - Boys' indoor track & field * 2009 - Boys' outdoor track & field * 2009 - Boys' indoor track & field * 2006 - Boys' soccer * 2002 - Baseball * 2001 - Girls' soccer * 2000 - Boys' track & field * 1999 - Boys' basketball * 1997 - Boys' basketball * 1997 - Girls' soccer * 1994 - Softball * 1992 - Baseball * 1989 - Girls' basketball * 1988 - Boys' basketball * 1986 - Boys' basketball * 1985 - Boys' basketball * 1983 - Baseball * 1983 - Girls' basketball * 1982 - Boys' basketball * 1982 - FootballMPSSAA Football
/ref> * 1975 - Boys' basketball

Notable alumni

* Virginia Cha, anchor on MSNBC Live, reporter for CNN *

Nate Hairston Nathan Hairston (born June 30, 1994) is an American football cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple, and was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the fifth round of the ...

, cornerback for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

* Branden Kline, Major League Baseball player for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Julia Martz-Fisher Julia Martz-Fisher (born April 6, 1968) is an American lawyer and associate judge of the circuit court for Frederick County. Early life and education Martz-Fisher was born in Frederick, Maryland on April 6, 1968. Her parents and grandparents w ...

, Associate Judge for the Circuit Court for Frederick County. *

Terence Morris Terence Darea Morris (born January 11, 1979) is an American former professional basketball player. He was twice the Israeli Basketball Premier League Defensive Player of the Year, in 2007 and 2008. He was an All-EuroLeague First Team selection i ...

, former NBA and

Israel Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball co ...

basketball player *

Bryan Voltaggio Bryan Voltaggio (born 1976) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, and author. He is a Top Chef television series alum; and he was a semi-finalist for the James Beard award. His brother is celebrity chef Michael Voltaggio. He resides in Fre ...

, chef, ''Top Chef'' runner-up

References and notes

External links

Governor Thomas Johnson High School website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Governor Thomas Johnson High School Educational institutions established in 1966 Public high schools in Maryland Schools in Frederick County, Maryland 1966 establishments in Maryland Buildings and structures in Frederick, Maryland Education in Frederick, Maryland