Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

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 ...

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, United States.

History

In 1918, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School opened around the corner from its present location as the Paul Laurence Dunbar Elementary School, No. 101. The original school was part of the segregated "colored schools" system, which was abolished by 1954. The present school is part of the

Baltimore City Public Schools Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS), also referred to as Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) or City Schools, is a public school district in the city of Baltimore, state of Maryland, United States. It serves the youth of Baltimore Cit ...

system. It was named in memory of

Paul Laurence Dunbar Paul Laurence Dunbar (June 27, 1872 – February 9, 1906) was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American C ...

, a famous

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

, who had died twelve years before the school opened. In 1925, it was renamed Dunbar Junior High School, No. 133. In 1940, Dunbar became a high school and awarded its first diploma, the second school for African-Americans in Baltimore to do so. In the summer of 2007, after thirty years of heavy use, the main high school building was emptied for renovations. Students were moved to Thomas G. Hayes Elementary School, behind Dunbar at 601 North Central Avenue. The renovations were completed in late August 2009 with costs totaling $32 million. Renovated features included science and robotics labs, wider interior hallways, larger windows, a new cafeteria, and a new library.

Academics

Dunbar High School is a

magnet school In the U.S. education system, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities (usually school boards) as school ...

, offering biotechnology, emergency medical technology (EMT), accounting, nursing, and health care delivery systems programs. Dunbar High School has been named a Bronze Medal School by '' U.S. News & World Report''.

Athletics

The male varsity sports offered at Dunbar are baseball, basketball, football, soccer, and wrestling. The women's varsity sports offered are badminton, basketball, soccer, softball, and volleyball. The four varsity teams that are coed are cross country, swimming, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field.

Football

The

withdrew from the Maryland Scholastic Association (MSA) in 1993, its long-time home since 1909 and the home of the formerly segregated schools, Dunbar and Douglass, since 1956. The schools then joined the larger, statewide Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA), and since then Dunbar has had great success in the class 1A division. The Dunbar football team, the Poets, won state championships in 1994, 1995, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013, 2017 and 2021.

Basketball

Since 1993, the school's basketball team, the Poets, have won the State Championship fifteen times. Additionally, the Poets were National Champions in 1983, 1985 and 1992. Dunbar's girls basketball team, the Lady Poets, have excelled as well, winning the state girls basketball title in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2011 and 2012.

Community partnerships

Dunbar is one of the partner schools of Thread, formerly the Incentive Mentoring Program, an organization formed by

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1893, the School of Medicine shares a campus with the Johns Hopkins Hospi ...

that tutors high school students to help prevent them from failing high school. Struggling students selected by the principal can receive one-on-one tutoring from Thread mentors, as well as social support to address any personal challenges that may be affecting their school performance.

Notable alumni

Business and industry

* Reginald F. Lewis, Chairman & CEO, TLC

Beatrice Foods Beatrice Foods Company was a major American food processing company founded in 1894. In 1987, its international food operations were sold to Reginald Lewis, a corporate attorney, creating TLC Beatrice International, after which the majority of ...

International

Politics and government

* Robert M. Bell, Chief Judge,

Maryland Court of Appeals The Supreme Court of Maryland is the state supreme court, highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. Its name was changed on December 14, 2022, from the Maryland Court of Appeals, after a voter-approved change to the state constitution. The cou ...

Clarence "Tiger" Davis Clarence "Tiger" Davis (born September 25, 1942) is an American politician who represented Maryland's 45th legislative district located in northeast Baltimore City in the Maryland House of Delegates. Background Davis was born in Georgia, USA, and ...

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

, District 45 (1983–2007) *

Ken Harris Karyl Ross "Ken" Harris (July 31, 1898 – March 24, 1982) was an American animator best known for his work at Warner Bros. Cartoons under the supervision of director Chuck Jones. Life and career Ken Harris was born in Tulare County, Calif ...

, Baltimore City Council, District 4

Music

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

, rapper and actor(9th grade only) *

Ultra Nate adopted by United Kingdom, British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Communications Headquarters#Governme ...

, musician (class of 1986)

Sports

NFL

* Calvin Williams, former wide receiver,

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

; associate athletics director,

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

* Tommy Polley, linebacker,

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays its ...

* Bob Wade, defensive back,

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

Tavon Austin Tavon Wesley Austin (born March 15, 1990) is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. He played college football at West Virginia where he received All-American honors twice. He was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the first ro ...

, wide receiver,

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

Delano Johnson Delano Johnson (born January 13, 1988) is a Canadian football defensive end who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Bowie State University. He has been a member of the Houston Texans, Toronto Argonauts, Portland Steel, Portlan ...

, defensive lineman,

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

NBA

Muggsy Bogues Tyrone Curtis "Muggsy" Bogues (born January 9, 1965) is a former American basketball player. The shortest player ever to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Bogues played point guard for four teams during his 14-season caree ...

Sam Cassell Samuel James Cassell Sr. (born November 18, 1969) is an American professional basketball coach and former point guard who serves as an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Drafted 24th overall i ...

* Kurk Lee *

Reggie Lewis Reginald C. Lewis (November 21, 1965 – July 27, 1993) was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics from 1987 to 1993. Early life Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Lewis attended high schoo ...

* Reggie Williams * David Wingate *

Skip Wise Allen Harper "Skip" Wise Jr. (born July 25, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. Wise was a sensation as a high school player at Dunbar High School in Baltimore, Maryland. In his junior year in 1973, Wise led Dunbar to a v ...

Keith Booth Keith Eugene Booth (born October 9, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Booth played college basketball at the University of Maryland from 1993 to 1997. He was an assistant coach at his a ...

Terry Dozier Terry Linnard Dozier (born June 29, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played high school basketball at Dunbar High in Baltimore and later attended the University of South Carolina, where he played from 198 ...

Coaches

, former Assistant Coach of

University of Maryland at College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

Terrapins men's basketball team, current men's assistant at

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a private Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early and eight other members of the Society of Jesus in 1852, it is the ninth-oldest Jesuit college in the ...

* Bob Wade, Head Coach,

Terrapins men's basketball team, also Dunbar's boys basketball team Poets, first African-American head basketball coach in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

, current assistant coach of the

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...

NBA men's professional basketball team

References

External links

Official website

Paul Laurence Dunbar High School - Maryland Report Card
{{authority control African-American history in Baltimore East Baltimore Educational institutions in the United States with year of establishment missing Magnet schools in Maryland Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools Public high schools in Maryland Public schools in Baltimore