he phrase “the new normal” has been thrown around since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and as America struggles to define—and design—what that is exactly, colleges are paving the way for what it might look like.

After the chaos and uncertainty of 2020, colleges and universities throughout the Baltimore region began to find their groove as they moved into the 2021-2022 school year. Coronavirus safety committees had been erected, new mandates put in place, safety protocols implemented—everything from vaccine requirements to temperature checks to quarantine procedures and wastewater testing that can pinpoint a COVID infection before anyone is symptomatic.

By some counts, colleges may very well be the safest places to live and work.

“Just following simple rules of wearing face masks and social distancing, using wastewater management and testing when we need to, we have, in many ways, been able to return to normal life,” says Goucher College President Kent Devereaux. “Full athletics, student clubs, dining in the dining hall, use of the library—everything that you’d normally have, we’ve been able to return to.”

Despite the challenges and anxieties faced by students, staff, and faculty alike, some unexpected silver linings have emerged.

“It’s just incredible to watch how it’s grown into the vision that we, as a group of students, had.”

The widespread adoption of technology across college campuses has proven to provide more flexibility, efficiency, and innovation—and even accessibility, in some cases. Counseling sessions, for example, began to be conducted remotely during the pandemic and many students found that they preferred it to in-person sessions. Students who cannot, for whatever reason, make it to an in-person class can now study from anywhere.

Challenging times, combined with advances in technology and the general acceptance of it, have also brought more cooperation and collaboration among schools. It’s becoming more common, for example, for schools that offer complementary programs to partner with one another to offer students an educational pathway to continue studies in their chosen areas. That may mean a discounted tuition rate, a transfer of class credits, or an internship through a partner school.

Maybe most importantly though, schools, at their best, foster an environment where students are supported, expand who they are, and connect with like-minded people. At a time when gathering together is not always safe, being in a community has become even more precious, and students have found new ways to connect.

OCA Mocha, a coffeehouse in Arbutus founded by University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) students, is one example of how effective a gathering place can be at a time when people are craving human connection. What started as a class assignment—to design a community center of some sort—has become a gathering place not just for UMBC students and alumni, but the Arbutus community at large.

“We’ve heard a lot of stories from people who are extremely grateful to have this space,” says Michael Berardi, UMBC class of 2019 and co-founder and general manager of OCA Mocha, which stands for Opportunities for Community Alliances. The coffee shop includes a stage, a community room, and an art gallery, employs UMBC students and alumni, and provides internship opportunities for current UMBC students.

“We have local groups and organizations that meet regularly in our community space and are grateful to not have to meet in someone’s living room or church basement,” says Berardi. “We see a lot of connections being made. It’s just incredible to watch how it’s grown into the vision that we, as a group of students, had.”

We checked in with colleges and universities throughout the region to find out what’s new and what campus life and classes look like, two years into the pandemic.

COPPIN STATE UNIVERSITY
A historically Black institution founded in 1900, Coppin State University is situated in the heart of Baltimore City in the Mondawmin neighborhood. Part of the University System of Maryland in Baltimore, the school offers 32 undergraduate and 11 graduate degrees, along with nine certificate programs and one doctorate degree. It’s been rated No. 4 Best HBCU in the Nation (College Consensus), the Top 5 Best Value Online Program (Online School Center), and No. 17 Best Value in the Nation (College Consensus).

In the summer of 2021, CSU announced its Student Debt Relief Initiative, which clears roughly $1 million in student balances and provided a $1,200 credit to every student enrolled in the fall 2021 semester. CSU also created the Freddie Gray Student Success Scholarship, which is available to graduates of Carver Vocational-Technical High School, where Gray was a student.

Coppin also takes esports (competitive video gaming) seriously. In the fall of 2021, Coppin became the first HBCU to open a building on campus exclusively devoted to esports. The Premier Esports Lab opened in September with a guest appearance from Grammy-nominated artist Cordae.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 2,383 undergraduates, 341 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 13:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $6,809 in-state, $13,334 out-of-state
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 40%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Nursing, Business, Biology, Education, and Criminal Justice, Rehabilitation Counseling

DICKINSON COLLEGE
Founded in 1783, Dickinson College is a liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, with a suburban campus that spans 144 acres. The school offers 41 undergraduate degrees within 17 fields of study.

It’s been rated as one of the best schools in the country for its sustainability efforts, which include an 80-acre, USDA-certified organic farm. Princeton Review rated it No. 2 in the Top 50 Green Colleges, and it was rated No. 2 in Overall Top Performers among baccalaureate institutions in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s “Sustainable Campus Index” in 2019 and 2020.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 2,345
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 9:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $58,708
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 52%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: International Business, Economics, Political Science & Government, International Relations & National Security, General Psychology

GETTYSBURG COLLEGE
Gettysburg College, a private, liberal arts school, sits on 225 acres adjacent to the historical Gettysburg Battlefield in Pennsylvania. Many of the buildings on campus are historically significant, so it’s no wonder that it draws students interested in studying history.

The school offers 65 academic programs, more than 120 campus clubs and organizations, and 800 events on campus each year, plus more than 100 study-abroad opportunities open to students.

Its Majestic Theater serves as a venue for the greater Gettysburg community, hosting national acts as well as performances by the school’s Sunderman Conservatory of Music students.

It’s ranked No. 12 for “students who study the most” by the Princeton Review, which also ranked Gettysburg College’s dining hall No. 9 in the country for best campus food.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 2,600
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 10:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $59,960
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 56%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Political Science, Economics, Health Sciences, Organization and Management Studies, History, Psychology

GOUCHER COLLEGE
A private, liberal arts college in Towson, Goucher College prides itself on its close-knit community.

Goucher was extremely proactive when it came to COVID-19 precautions, being the first in the state to implement wastewater testing, which is able to isolate COVID infections by dorm.

Also of note: The college recently opened two new residence halls as part of the school’s First-Year Village. One hundred percent of Goucher students study abroad, and the school is committed to sustainability.

Most recently, Goucher has begun exciting partnerships with other schools, such as Johns Hopkins University, Loyola University, and more to come, to provide a pathway for students to continue their education beyond Goucher. For instance, their 4+1 MBA Program allows students to earn an advanced business degree through Loyola via a “Fast Track” admission process, and at a 15% discount on tuition.

SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 1,100
STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 9:1
ANNUAL TUITION: $48,000
ACCEPTANCE RATE: 79%
POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Psychology, International Relations, Economics, Political Science, Business Administration

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
Johns Hopkins University (JHU) offers nine academic divisions and hundreds of courses of study, with campuses spread throughout Baltimore, including the Peabody Institute, a music and dance conservatory in Mount Vernon. Its main Homewood campus is located on North Charles Street.

The prestigious, world-renowned university has a strong reputation for its public health and medical studies and has been compared to Ivy League schools.

One of its points of pride is its financial aid program, which covers 100% of calculated need for every admitted student, without loans. This means JHU works with families to calculate what they can afford to contribute toward the total cost of attendance—including meals, books, travel, and other expenses—and JHU covers the rest with grants that don’t need to be repaid.

This school year, JHU added two new minors: Latin American Studies and Writing Seminars.

It also announced new efforts this year to move toward a broader, more flexible undergraduate educational experience that will include a required first-year seminar and the streamlining of major requirements to allow for greater intellectual exploration.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 6,333 undergraduates, 22,559 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 6:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $56,313 for Peabody Institute, $58,720 for the School of Engineering and the School of Arts and Sciences
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 9%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Computer Science, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Neuroscience, Economics, Public Health Studies, International Studies

LOYOLA UNIVERSITY
This private, Jesuit institution offers undergraduate and graduate programs on a beautiful urban campus in northern Baltimore City. Education at Loyola is based in the Jesuit tradition of scholarship cura personalis, or care for the whole person. Loyola is known for its academic rigor while helping students lead purposeful lives. Seventy percent of students study abroad. It currently ranks fourth in best universities in the North region according to U.S. News & World Report.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 3,787 undergraduates, 1,353 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 12:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $53,430
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 80%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Business, Management, Marketing, Journalism, Social Sciences, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Psychology, English Language and Literature, Engineering and Education.

McDANIEL COLLEGE
McDaniel College sits in a bucolic setting near Westminster in Carroll County. The private, four-year liberal arts college offers more than 70 undergraduate programs of study and more than 20 graduate programs. McDaniel’s most recent addition to its curriculum is a National Security Fellows Program that provides students with knowledge, skills, and experience in national security as well as the ability to specialize in an area of interest, such as interstate conflict, intrastate political violence, cybersecurity, ethics, and human rights.

Also new this year, McDaniel appointed an inaugural associate provost for equity and belonging who provides vision and leadership to the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and works in collaboration with the provost to co-lead the college’s diversity, equity, and inclusion administrative committee, and guides the Bias Education Response Support Team.

The school also launched a new STEM Center to serve as a physical hub to support students studying the sciences. It hosts workshops and other events while also supplying online and hybrid support.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 1,757 undergraduates, 1,324 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 13:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $46,336
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 81%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Kinesiology, Business Administration, Psychology, Biology, Political Science, International Studies

MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
The largest of Maryland’s HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), Morgan is a public institution founded in 1867. It is situated in northeast Baltimore. As a Carnegie-classified high research (R2) institution, Morgan provides instruction to a multiethnic, multiracial, multinational student body and offers more than 140 academic programs at undergraduate and graduate levels. As Maryland’s Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan fulfills its mission to address the needs and challenges of the modern urban environment through intense community level study and pioneering solutions.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 6,270 undergraduates, 1,364 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 15:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $8,008 for in-state and $18,480 for out-of-state
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 73%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Civil Engineering, Communications Engineering, Business Administration and Management, Social Work, Biology/Biological Sciences, Architecture, Finance, Psychology, Sociology

NOTRE DAME OF MARYLAND UNIVERSITY
A private, Catholic liberal arts university in northern Baltimore, Notre Dame of Maryland University offers programs from undergraduate through PhD, as well as Maryland’s only women’s college. It recently launched the first master’s of art degree in Art Therapy program in the state.
The beautiful, wooded campus is just steps from the bustling downtown Baltimore culture. With values rooted in Catholicism, the school focuses on service to others and social responsibility.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 783
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 7:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $39,675
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 88%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Nursing, Education, Biology, Art Therapy, Pharmacy

TOWSON UNIVERSITY
One of the largest public universities in the state, Towson University offers more than 60 undergraduate majors and continues to draw students from other states, though it remains part of the University System of Maryland.

Its campus continues to expand, with a huge new dining hall, a 23,000-foot recreation and fitness facility with an indoor swimming pool, and its 5,200-seat arena for sporting events and concerts. In 2021, it opened its new Science Complex, the largest academic building on campus at 320,000 square feet.

In September, Towson opened its StarTUp at the Armory, a space for startups and new businesses to engage with the broader community and larger businesses. It serves as a home to Towson’s entrepreneurship programs, as well as student competitions and events.

While Towson remains the largest supplier of medical professionals and educators in the state, the university has also built a strong reputation for its College of Fine Arts and Communication, as well as its Asian Arts & Culture Center, both of which bring students into the wider community and the Baltimore community to Towson for enriching performing arts, music, and visual art programs.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 17,907 undergraduates, 2,949 graduates
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 16:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $7,100 in-state, $22,152 out-of-state
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Business Administration, Education, Nursing, Exercise Science, Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology, Biology, Computer Science, Information Technology

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE
University of Maryland, Baltimore is Maryland’s only public health, law, and human services university. Located in downtown Baltimore, it offers 86 degree and certificate programs through its six nationally ranked professional schools—dentistry, law, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and social work—and an interdisciplinary graduate school.

The school’s 14-acre BioPark is Baltimore’s biggest biotechnology cluster, employing 1,000 people, and remains on the cutting edge of new drugs, treatments, and medical devices.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 7,244
• ANNUAL TUITION: Varies by school
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Medicine, Law, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Nursing, Social Work

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE COUNTY
University of Maryland, Baltimore County educates a campus of more than 10,000 students in programs spanning the arts, engineering, information technology, humanities, sciences, preprofessional studies, and social sciences. Located on the edge of Baltimore County, it allows easy access into the city and all the conveniences of suburban life and housing. It also offers plenty of opportunities for study abroad.

In the fall of 2021, UMBC opened the Center for Well-Being, a new two-story complex that houses Retriever Integrated Health, Student Conduct and Community Standards, and i3b’s Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being. UMBC’s already significant NASA partnerships have continued to grow. In October, NASA announced a major award of $72 million over three years for the new Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research II center. UMBC is leading the national consortium and will receive over $38 million. The GESTAR II consortium will support over 120 researchers, creating extensive opportunities for breakthroughs in Earth and atmospheric science research, and providing major opportunities for students to conduct research and be mentored by NASA scientists and engineers.

• SIZE OF STUDENT BODY: 13,638
• STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO: 17:1
• ANNUAL TUITION: $12,280 in-state, $28,470 out-of-state
• ACCEPTANCE RATE: 81%
• POPULAR AREAS OF STUDY: Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Social Sciences, Psychology, Visual and Performing Arts

 

Cited tuition costs exclude room and board and books.

chool pride runs deep in Baltimore, where independent-school emblems adorn car bumpers and campus amenities rival those of the top colleges and universities in the region. Meet someone new in Charm City, and you might be as likely to hear about where they went to high school as where they attended college. Here, graduates join a long legacy of alumni that share a sense of pride for each unique institution. But with more than 120 independent schools in the Baltimore-Washington area—and 30 in the Baltimore area alone—finding the perfect fit can be a daunting task.

While public schools typically accept new students on a rolling basis, most independent-school admissions timelines operate on an annual schedule like universities. Families should begin the process a year before students plan to attend.

“I think for a family that’s coming to it for the first time, it can be overwhelming,” says Annie Smallwood Morse, executive director of enrollment management at the St. Paul’s Schools, a family of independent schools serving students from infancy through grade 12 in Baltimore County. “We try to make it as similar as possible, but each school is going to do things a little differently. Getting started early is a good idea.”

Even if you’re familiar with schools in the area from your own or a family member’s prior experience, Morse suggests embarking on the process with fresh eyes for each child.

“In this saturated independent-school world that we live in here, try not to listen to the stereotypes that people have,” she says. “Schools have very much changed and evolved. Make your decisions and impressions of the school by your own personal experience and the best fit for your child and your family, and not that chatter. It’s easy to get sucked up in that, but it’s so refreshing when you’re working with families who don’t have those preconceived notions.”

Before wading through dozens of admissions websites, make sure you understand and prioritize your child’s unique needs by creating a whish list.

To figure out the ideal educational opportunity for your child, the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) recommends families ask themselves a series of questions, including whether the ideal school would be small or large, day or boarding, coeducational or single-sex, traditional or progressive, and how it would be best equipped for the child’s special needs and interests.

This wish list serves as a starting point to narrow down potential schools during the selection process. Armed with your must-haves, nice-to-haves, and anything you want to avoid, conduct a search using a comprehensive online tool like the one provided by NAIS, or by visiting school websites to come up with a list of schools that fit your criteria.

With several options in mind, it’s time to get to know each school’s culture on a personal level.

“My advice to families is to start early, to be objective, and to approach the search with an open mind with the end goal of learning about all of the programs offered at each school,” says Missy Moreland, an independent educational consultant (IEC) based in Monkton, who specializes in helping families navigate the school search and application process. “The endeavor is to always try and picture the student at each school to evaluate if each prospective school would be a good fit.”

Moreland is one of more than 40 IECs in the state who serve as a link between a family’s needs and the many unique day and boarding school options that best fit those needs.

“I like to partner and guide the family through the school search process with a genuine interest in the student’s success,” Moreland says. “An IEC should take a caring and individualized approach to understanding the student’s relative strengths and weaknesses, all while clarifying the search process. The IEC should be familiar with this universe of schools and select the best fit list of schools for each individualized search.”

After getting to know your family and your child, a consultant can assist with everything from developing a list of potential schools and creating a timeline for the search process to keeping track of application requirements and interpreting search results.

While partnering with an independent educational consultant gives families a leg up in the school search, getting a feel for schools through the open house remains one of the most important experiences in the selection process.

Held each year in the fall, open houses make a great entry point to learn more about independent schools that could be a good match for your child. Consult the following list, or reach out to schools to find out open house dates and more information. You should visit open houses the fall before you plan to enroll your child in a new school.

Some schools open for a few hours for families to come and go, tour facilities, and meet the admissions team, while others organize full-day programs that include talks by the head of school or admissions counselors and require advance registration. Still others offer a suite of admissions experiences covering topics such as affording a private-school education and hearing from a panel of young alumni about how the school contributed to their success.

The open house is the perfect opportunity to learn about a school’s mission and to get a first impression of its values and culture. Be sure to jot down in-depth questions that come to mind during the event to follow up about later, during a personal tour or interview.

For open-house season last fall, schools pivoted to virtual formats, where prospective families could hear from faculty, administrators, and current families. In addition, many schools offered virtual campus tours online and facilitated one-on-one conversations with enrolled families.

While many schools are returning to modified in-person admissions experiences this year, some elements introduced over the past year are here to stay. Check individual school websites as events approach for the most up- to-date information.

“We all learned a lot during a year of virtual admissions,” says Morse of St. Paul’s Schools. “There are some things we felt like worked really well virtually, and some things we were able to do that, had we done them in person, wouldn’t have worked the same.”

Encompassing three schools—a coed pre-and lower school through fourth grade and single-gender girls’ and boys’ schools beginning in fifth grade—St. Paul’s Schools share a 120-acre campus and Episcopal tradition. This fall, the schools’ admissions events will include a hybrid of in-person and virtual open houses and school visit experiences.

When possible, however, in-person experiences offer the best glimpse into a school’s culture.

“Take advantage of every opportunity to get on campus,” Morse adds, noting that a lot of campus events are open to the public, such as plays or sports games. “What you see at the open houses might be different than what you see by going to a game and cheering from the sidelines. Getting to experience the school in more than just one way gives you a real feel for the community and what the campus has to offer.”

Another welcome change inspired by the pandemic are more intimate events, like personal or small-group campus tours.

“The on-campus events have become personalized,” Moreland says, noting that, at several local schools, the large group tours have been downsized. “It started out because they had to be socially distanced, but it’s nice because it’s become much more individualized, and I think it’s something that is going to continue.”

In addition to the open house, Moreland suggests connecting with as many different types of school representatives as possible. Admissions is a great place to start, but also look beyond that office at faculty and staff, current parents and students, and alumni. “It’s such a great opportunity for insight,” she says. “There’s a lot that you can really learn through those conversations for families to better understand the culture of each of the schools.”

At St. Paul’s Schools, parents are available through the admissions website for prospective families to connect with to ask questions and learn more. “Use current parents as a resource,” Morse suggests. “Connect with them, and find out what it was that was the deciding factor for them and their family.”

To make comparisons easier, write down your questions and ask the same ones at each school interview or tour. Once you’ve narrowed down your top choices, make sure you add application and financial aid deadlines—typically in January—to your calendar.

Admissions offices begin to share decisions in March. If your child is accepted at more than one school, arrange a shadow day at each school for your child to experience what daily life would be like. Revisit your original wish list to make sure you haven’t lost sight of your family’s priorities or each child’s unique needs.

“It’s not going to be the same for every student,” Morse says. “What may be the fit for one child might not be the fit for the second student. Families will know when they come on campus and when they’ve been in the school—they get a feeling. Don’t be afraid to listen to that feeling.”

Save the Dates

Below is a list of open houses at schools in the Greater Baltimore region. The time of the open houses, when available, is printed directly a er the name of each school.

ARCHBISHOP CURLEY HIGH SCHOOL
10/23 and 10/24, 10 a.m.-noon. 3701 Sinclair Ln. 410-485-5000 archbishop-curley.org Grades: 9-12, all-male. Enrollment: 560. Affiliation: Roman Catholic/ Franciscan.

ARCHBISHOP SPALDING HIGH SCHOOL
10/24, 12 p.m. 8080 New Cut Rd., Severn 410-969-9105 archbishpspaulding.org Grades: 9-12, coed. Enrollment: 1,253. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

BALTIMORE LAB SCHOOL
Third Thursday breakfast tour each month, 9-10:15 a.m. 2220 St. Paul St. 410-261-5500 baltimorelabschool.org Grades: 1-12, coed. Enrollment: 137. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

BETH EL @ FEDERAL HILL
Call for tour information. 1530 Battery Ave. 410-528-6001 bethelbalto.com Grades: 2-5 years of age, coed. Enrollment: 40. Affiliation: Jewish.

BETH TFILOH DAHAN COMMUNITY SCHOOL
High School: 11/14, 7 p.m.; Middle school: 11/19, 7 p.m.; Lower school: 11/7, 8:45 a.m. 3300 Old Court Rd., Pikesville. 410-486-1905 bethtfiloh.com Grades: 15 months-grade 12, coed. Enrollment: 943. Affiliation: Jewish.

THE BOYS’ LATIN SCHOOL OF MARYLAND
10/24, 10 a.m. 822 W. Lake Ave. 410-377-5192 boyslatinmd.com Grades: K-12, all-male. Enrollment: 630. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

THE BRYN MAWR SCHOOL
10/23, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. 109 W. Melrose Ave. 410-323-8800 brynmawrschool. org Grades: K-12, all-female; The Little School, coed. Enrollment: 700. Affiliation: Non-sectarian

CALVERT HALL COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL
10/31, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. 8102 La Salle Rd. 410-825-4266 calverthall.com Grades: 9-12, all-male. Enrollment: 1,192. Affiliation: Roman Catholic and LaSallian.

CALVERT SCHOOL
10/1, 10/20, 11/11, 12/2, 1/11, 9:30-11 a.m. 105 Tuscany Rd. 410-243-6054 calvertschoolmd.org Grades: K-8, coed. Enrollment: 626. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

CAMBRIDGE SCHOOL
Call for times. 110 Sudbrook Ln., Pikesville. 410-486-3686 cambridgeschool.org Grades: K-8, coed. Enrollment: 121. Affiliation: Christian.

THE CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE
10/23, 12-2 p.m. 2800 Edison Hwy. 410-732-6200 thecatholichighschool. org Grades: 9-12, all-female. Enrollment: 300. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

COLUMBIA ACADEMY
Elementary and Middle School: 10/26, Call for time. 10350 Old Columbia Rd., Columbia. 410-312-7413 columbiaacademy.com Grades: Junior K-8, coed. Enrollment: 138. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

CONCORDIA PREPARATORY SCHOOL
10/12, 10 a.m.-noon. 1145 Concordia Dr., Towson. 410-825-2323 concordiaprepschool.org Grades: 6-12, coed. Enrollment: 400. Affiliation: Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

EASTERN TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL
10/17, 6-8 p.m. 1100 Mace Ave., Essex. 410-809-0190 easterntechhs.bcps.org Grades: 9-12, coed. Enrollment: ~1,174. Affiliation: Non-sectarian, public.

FORK UNION MILITARY ACADEMY
Call for appointment. 4744 James Madison Hwy., Fork Union, Virginia. 1-800-GO-2-FUMA (1-800-462-3862) forkunion.com Grades: 7-12 and post- grad program, boarding, all-male. Enrollment: ~367. Affiliation: Christian.

FRIENDS SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE
First Look @ Friends: 9/22, 10/7, 10/21, 11/9, 4:30 p.m. Zoom 12/7, 7 p.m. 5114 N. Charles St. 410-649-3200 friendsbalt.org Grades: Pre-K-12, coed. Enrollment: 830. Affiliation: Quaker.

GARRISON FOREST SCHOOL
Parent visit days, lower school: 10/11, 8-10:00 a.m.; middle school: 10/16, 7:45-9:30 a.m.; upper school: 10/17, 8-10 a.m. 300 Garrison Forest Rd., Owings Mills. 410-363-1500 gfs.org Grades: Pre-K-12, all-female except coed pre-K. Enrollment: 550. Affiliation: Non- sectarian.

GERSTELL ACADEMY
10/16, 10 a.m.; 10/28, 6 p.m.; 11/19, 9 a.m.; 12/10, 11 a.m. 2500 Old Westminster Pike, Finksburg. 410-861-3000 gerstell.org Grades: Pre-K-12, coed. En- rollment: 400. Affiliation: Non-sectarian

GILMAN SCHOOL
Middle and upper school: 10/26, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. 5407 Roland Ave. 410-323-3800 gilman.edu Grades: K-12, all-male. Enrollment: 1,020. Affiliation: Non-sectarian

GLENELG COUNTRY SCHOOL
10/15, 11/2, 12/1, 9 a.m. 12793 Folly Quarter Rd., Ellicott City. 410-531-8600 glenelg.org Grades: Age 2-grade 12, coed. Enrollment: 780. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

MONTESSORI SCHOOL
Call for times. 10807 Tony Dr., Lutherville-Timonium. 410-321-8555 greenspringmontessori.org Grades: 18 months-grade 9, coed. Enrollment: 260. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

HARFORD DAY SCHOOL
10/18, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.; Middle school preview: 11/4, call for time. 715 Moores Mill Rd., Bel Air. 410-838-4848 harfordday.org Grades: Age 3-grade 8. Enrollment: 295. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

HARGRAVE MILITARY ACADEMY
10/2, 12/11, 1/8, 4/30, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 200 Military Dr., Chatham, Virginia. 1-434- 432-2481 Hargrave.edu/admission/visit Grades: 7-12, plus post-graduate for boys. Enrollment: 140. Affiliation: Baptist.

THE HIGHLANDS SCHOOL
Call to schedule tour. 2409 Creswell Rd., Bel Air. 410-836-1415 highlandsschool.net Grades: K-12, coed. Enrollment: 92, rolling admissions. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION SCHOOL
Pre-K to Grade 8: 11/4, 9:30 a.m.; Middle school: 10/7, 6 p.m. 112 Ware Ave., Towson. 410-427-4801 theimmaculate.org Grades: Pre-K (age 3) through Grade 8, coed. Enrollment: 535. Affiliation: Catholic

JEMICY SCHOOL
Please contact the Admission Office to schedule a meeting with the admission staff to discuss your child’s learning profile and to learn about our program. Upper school: 11202 Garrison Forest Rd., Owings Mills. Lower and Middle School: 11 Celadon Rd., Owings Mills. 410-653-2700 jemicyschool.org Grades: 1-12, coed. Enrollment: 449. Affiliation: Non-sectarian

JOHN CARROLL SCHOOL
10/30, 10 a.m. to noon, 1-3 p.m. 703 E. Churchville Rd., Bel Air. 410-838-8333 johncarroll.org Grades: 9-12, coed. En- rollment: 700. Affiliation: Catholic.

KRIEGER SCHECHTER DAY SCHOOL
Info session and tours: 10/17, 12/4, 1/9, 9 a.m. 8100 Stevenson Rd. 410-486-8640 ksds.edu Grades: K-8, coed. Enrollment: 295. Affiliation: Jewish.

LOYOLA BLAKEFIELD
10/24, 500 Chestnut Ave., Towson. 410-823-0601 loyolablakefield.org Grades: 6-12, all-male. Enrollment: 1,000. Affiliation: Jesuit Catholic.

MARYVALE PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Upper School: 10/4 and 11/5, 8:30 a.m.; Middle School: 10/17 and 12/5, 8:30 a.m. 11300 Falls Rd., Lutherville. 410-252-3366 maryvale.com Grades: 6-12, all-female. Enrollment: 380. Affiliation: Catholic.

MCDONOGH SCHOOL
Lower: 10/10, 10/23, 11/5, 9 a.m.; Middle: 10/27, 12:30 p.m.; Upper: 10/27, 3 p.m. 8600 McDonogh Rd., Owings Mills. 410-363-0600 mcdonogh.org/ admissions/ways-to-visit Grades: Pre- K-12, coed. Enrollment: 1,450. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

MERCERSBURG ACADEMY
10/11, 12/13, Call for times. 100 Academy Dr., Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. 717-328-6173 mercersburg.edu/open-house Grades: 9-12, plus post-grad year, boarding and day. Enrollment: 445, coed Affiliation: Non-sectarian

MERCY HIGH SCHOOL
10/23, 10 a.m.-2 pm. 1300 E. Northern Pkwy. 410-433-8880 mercyhighschool.com Grades: 9-12, all-female. Enrollment: 427. Affiliation: Catholic.

MOTHER SETON ACADEMY
11/3, 12-3 p.m. 2215 Greenmount Ave. 410-563-2833 mothersetonacademy.org Grades: 6-8, coed. Enrollment: 75. Affiliation: Catholic.

MOUNT DE SALES ACADEMY
11/7, 12-3 p.m. 700 Academy Rd., Catonsville. 410-744-8498 mountdesalesacademy.org Grades: 9-12, all-female. Enrollment: 485. Affiliation: Roman Catholic

MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH HIGH SCHOOL
Call for times, 4403 Frederick Ave. 410-644-3300 msjnet.edu Grades: 9-12, all-male. Enrollment: 924. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

NATURE PRESCHOOL OF BALTIMORE
(Formerly Hunt Valley Country Day School) Call to schedule meeting, 200A Lakefront Dr., Hunt Valley. 410-329- 9867 naturepreschoolbaltimore.org Grades: 2-5 years. Enrollment: N/A Affiliation: Non-sectarian, nature- based early-childhood program

NOTRE DAME PREPARATORY SCHOOL
10/12, 8:30 a.m.-noon. 815 Hampton Ln., Towson. 410-825-6202 notredameprep.com Grades: 6-12, all-female. Enrollment: 800. Affiliation: Catholic.

THE ODYSSEY SCHOOL
Inside Odyssey: 1/20, 6:45-9 p.m. Snow Date for Inside Odyssey: 1/27, 6:45-9 p.m. 3257 Bridle Ridge Ln., Lutherville. 410-580-5551 theodysseyschool.org Grades: K-8, coed. Enrollment: 160. Affiliation: Non-sectarian

OLDFIELDS SCHOOL
10/16, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 1500 Glencoe Rd., Sparks-Glencoe. 410-472-4800
oldfieldsschool.org Grades: 8-12, all-female. Enrollment: 120. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

OUR LADY OF GRACE PRE-SCHOOL
Call for times, 18310 Middletown Rd., Parkton. 410-329-6956 olgs.org Grades: Preschool, coed. Enrollment: 35. Affiliation: Catholic.

OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL
Call for times, 1704 Old Eastern Ave., Essex. 410-686-4972 olmcmd.org Grades: Pre-K-12, coed. Enrollment: 532. Affiliation: Catholic.

OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP SCHOOL
Call for times, 4801 Ilchester Rd., Ellico City. 410-744-4251 olphschool.org Grades: Pre-K to grade 8, coed. Enrollment: 240. Affiliation: Roman Catholic

THE PARK SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE
Call for times, 2425 Old Court Rd. 410- 339-7070 parkschool.net Grades: Pre- K-12, coed. Enrollment: 813. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

PAULINE MASH SCHOOL FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
Call for tour information, 8101 Park Heights Ave. 410-484-0411 bethelbalto.com Grades: 8 weeks-5 years, coed. Enrollment: 120. Affiliation: Jewish.

PEABODY PREPARATORY
Preparatory Institute of The Johns Hopkins University. Call for times, 21 E. Mount Vernon Pl. 667-208-6640 peabody.jhu.edu Grades: Music and dance instruction for all ages and abilities, coed. Enrollment: Approx. 2,000 per week at four locations. Affiliation: Non-sectarian

REDEEMER CLASSICAL CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
11/7, 6:30 p.m. 6415 Mount Vista Rd., Kingsville. 410-592-9625 rccs.org Grades: Pre-K-12, coed. Enrollment: 234. Affiliation: Christian.

ROLAND PARK COUNTRY SCHOOL
Middle/Upper school: 9/25, 4-5 p.m.; Lower school: 10/4, 10/30, 8:30-10 a.m. 5204 Roland Ave. 410-323-5500 rpcs.org Grades: Pre-K-12, all-female except coed preschool. Enrollment: 579. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI SCHOOL
Call for times, 3617 Harford Rd. 410-467-1683 sfa-school.org Grades: Pre-K to Grade 8. Enrollment: 260, coed. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

ST. JAMES ACADEMY
10/20, 1:30 p.m.; 11/ 5, 9 a.m.; 11/ 17, 9 a.m.; 12/3, 1:30 p.m.; 12/15, 1:30 p.m. See website for virtual tour. 3100 Monkton Rd., Monkton. 410-568-7573 saintjamesacademy.org Grades: Pre- K-8, coed. Enrollment: 300. Affiliation: Episcopalian

SAINT JAMES SCHOOL
Virtual: 9/27, 7 p.m. In-person (COVID- depending): 11/11, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. 17641 College Rd., Hagerstown. 301-733-9330 stjames.edu Grades: 8-12, coed. Enroll- ment: 230. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

ST. JOHN’S PARISH DAY SCHOOL
Call for times 9130 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City. 410-465-7644 stjohnspds.org Grades: Age 3-Grade 5, coed. Enrollment: 350. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

ST. MARK SCHOOL
Call for times, 26 Melvin Ave. Catonsville. 410-744-6560 stmarkschool.org Grades: Pre-K-8, coed. Enrollment: 340. Affiliation: Catholic.

ST. PAUL’S PRE AND LOWER SCHOOL
Parent Information Sessions: 10/15, 11/17, 12/8 (virtual), 1/11, 11152 Falls Rd., Brooklandville. 410-821- 3060 stpaulsmd.org/coed Grades: Infant-Grade 4. Enrollment: 374. Affiliation: Episcopalian.
Parent Information Sessions: Middle School: 10/26, 11/16, 11/18 (virtual), 12/7, 1/12. 410-821-3034 stpaulsmd.org/boys Grades: 5-12. Enrollment: 546. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

ST. PAUL’S SCHOOL FOR GIRLS
Parent Information Sessions: Middle School: 10/19, 11/9 (virtual), 12/2, 1/13 Upper School: 10/14, 11/4 (virtual), 12/8, 1/6. 11232 Falls Rd., Brooklandville. 443-632-1082 stpaulsmd.org/girls Grades: 5-12. Enrollment: 451. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

ST. PIUS X SCHOOL
Call for times, 6432 York Rd. 410-427-7400 stpiusschool.org Grades: Pre-K-8, coed. Enrollment: 145. Affiliation: Catholic.

ST. TIMOTHY’S SCHOOL
10/14, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. or 2-4 p.m.; 11/2, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.; 11/11, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. or 2-4 p.m. 8400 Greenspring Ave., Stevenson. 410-486-7401 stt.org Grades: 9-12, boarding and day, all-female. Enrollment: 200. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

ST. URSULA SCHOOL
Call for times, 900 Harford Rd., Parkville. 410-665-3533 stursula.org Grades: Pre-K-8, coed. Enrollment: 626. Affiliation: Catholic.

SANDY SPRING FRIENDS SCHOOL
10/20, 1-3:30 p.m. 16923 Norwood Rd., Sandy Spring. 301-774-7455 ssfs.org Grades: Pre-K-12, coed. Enrollment: 622. Affiliation: Quaker.

THE SCHOOL OF THE CATHEDRAL OF MARY OUR QUEEN
10/5, 11/11, 8:30-11:30 a.m. 111 Amberly Way. 410-464-4100 schoolofthecathedral.org Grades: K-8, coed. Enrollment: 354. Affiliation: Catholic.

SEVERN SCHOOL
(now merged with Chesapeake Academy) Lower School: 10/7, 9 a.m.; Middle and Upper schools: 11/4, 7 p.m. Lower School: 1185 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd., Arnold. Middle/Upper School: 201 Water St., Severna Park. 410-647-7700 severn-school.com Grades: Pre-K-12, coed. Enrollment: 884. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

SHADY SIDE ACADEMY
Senior School: 10/16, 9 a.m.; 11/13, 9 a.m.; 12/11, 9 a.m. 423 Fox Chapel Rd. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 412-968- 3000 shadysideacademy.org Grades: 9-12, coed, day and boarding. Enrollment: 475. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

SPRINGDALE PREPARATORY SCHOOL
Call for Times, 1000 Green Valley Rd., New Windsor. 855-405-8600 springdaleps.org Grades: 5-12, day and boarding, coed. Enrollment: n/a. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

TONG LE MONTESSORI SCHOOL
Open house: Call for times, 805 E. Fayette St., Ste. 100. 410-929-1628 tonglemontessori.com Grades: Ages 6 weeks-6 years Enrollment: 35. Affiliation: Non-sectarian Mandarin Chinese immersion program.

TRINITY SCHOOL
All grades: 10/9, 10 a.m.; 11/14, 9:30 a.m. 4985 Ilchester Rd., Ellicott City. 443-744-1524 trinityschoolmd.org Grades: Pre-K-8, coed. Enrollment: 320. Affiliation: Catholic.

WALDORF SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE
Call for times, 4801 Tamarind Rd. 410- 367-6808 waldorfschoolofbaltimore.org Grades: Pre-K-8, coed. Enrollment: 153. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

WEST NOTTINGHAM ACADEMY
Call for times, 1079 Firetower Rd., Colora. 410-658-5556 wna.org Grades: 9-12, day and boarding, coed. Enrollment: 130. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Paying for Private: A New Take on Tuition

It’s no secret that an independent-school education comes with a significant price tag. And the cost keeps going up. For the 2020-2021 academic year, the median Baltimore-area day-school tuition was $29,264, while boarding tuition was $63,846.

However, more than 37 percent of students at Baltimore-area schools receive financial aid, according to the National Association of Independent Schools.

The cost of tuition has well outpaced inflation, and it’s getting increasingly challenging for families to keep up. From 1997 to 2019, education expenses increased by 157 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared to an overall inflation increase of 58 percent.
As tuition takes up an increasingly larger share of family income, affording an independent school can feel out of reach for many.

What are schools doing to address these challenges? We spoke with David Schriver, CPA, a director in the audit and accounting department of Ellin & Tucker, about how independent schools are rethinking their tuition models to make financing a private-school education possible for more families.

There are two ways most tuition gets subsidized, Schriver says: It’s either self-funded through an endowment, or budgeted into a school’s annual forecast. Most institutions in Baltimore fall under the latter.

“Schools are trying to identify ways to make tuition a little bit more affordable,” Schriver says. “It’s expensive. They acknowledge that, and they want to help you figure out how to afford it.”

As the rise in tuition becomes unsustainable for many families, new tuition models are popping up at independent schools in Baltimore and beyond.

One approach to the rising tuition rates is to start fresh and drop tuition down to a new level. “This approach seeks to make the school more accessible by reducing the sticker price and increasing transparency throughout the financial-aid application process,” Schriver says. “While the result is a new advertised price, the reality is that families would likely already be paying as much through financial aid.”

Indexed tuition is a model that seeks to demystify the financial-aid process, allowing schools to advertise tuition rates based on a percentage of family income. “The school may set different rates for certain income ranges and publish these rates so that a potential family will be able to calculate what tuition will cost them before they even apply,” Schriver says. “It allows families to have a better understanding of what they might end up paying going in.”

Flexible tuition is another model. Like indexed tuition, it is also scale-driven based on income, but with a limited number of available spaces for each tuition tier. When those spaces ll up, families would be bumped into the next tier. “It’s a first-come, first-served kind of approach, so you may see an early drive toward enrollment because they want to make sure they get into the tier they qualify for,” Schriver explains.

Ready, Set, Enroll: A Timeline of the Independent-School Application Process

The path to finding your child’s perfect school is a long one. Follow this monthly checklist (starting the year before you want your child to attend) from the National Association of Independent Schools to make sure you hit the important milestones. Visit parents.NAIS.org for more helpful tools.

AUGUST
▶  Define your ideal school.
▶  Create a list of schools that match your child’s needs.
▶  Research and ask questions of schools on your preliminary list.

SEPTEMBER
▶ Attend school fairs to gather materials and get first impressions.
▶ Browse schools’ websites to learn more about their programs and philosophies.
▶ Request admissions and financial-aid materials.
▶ Create a calendar of deadlines for the schools on your list.
▶ Register for any standardized tests required for admission.
▶ Schedule individual school tours, class visits, and interviews.

OCTOBER
▶ Visit schools during open houses, attend information sessions, and take tours.
▶ Finalize the list of schools to which you will apply.
▶ Take required standardized admission tests.

NOVEMBER
▶Request teacher recommendations from your child’s current school.
▶Start working on applications, financial-aid forms, student questionnaires, and essays.

DECEMBER
▶ Request transcripts at the end of your child’s first semester.
▶Complete applications, questionnaires, and essays.

JANUARY
▶ Most applications are due in January or February, along with tests scores, references, transcripts, and financial aid forms.

FEBRUARY
▶ Turn in any final applications before the deadlines.
▶ Visit schools and have your child participate in a student shadow day.

MARCH
▶ Watch for school and financial-aid decisions starting in mid-March.
▶ If your student is accepted by multiple schools, decide which school your child will attend.

APRIL
▶ Sign and return enrollment contracts and send deposits.

MAY – SEPTEMBER
▶ Attend events and activities for new parents and student.

To Board or Not to Board: How to Know if Boarding School is the Right Fit for Your Family

Boarding schools offer excellent opportunities for students to develop their independence and foster deep relationships with peers and faculty. With more than 75 boarding schools within a day’s drive of Baltimore—and 11 in Maryland alone—it’s worth determining if boarding is a potential fit for your child.

Maryland-based independent educational consultant Missy Moreland, who works with families to place students at boarding schools around the globe, shares the questions families considering the boarding option should ask.

“There are lots of varieties, lots of kinds of schools and a lot of opportunities,” she says. “At a boarding school, students are able to grow and learn in new environments, becoming more independent and con dent, and are looking for challenges academically, where they have more diversity of friends and more opportunities to try new sports or activities.”

Much like the day-school admissions process, it’s important to ask questions and conduct research to find a school that is the best fit for your child and your entire family.

“Look for the schools that o er the academic and extracurricular programs to provide your student with a learning environment and residential community that is safe, nurturing, and offers potential for growth,” she says.

When working with families, Moreland asks questions regarding things like culture, location, and campus life to determine if a boarding school is a good fit.

Asking the Right Questions

▶ Does the school culture and values resonate with your family?

▶ Do the current students seem happy? Are they relaxed? Are they having fun? Do they seem motivated and challenged in and outside of the classroom?

▶ Can you see your child there?

▶ Is there a specialized program that meets your child’s needs, such as performing arts, sports, or special learning needs?

▶ What does the campus population look like? Where are students coming from?

▶ Is it near an airport or easily accessible by car or train?

▶ How is campus safety?

▶ Is there an on-campus health center or community hospital nearby?

▶ What cultural and civic attractions are available nearby? Can students take advantage of these opportunities?

▶ What are the populations of five-and seven-day boarders compared to
day students?

▶ What percentage of students and faculty remain on campus on weekends?

▶ What activities are available on nights and weekends?

▶ What type of support or programs are available to acclimate first-year boarding students?

▶ Is parent and alumni involvement visible on campus?

nne Arundel County Public Schools served Laura Dorsey-Elson and Omowale Elson’s daughter and son well through middle school. But with high school on the horizon, the family made the strategic decision to move their children into independent schools.

“We were looking for a smaller school environment at the high-school level,” Dorsey-Elson says. “Not just the class sizes, but the school itself.”

So the family looked into independent-school programs that would match their children’s learning styles and help them develop as students. “We did our research and thought about what would be the best fit four our kids,” she adds.

The Introductions: Open-House Season Goes Online

There are more than 120 independent schools in the Baltimore-Washington area and more than 30 in the greater Baltimore area. With so many options, it takes some dedication to find the right match.

The best way to get an introduction to an independent school is through an annual fall tradition: the open house.

Typically, the open house offers one-stop-shopping for families to see schools in person, talk with administrators, admissions and financial-aid representatives, and start narrowing down their choices.

This fall, however, things look a bit different due to physical distancing and gathering restrictions put in place in response to the coronavirus. While each school will take a unique approach, the essence of the open house is here to stay.

Before open-house season, it’s a good idea to come up with a list of priorities for your family, including must-have and nice-to-have qualities. This way, you can ask the same questions and look consistently at the same factors for every school.

Starting through word of mouth and exploring school websites, narrow down a handful of schools that seem like a good fit for your child. Then, make contact with admissions or attend an event to learn more.

Schools across the region are adapting their traditional admission events this fall to fit their community needs and stay as safe as possible. In most cases, however, the in-person events will be replaced with a series of virtual events where prospective families can hear from faculty, administrators, and current families. In addition, many schools offer virtual campus tours online and will facilitate one-on-one conversations with enrolled families.

“We’ve heard from a number of schools that are looking at different ways to do school tours,” says Myra McGovern of the National Association of Independent Schools. “For some schools, it might be a video walking the viewer through the campus. Some are looking at virtual reality, others at augmented reality where there’s additional information that pops up about each location.”

Friends School of Baltimore, a Pre-K through 12th-grade school set on 34 acres in northern Baltimore, has created a series of Zoom events, called First Look @ Friends, that engage prospective families with the head of school, as well as current students and parents. They have also updated their virtual tour platform, Experience Friends, with 360-degree views of facilities.

“Just as you can’t teach math the same way online as in the classroom, you’re not going to do admission work the same way either,” says Friends School director of admission Amy Mortimer about how the school has pivoted to an online platform. “We’ve kept many of the important pieces—access to students, head of school, faculty members, parents. Designing ways virtually for people to see the classroom is important to us, too.”

Despite some changes to the delivery methods of the fall admissions events, Mortimer says families still have the same goals: learning about a school and finding the best fit for their student.

“My advice is the same, whether you’re able to be on campus together or virtually: Make contact with someone in the admission office,” Mortimer says. Admissions officers are the best resource for families trying to get to know a school environment, she says, and she advises families not to be shy about contacting them directly.

“Right now, because it’s not a typical year, people have all kinds of different questions and needs, and they can be very unique to each family,” Mortimer adds. “People want to know about your math program and the culture of your community, but they also want to know what online learning looks like, and we’re happy to talk one-on-one with families.”

Especially this year, Mortimer also suggests families get to know a school’s culture by checking out their online presence and following social-media pages. This content can be a window into what the school values, or at least a glimpse into the people and places that make up the school community. “It’s an additional way to get to know them in this time of not being able to come and visit and walk around and play on the playground.”

Another key contact? Current families. “To figure out whether the school is the right fit for your family, especially considering the new things in the admissions process this year, talk to other parents,” says McGovern. “Most schools will have a list of current parents who are willing to talk to prospective families. That can give you a good sense of what the school is like, and, in the case that you select that school, it can be a great connection for the future.”

Making a Match: The Application Process

By networking with other families at the elementary level, Dorsey-Elson discovered the Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust (BEST), a nonprofit that identifies and recruits high-achieving Black students in the greater Baltimore area who have the potential to thrive in an independent-school environment but lack the financial resources necessary to enroll.

BEST helps students admitted to the program through the independent-school admissions process, and continues support once students have enrolled. It’s one of many local and national programs aiming to increase equitable access to an independent school education (see sidebar for more details).

Dorsey-Elson’s daughter, Imani, was recruited through the BEST program. She began ninth grade at Friends School of Baltimore in fall 2017. Dorsey-Elson’s son, Asante, also applied to several schools through the BEST program, beginning his freshman year at Friends this fall.

Commuting from Severn in Anne Arundel County didn’t deter the family from choosing Friends, which they found to be the best fit for their children. “When we get our kids up at 5:30 in the morning to get them to school, the motto is, ‘This is an investment,’” says Dorsey-Elson, who is a tenured associate professor at Morgan State University.

In addition to advising the family through the independent-school application process, the BEST program signals to schools that the applicant is high-achieving academically and capable of coping with the school’s rigorous curriculum.

“That helped give another layer for the school to look at our son,” Dorsey-Elson says of the application process with BEST. “They can see he’s a kid who really wants to be here, and know he’s prepared to be here.”

By the time Asante began the high school application process in fall 2019, he already had several years of exposure to the Friends School environment, including attending school events with his family. “Watching his older sister thrive at Friends was the best marketing material Friends could ever ask for,” Dorsey-Elson says.

While he applied to multiple schools, Friends remained his top choice. “It wasn’t just because his sister was there,” she adds. “He felt the most comfortable there on his shadow day, so that sealed the deal.”

For families new to independent schools, the application process may feel overwhelming. Reduce the stress by starting early and making note of the deadlines and requirements for each potential school on your list.

Most applications require some combination of transcripts, standardized test results, teacher recommendations, student writing samples or portfolio, and a formal interview, depending on the age of the child.

Dorsey-Elson says the most challenging part of the application process for her son Asante was the standardized testing. “Our son had to put extra effort into the Independent School Entrance Exam (ISEE) prep,” she says. “He scored moderately well the first round, and he thought he was done with it, but we decided he could take it again. For the six-week period between test one and two, he was frustrated.”

With more preparation, Asante was able to raise his scores. Dorsey-Elson says she looked at the tests as one of the hoops the family had to jump through to get their son into his top-choice school.

Admissions counselors are quick to remind families that, while important, standardized tests are just one of several elements used to determine if the applicant is a good fit for the school, and final decisions are made by looking at the big picture more than one single element.

But the entire admissions process also serves as a learning opportunity that gives students experience for college and job applications in the future.

“It’s a lengthy process, but it really does grow and mature your child in terms of how to represent themselves. How to interview, how to observe, and what to observe, how to prepare for tests, and then apply for scholarships—these are skills that totally translate,” she says. “I don’t want to say that admission isn’t the prize, but personal growth is a real close second. Families should remember that the process will benefit the child.”

Save the Dates

Below is a list of open houses at schools in the Greater Baltimore region. The time of the open houses, when available, is printed directly after the name of each school. An asterisk notes school has an advertisement in this section that could provide additional information.

Archbishop Curley High School

Open house: 10/26 and 10/27, 10 a.m.-noon. 3701 Sinclair Ln. 410-485-5000. Grades: 9-12, all male. Enrollment: 560. Affiliation: Roman Catholic/Franciscan.

Archbishop Spalding High School

Open house: 10/27, 12 p.m.. 8080 New Cut Rd., Severn. 410-969-9105. Grades: 9-12, coed. Enrollment: 1,253. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

The Auburn School Baltimore Campus

Open house: Call for times. 7401 Park Heights Ave., Pikesville. 410-617-0418. Grades: K-8, coed. Enrollment: 65. Affiliation: non-sectarian.

Baltimore Lab School

Open house: Third Thursday breakfast tour each month. 9-10:15 a.m.. 2220 St. Paul St.. 410-261-5500. Grades: 1-12, coed. Enrollment: 137. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Beth El @ Federal Hill

Open house: Call for tour information. 1530 Battery Ave.. 410-528-6001. Grades: 2-5 years of age, coed. Enrollment: 40. Affiliation: Jewish.

Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School *

High school open house: 11/14, 7 p.m.. Middle school open house: 11/19, 7 p.m.. Lower school open house: 11/7, 8:45 a.m.. 3300 Old Court Rd., Pikesville. 410-486-1905. Grades: 15 months-grade 12, coed. Enrollment: 943. Affiliation: Jewish.

The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland *

Open house: 12/5, 8:30-10 a.m.. 822 W. Lake Ave.. 410-377-5192. Grades: K-12, all-male. Enrollment: 630. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

The Bryn Mawr School *

Open house: 11/2, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.. 109 W. Melrose Ave.. 410-323-8800. Grades: K-12, all-female except coed The Little School. Enrollment: 678. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Calvert Hall College High School *

Open house: 11/6, noon-3 p.m.. 8102 La Salle Rd.. 410-825-4266. Grades: 9-12, all-male. Enrollment: 1,175. Affiliation: Roman Catholic and Lasallian.

Calvert School

Open house: 9/25, 10/3, 10/16, 9:30 a.m.-11 a.m.. 105 Tuscany Rd.. 410-243-6054. Grades: K-8, coed. Enrollment: 598. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Cambridge School

Open house: Call for times. 110 Sudbrook Ln., Pikesville. 410-486-3686. Grades: K-8, coed. Enrollment: 121. Affiliation: Christian

The Catholic High School of Baltimore *

Open house: 10/19, 9 a.m.-noon. 2800 Edison Hwy.. 410-732-6200. Grades: 9-12, all-female. Enrollment: 320. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

Columbia Academy *

Elementary and Middle school open house: 10/26, call for times. 10350 Old Columbia Rd., Columbia. 410-312-7413. Grades: Junior K-8, coed. Enrollment: 138. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Concordia Preparatory School

Open house: 10/12, 10 a.m.-noon. 1145 Concordia Dr., Towson. 410-825-2323. Grades: 6-12, Coed. Enrollment: 400. Affiliation: Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

Eastern Technical High School

Open house: 10/17, 6-8 p.m.. 1100 Mace Ave., Essex. 410-809-0190. Grades: 9-12, coed. Enrollment: approx. 1,174. Affiliation: nonsectarian, public.

Friends School of Baltimore *

Open house: 9/25, 9-11 a.m.; 10/22, 11/14, 9-11 a.m.. 5114 N. Charles St.. 410-649-3200. Grades: Pre-K-12, coed. Enrollment: 830. Affiliation: Quaker.

Fork Union Military Academy

Open house: Call for appointment. 4744 James Madison Hwy.. Fork Union, Virginia. 1-800-GO-2-FUMA (1-800-462-3862). Grades: 7-12, and post-grad program, boarding, all-male. Enrollment: approx. 367. Affiliation: Christian.

Garrison Forest School *

Lower school open house: 10/11, 8 a.m.-10:00 a.m.. Middle school open house: 10/16, 7:45-9:30 a.m.. Upper school open house: 10/17, 8-10 a.m.. 300 Garrison Forest Rd., Owings Mills. 410-363-1500. Grades: Pre-K-12, all-female except coed Pre-K. Enrollment: 550. Affiliation: Nonsectarian.

Gerstell Academy *

Open house: 10/12, 1 p.m.; 11/24, 1 p.m.; 12/13, 11 a.m.. 2500 Old Westminster Pike, Finksburg. 410-861-3000. Grades: Pre-K-12, coed. Enrollment: 400. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Gilman School *

Middle and Upper school open house: 10/26, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.. 5407 Roland Ave.. 410-323-3800. Grades: K-12, all-male. Enrollment: 1,020. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Glenelg Country School

Open house: 10/18, 11/5, 12/4, 9 a.m.. 12793 Folly Quarter Rd., Ellicott City. 410-531-8600. Grades: Age 2-Grade 12, coed. Enrollment: 750. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Greenspring Montessori School

Open house: Call for times. 10807 Tony Dr., Lutherville-Timonium. 410-321-8555. Grades: 18 months-Grade 9, coed. Enrollment: 260. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Harford Day School *

Open house: 10/18, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.. Middle school preview: 11/4, call for times. 715 Moores Mill Rd., Bel Air. 410-838-4848. Grades: Pre-K (age 3)-Grade 8, coed. Enrollment: 295. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Hargrave Military Academy

Open House: Call for times. 200 Military Dr., Chatham, VA. 1-434-432-2481. Grades: 7-12 plus post-graduate for boys. Enrollment: 140. Affiliation: Baptist.

The Highlands School

Open house: Call to schedule tour. 2409 Creswell Rd., Bel Air. 410-836-1415. Grades: K-12, coed. Enrollment: 92/rolling admissions. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Immaculate Conception School

Middle school open house: 10/17, 6:30-8:30 p.m.. Annual open house: 11/7, 9:30-11:30 a.m.. 112 Ware Ave., Towson. 410-427-4801. Grades: Pre-K (age 3) thru Grade 8, coed. Enrollment: 535. Affiliation: Catholic.

Institute of Notre Dame

Open house: Call for times. 901 Aisquith St.. 410-522-7800. Grades: 9-12, all-female. Enrollment: 354.
Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

Jemicy School *

Open house: Call to schedule tour. Upper school: 11202 Garrison Forest Rd., Owings Mills. Lower and Middle schools: 11 Celadon Rd., Owings Mills. 410-653-2700. Grades: 1-12, coed. Enrollment: 405. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

John Carroll School

Open house: 11/2, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.. 703 E. Churchville Rd., Bel Air. 410-879-2480. Grades: 9-12, coed. Enrollment: 659. Affiliation: Catholic.

Krieger Schechter Day School *

Open house: 10/17, 12/4, 1/9, 9 a.m.. 8100 Stevenson Rd.. 410-486-8640. Grades: K-8, coed. Enrollment: 295. Affiliation: Jewish.

Loyola Blakefield

Virtual Visits, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.. 500 Chestnut Ave., Towson. 410-823-0601. Grades: 6-12, all-male. Enrollment: 1,000. Affiliation: Jesuit Catholic.

Maryvale Preparatory School

Upper school open house: 10/4 and 11/5, 8:30 a.m.. Middle school open house: 10/17 and 12/5, 8:30 a.m.. 11300 Falls Rd., Lutherville. 410-252-3366. Grades: 6-12, all-female. Enrollment: 380. Affiliation: Catholic.

McDonogh School *

Lower school open house: 10/10, 10/23 11/5, 9 a.m.. Middle school open house: 10/27, 12:30 p.m.. Upper school open house: 10/27, 3 p.m.. 8600 McDonogh Rd., Owings Mills. 410-363-0600. Grades: Pre-K-12, coed. Enrollment: 1,398. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Mercersburg Academy

Open house: 10/19, 12/16, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.. 100 Academy Dr., Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. 717-328-6173. Grades: 9-12, plus post-grad year, boarding and day. Enrollment: 442, coed. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Mercy High School

Open house: 10/19, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.. 1300 E. Northern Pkwy.. 410-433-8880. Grades: 9-12, all-female. Enrollment: 328. Affiliation: Catholic.

Mother Seton Academy

Open house: 11/3, 12-3 p.m.. 2215 Greenmount Ave.. 410-563-2833. Grades: coed 6-8. Enrollment: 75. Affiliation: Catholic.

Mount de Sales Academy

Open house: 11/3, 12-3 p.m.. 700 Academy Rd., Catonsville. 410-744-8498. Grades: 9-12, all-female. Enrollment: 510. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

Mount Saint Joseph High School

Open house: Call for times. 4403 Frederick Ave.. 410-644-3300. Grades: 9-12, all-male. Enrollment: 924. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

Nature Preschool of Baltimore *

(formerly Hunt Valley Country Day School)

Open house: Call for times. 200 A Lakefront Dr., Hunt Valley. 410-329-9867. Grades: Children 2-5 years. Enrollment: N/A. Affiliation: Non-sectarian, nature-based early childhood program.

Notre Dame Preparatory School

Open house: 10/12, 8:30 a.m.-noon. 815 Hampton Ln., Towson. 410-825-6202. Grades: 6-12, all-female. Enrollment: 800. Affiliation: Catholic.

The Odyssey School *

Open house: Call for tour times. 3257 Bridle Ridge Ln., Stevenson. 410-580-5551. Grades: K-8, coed. Enrollment: 162. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Oldfields School

Open house: 9/28, 11/11, call for times. 1500 Glencoe Rd., Sparks-Glencoe. 410-472-4800. Grades: 8-12, all-female. Enrollment: 120. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help School

Open house: Call for times. 4801 Ilchester Rd., Ellicott City. 410-744-4251. Grades: Pre-K to Grade 8, Co-ed. Enrollment: 240. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

Our Lady of Grace Pre-school

Open house: Call for times. 18310 Middletown Rd., Parkton. 410-329-6956. Grades: Preschool, Coed. Enrollment: 35. Affiliation: Catholic.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Open house: Call for times. 1704 Old Eastern Ave., Essex. 410-686-4972. Grades: Pre-K-12, coed. Enrollment: 532. Affiliation: Catholic.

Our Lady of Victory Catholic School

Open house: 11/8, 9:30-11 a.m.. 4416 Wilkens Ave.. 410-242-3688. Grades: Pre-K-8, coed. Enrollment: 194. Affiliation: Catholic.

The Park School of Baltimore *

Open house: Call for times. 2425 Old Court Rd.. 410-339-7070. Grades: Pre-K-12, coed. Enrollment: 813. Affiliation Non-sectarian.

Pauline Mash School for Early Childhood Education

Open house: Call for tour information. 8101 Park Heights Ave.. 410-484-0411. Grades: 8 weeks-5 years of age, coed. Enrollment: 120. Affiliation: Jewish.

Peabody Preparatory Preparatory Institute of The Johns Hopkins University

Open house: Call for times. 21 E. Mount Vernon Pl.. 667-208-6640. Grades: Music and dance instruction for all ages and abilities, coed. Enrollment: Approx. 2,000 per week at four locations. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Redeemer Classical Christian School

Open house: 11/7, 6:30 p.m.. 6415 Mount Vista Rd., Kingsville. 410-592-9625. Grades: Pre-K-12, coed. Enrollment: 234. Affiliation: Christian.

Roland Park Country School

Middle and Upper school open house: 9/25, 4-5 p.m.. Lower school open house: 10/4, 10/30, 8:30-10 a.m.. 5204 Roland Ave.. 410-323-5500. Grades: Pre-school-12, all-female except coed preschool. Enrollment: 579. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

St. Francis of Assisi School

Open house: Call for times. 3617 Harford Rd.. 410-467-1683. Grades: Pre-K 2 to Grade 8. Enrollment: 260, coed. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

St. James Academy *

Open house: 10/20, 1:30 p.m., 11/ 5, 9 a.m., 11/ 17, 9 a.m., 12/3, 1:30 p.m., 12/15, 1:30 p.m.. See website for virtual tour. 3100 Monkton Rd., Monkton. 410-568-7573. Grades: Pre-K-8, coed. Enrollment: 300. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

Saint James School

Open house: 10/19, call for times. 17641 College Rd., Hagerstown. 301-733-9330. Grades: 8-12, coed. Enrollment: 230. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

St. John’s Parish Day School

Open house: Call for times. 9130 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City. 410-465-7644. Grades: Age 3-Grade 5, coed. Enrollment: 350. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

Sandy Spring Friends School

Open house: 10/20, 1-3:30 p.m.. 16923 Norwood Rd., Sandy Spring. 301-774-7455. Grades: Pre-K-12, coed. Enrollment: 622. Affiliation: Quaker.

The School of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen *

Open house: 10/12, 11/3, 8:30-11:30 a.m.. 111 Amberly Way. 410-464-4100. Grades: K-8, coed. Enrollment: 340. Affiliation: Catholic.

St. Paul’s School *

Upper school info sessions: 10/10, 11/12. Middle school info sessions. 10/23, 11/20. Call for times. 11152 Falls Rd., Brooklandville. 410-825-4400. Grades: Pre-K-4, coed. 5-12, all-male. Enrollment: 575. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

St. Paul’s School for Girls *

Upper school info sessions: 10/18, 11/3, 11/19. Middle school info sessions: 10/22, 11/13. 11232 Falls Rd., Brooklandville. 410-823-6323. Grades: Infants-Grade 4, coed; 5-12, all-female. Enrollment: 475. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

St. Mark School

Open house: Call for times. 26 Melvin Ave. Catonsville. 410-744-6560. Grades: Pre-K-8, coed. Enrollment: 340
Affiliation: Catholic.

St. Timothy’s School *

Open house: 10/14, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., or 2-4 p.m.. 11/2, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.. 11/11, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., or 2-4 p.m.. 8400 Greenspring Ave., Stevenson. 410-486-7401. Grades: 9-12, boarding and day, all-female. Enrollment: 200. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

St. Ursula School

Open house: Call for times. 900 Harford Rd., Parkville. 410-665-3533. Grades: Pre-K-8, coed. Enrollment: 626. Affiliation: Catholic.

St. Pius X School

Open house: Call for times. 6432 York Rd.. 410-427-7400. Grades: Pre-K-8, coed. Enrollment: 145. Affiliation: Catholic.

Severn School

(now merged with Chesapeake Academy)

Lower school open house: 10/17. Call for times. 1185 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd., Arnold. Middle and Upper school open house: 11/6. Call for times. 201 Water St., Severna Park. 410-647-7700. Grades: Pre-K-12, coed. Enrollment: 850. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Shady Side Academy

Senior school pen house: 10/19, 11 a.m., 12/5, 6 p.m.. 423 Fox Chapel Rd., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 412-968-3000. Grades: 9-12, day and boarding, coed. Enrollment: 442. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Springdale Preparatory School

Open house: Call for times. 1000 Green Valley Rd., New Windsor. 855-405-8600. Grades: 5-12, day and boarding, coed. Enrollment: n/a. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Tong Le Montessori School

Open house: Call for times. 805 E. Fayette St., Ste. 100. 410-929-1628. Grades: Ages 6 weeks-6 years. Enrollment: 35. Affiliation: Non-sectarian Mandarin Chinese immersion program.

Trinity School

Open house: 10/9, 10 a.m., 11/14, 9:30 a.m.. 4985 Ilchester Rd., Ellicott City. 443-744-1524. Grades: Pre-K-8, coed. Enrollment: 320. Affiliation: Catholic.

Waldorf School of Baltimore

Open house: Call for times. 4801 Tamarind Rd.. 410-367-6808. Grades: Pre-K-8, coed. Enrollment: 153. Affiliation: Non-sectarian

West Nottingham Academy

Open house: Call for times. 1079 Firetower Rd., Colora. 410-658-5556. Grades: 9-12, day and boarding, coed. Enrollment: 130. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

a

HELPING

hand

These organizations help families navigate the application process and finance a private school education:

A Better Chance

A Better Chance’s College Preparatory Schools Program has helped over 10,000 academically talented students of color across the nation access the best educational opportunities for middle school and high school. It nationally recruits, places, and supports students enrolled in grades four through nine at more than 300 independent day, boarding, and select public schools.

Archdiocese of Baltimore Partners in Excellence

The Partners in Excellence Scholarship program provides tuition assistance funding to low-income families who wish to send their children to a Catholic school in Baltimore City. Grants are awarded annually, based on need and without regard to race, gender, or creed.

Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust

Founded in 1987, the Baltimore Educational Scholarship Trust recruits and supports through the admissions process academically ambitious, African-American students with financial need from the Baltimore area. Once students are enrolled, B.E.S.T. positions them for success through academic preparation, character and leadership development, and support programs.

BOOST Scholarship Coalition

The state of Maryland enacted the BOOST (Broadening Options and Opportunities for Students Today) Scholarship Program in 2016 to give K-12 students from lower-income Maryland families an opportunity to find the best educational fit for their needs by awarding applicants with scholarships to attend nonpublic school.

Children’s Scholarship Fund Baltimore

This privately funded organization provides partial scholarships to low-income families in Baltimore City through a lottery system based on financial need, helping them afford the cost of tuition at the K-8th grade private school of their choice. To help keep families together, CSFB awards scholarships to all children in selected families.

When it came time for Tessa Evarts to think about high school, she had something different in mind than the Lancaster County, PA, public school that her three older siblings attended: Tessa wanted to go to private school—in fact, she wanted a private boarding school.

Every year, for each of the kids, we have always offered alternative options for education, whether that’s home school, boarding school, or a private day school,” says Tessa’s mother, Julie Evarts. “Tessa, being the youngest, is probably our most vocal. She came to us in eighth grade and said, ‘I don’t want to go to public high school next year. I want to go to boarding school and these are the boarding schools that I want to look at.’”

For Evarts and her husband, Rob, distance was one of the most important factors used to narrow down their daughter’s list. New England schools were crossed off since the parents obviously wanted to visit their daughter regularly. They decided to look into several options in Baltimore, about an hour and a half drive from their home, and settled on Garrison Forest School, an all-girls college-preparatory day and boarding school in Owings Mills.

“In the 2014-2015 school year, 9,033 students attended 16 independent schools in the greater Baltimore region,” says Myra McGovern, vice president of media at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). More broadly, the Association of Independent Maryland & D.C. Schools (AIMS) represents about 120 schools in Maryland and D.C., 10 of which offer boarding. And not all private schools are members of these organizations.

With so many institutions to consider, the options can be daunting. But with that quantity of schools comes diversity; and open-house season, typically held by most campuses in the fall, provides an opportunity for parents and children to get to know potential schools from the inside.

Think about what your child needs in a school—like a close-knit community, special activities, or a structured learning environment, suggests McGovern. “Next, take a look at different school websites and make a list of the ones that seem to meet your needs,” McGovern says. “Find out when those schools have open houses or tours and take a look.”

Although open houses are a quick and convenient way to get a first impression, it’s important to return to the school for a second look before making a final decision. “Each time you go, you glean more information,” says Evarts. “The school, good or bad, is trying to earn your money, your student. You need to go more than once to get the feel.” Shadow days, in particular—when potential students are matched up with current students for a full or partial day—allow an inside perspective on what life would be like at a given school.

Philosophy and school culture are some of the first things parents should consider when narrowing down potential schools. The environments of a single-sex boarding school like Garrison Forest and a progressive Montessori institution are vastly different.

When making their final decision, the Evarts family viewed potential schools as partners in the job of raising their daughter. “We’re asking another group of people to help us parent our child, says Evarts. “So we want to team with a group of individuals that we feel most strongly hold our same values and will support the way we choose to parent Tessa.”

One benefit of independent schooling is the opportunity for parent involvement. Thus the role of parents, which is essential to independent schools, is worth considering in the school choice.

“Working together, parents and school professionals exert a strong influence on children to become better educated; they also help them to mature by modeling adult, working relationships based upon civility, honesty, and respect,” says AIMS in its publication Parents and Independent Schools.

As an example, parents are an active part of the community at The New Century School (TNCS), a Montessori-inspired multilingual school in Fells Point offering pre-school to fifth grade. “Each family volunteers for at least eight hours per year,” says Alicia Cooper Danyali, TNCS head of school. “But many parents give much more of their time.” The diverse parent skill sets, from musical performance to computer science, help craft a unique community and culture at TNCS.

Alicia Rojas, school volunteer chair and mother to 5-year-old student Sofia, says that, by volunteering, parents can see their children in the classroom setting and contribute their personal passions. “I could not imagine just dropping my child off at school and relying on the occasional parent-teacher meetings to get a sense of her schooling,” says Rojas.

In addition to culture, many independent schools in the Baltimore area offer specialized learning, extracurricular activities, or good sports teams that attract students. Which is why parents should consider their child’s passions and strengths when picking a school. If he or she is a gifted athlete looking for a sports scholarship, consider schools in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association, which is widely regarded as one of the best lacrosse leagues in the nation and has sent players on to professional teams. If the child is interested in technology, look at schools with dedicated STEM programs, like the Archdiocese of Baltimore, which announced this past spring that it will place a 3D printer in each of its schools as part of increased emphasis on science and math.

Alison Greer, Garrison Forest director of admissions and financial aid, says many boarders come to the school for its equestrian program—it’s one of only two girls’ secondary schools in the nation offering a polo team—and WISE, a Women in Science and Engineering program that places high school students in labs at The Johns Hopkins University. At TNCS, parents are attracted to the Spanish and Mandarin-language immersion programs that begin at age 2.

While parents with younger children are left to make the school decision themselves, older students can provide useful insight in the decision-making process.

Crystal Collins worked with her son’s organizational coach and middle-school counselor to create a list of potential schools that met their main requirements: language and writing support, and a strong soccer team. From there, Collins presented the top two or three choices to her son, Tyler. “At that point, he went on shadow visits to the schools and he picked the school where he felt most comfortable,” says Collins. “The idea was that once I knew both schools met my most important factors, the choice of schools was his.” Tyler is now in his sophomore year at Mount Saint Joseph High School, a Catholic college-preparatory school for young men in Irvington.

When a school is the right match, it often doesn’t take long for parents to see growth in their child. Boarding allowed Tessa to become more independent, and after her freshman year, Rob and Julie saw a change in their daughter.

“She found her own voice,” says Julie Evarts. “She found a voice that wasn’t her sisters’ or her brother’s or even ours. She was in a place that didn’t know her but allowed and encouraged her to develop her own opinion.”

Archbishop Spalding High School

8080 New Cut Rd., Severn. 410-969-9105. Grades: 9-12, Coed. Enrollment: 1,100. Affiliation: Roman Catholic. 10/25, 12-2 p.m.

Baltimore Lab School

2220 St. Paul St. 410-261-5500. baltimorelabschool.org. Grades: 1-12, coed. Enrollment: 150. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 12/17, 9-11 a.m.

Beth El at Federal Hill

1530 Battery Ave. 410-602-2245. bethelbalto.com. Grades: 2-4 years of age, coed. Enrollment: n/a (new school). Affiliation: Jewish. 11/10, 3-6 p.m.

Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School

3300 Old Court Rd., Pikesville. 410-413-2323. bethtfiloh.com. Grades: pre-K-12, Coed. Enrollment: 950. Affiliation: Jewish. 11/22, 10 a.m., high school; 10/29, 9 a.m.; 12/2, 9 a.m.; 11/17, 7 p.m., lower school

The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland

822 W. Lake Ave. 410-377-5192. Grades: K-12, All-male. Enrollment: 600. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 10/18, 11 a.m.

The Bryn Mawr School

109 W. Melrose Ave. 410-323-8800. Grades: K-12, All-female except coed Little School. Enrollment: 680. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 10/7, 9:30 a.m. (K-5); 10/15, 8:30-10 a.m., upper school; 11/19, 9-10:30 a.m., middle school; 11/5, 9-10:30 a.m., K-5th grade; 11/18, 8:30-10 a.m., upper school; 12/8, 8:30-10 a.m., middle and upper school

Calvert Hall College High School

8102 La Salle Rd., Towson. 410-825-4266. calverthall.com. Grades: 9-12, All-male. Enrollment: 1,200. Affiliation: Roman Catholic and Lasallian. 11/8, 12-4 p.m.

Calvert School

105 Tuscany Rd. 410-243-6054. calvertschoolmd.org. Grades: Pre-K-8, coed. Enrollment: 591. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 10/14, 10/27, 11/12, 9-11 a.m.

Cambridge School

110 Sudbrook Ln., Pikesville. 410-486-3686. Grades: K-8, Coed. Enrollment: 110. Affiliation: Christian. 10/20, 6:30-8 p.m., kindergarten; 10/21, 9-11 a.m., open house; 11/4, 9-11 a.m.; 11/18, 9-11 a.m.

The Catholic High School of Baltimore

2800 Edison Hwy. 410-732-6200. Grades: 9-12, all-female. Enrollment: 300. Affiliation: Roman Catholic. 10/24, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Columbia Academy

10350 Old Columbia Rd., Columbia. 410-312-7413. Grades: Junior K-8, coed. Enrollment: 200. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 10/24 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Concordia Preparatory School

1145 Concordia Dr., Towson. 410-825-2323. Grades: 6-12, Coed. Enrollment: 285. Affiliation: Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. 10/24, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Friends School of Baltimore

5114 N. Charles St. 410-649-3200. friendsbalt.org. Grades: pre-K-12, Coed. Enrollment: 812. Affiliation: Quaker. “Lunch and Learn” programs 10/13, 9-11 a.m.; 12/3 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.; 11/10, 9-11 a.m.

Garrison Forest School

300 Garrison Forest Rd., Owings Mills. 410-363-1500, gfs.org. Grades: pre-K-12, all-female except coed pre-K. Enrollment: 629. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. Lower school parent visit days 10/13, 8:10-10:30 a.m.; middle school 10/23, 7:45-10 a.m.; upper school 10/20, 9-10:30 a.m.

Gerstell Academy

2500 Old Westminster Pike., Finksburg. 410-861-3000. Grades: pre-K-12, Coed. Enrollment: 355. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 10/14, 11 a.m.; 10/25, 2 p.m.; 11/8, 2 p.m.; 11/19, 4 p.m.; 3/6, 2 p.m.; 4/19, 11 a.m.; 5/15 11 a.m.

Gilman School

5407 Roland Ave. 410-323-3800. Grades: K-12, All-male. Enrollment: 1,020. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. Upper/middle open house, 10/4, 12-2 p.m. Upper/middle visiting days: 10/14, 10/20, 8:15-10:15 a.m., 11/10, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Lower visiting days, 10/22, 10/28, 11/4, 12/1, 8:40-11 a.m. Grades 2-5, 11/11, 8:30-11 a.m. Grades K-5, 12/8, 8:40-11 a.m.

Glenelg Country School

12793 Folly Quarter Rd., Ellicott City. 410-531-8600. Grades: pre-K-3-12, coed. Enrollment: 750. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 10/16, 9 a.m., lower school. 11/3, 9 a.m., lower school. 11/19, 9 a.m., upper school. 12/9, 9 a.m. lower school.

Greenspring Montessori School

10807 Tony Dr., Lutherville-Timonium. 410-321-8555. Grades: 18 months-8, Coed. Enrollment: 255. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 1/23, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Harford Day School

715 Moores Mill Rd., Bel Air. Harfordday.org. Grades: pre-K (age 3)-8th grade, coed. Enrollment: 300. Affiliation: Nonsectarian. 10/15, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.; 10/25, 1-3 p.m.

The Highlands School

2409 Creswell Rd., Bel Air. 410-836-1415. highlandsschool.net. Grades: K-10, coed. Enrollment: up to 80/rolling admissions. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. Call to schedule tour.

Immaculate Conception School

112 Ware Ave., Towson. 410-427-4801. theimmaculate.org. Grades: Pre-K(age 3)-8, coed. Enrollment: 592. Affiliation: Catholic. Middle School Open House 10/7, 6:30-8:30 p.m. General Fall Open House 11/5, 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Institute of Notre Dame

901 Aisquith St. 410-522-7800. Grades 9-12, All-female. Enrollment: 354. Affilation: Roman Catholic. 11/7, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

Jemicy School

11202 Garrison Forest Rd., Owings Mills (upper school). 11 Celadon Rd., Owings Mills (lower and middle schools). 410-653-2700. Grades: 1-12, Coed. Enrollment: 300. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. Call to schedule tour.

John Paul Regional Catholic School

6946 Dogwood Rd., Windsor Mill. 410-944-0367. Grades: Pre-school-8, Coed. Enrollment: 150-200. Affiliation: Roman Catholic. 1/31, 12-2 p.m.

Krieger Schechter Day School

8100 Stevenson Rd., Pikesville. 410-486-8640. Grades: K-8, Coed. Enrollment: 275. Affiliation: Jewish. 10/13, 9 a.m., 12/15, 7 p.m.

Loyola Blakefield

500 Chestnut Ave., Towson. 410-823-0601. Grades: 6-12, All-male. Enrollment: 970. Affiliation: Jesuit Catholic. 10/18, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Maryvale Preparatory School

11300 Falls Rd., Lutherville. 410-252-3366. Grades: 6-12, All-female. Enrollment: 380. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.10/25, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

McDonogh School

8600 McDonogh Rd., Owings Mills. 410-363-0600. Grades: K-12, coed. Enrollment: 1,298. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 10/8, 10/21, 11/10, 9 a.m. (lower); 10/18, 12:30-2:30 p.m. (middle); 10/18, 3-5 p.m. (upper)

Mercy High School

1300 E. Northern Pkwy. 410-433-8880. Grades: 9-12, All-female. Enrollment: 300. Affiliation: Catholic. 10/31, 10-1 p.m.

Mother Seton Academy

2215 Greenmount Ave. 410-563-2833. Grades: 6-8. Enrollment: 75. Affiliation: Catholic. 1/24, 12 p.m.

Mount de Sales Academy

700 Academy Rd., Catonsville. 410-744-8498. Grades: 9-12, All-female. Enrollment: 475. Affiliation: Roman Catholic. 11/1, 12-3 p.m.

Mount Saint Joseph High School

4403 Frederick Ave. 410-644-3300. Grades: 9-12, All-male. Enrollment: 950. Affiliation: Roman Catholic. 11/8, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

Notre Dame Preparatory School

815 Hampton Ln., Towson. 410-825-6202. Grades: 6-12, All-female. Enrollment: 760. Affiliation: Roman Catholic. 10/17, 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

The Odyssey School

3257 Bridle Ridge Ln., Stevenson. 410-580-5551. Grades: K-8, Coed. Enrollment: 152. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 1/20, 7-9 p.m.

Oldfields School

1500 Glencoe Rd., Sparks-Glencoe. 410-472-4800. Grades: 8-12, All-female. Enrollment: 180. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 10/25, 1-3 p.m.

Our Lady of Grace School

18310 Middletown Rd., Parkton. 410-329-6956. Grades: preschool-8, Coed. Enrollment: 169. Affiliation: Catholic. Call for times.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel

1704 Old Eastern Ave. 410-686-4972. Grades: Preschool-12, Coed. Enrollment: 550. Affiliation: Roman Catholic. 10/22, 6-9 p.m., grades 9-12; 11/19, 6:30-9:30 p.m., pre-k-8

Our Lady of Victory School

4416 Wilkens Ave. 410-242-3688. Grades: Pre-K-8, Coed. Enrollment: 298. Affiliation: Catholic. 11/11, 9-11:30 a.m., 1/29, 8:45-10:30 a.m.; 12/13, 11:30 a.m. open house

The Park School of Baltimore

2425 Old Court Rd., Brooklandville. 410-339-7070. Grades: Pre-K-12, Coed. Enrollment: 780. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 10/17, 1-3 p.m. (lower school), 11/8, 1-3 p.m. (middle & upper schools). Call for times of tours with principals

Redeemer Classical Christian School

6415 Mt. Vista Rd., Kingsville. 410-592-9625. Grades: Pre-K-12, Coed. Enrollment: 240. Affiliation: Christian. 11/12, 6:30 p.m.

Roland Park Country School

5204 Roland Ave. 410-323-5500. Grades: Pre-school-12, All-female except coed preschool. Enrollment: 667. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 10/18, 1:30-4 p.m.

St. James Academy

3100 Monkton Rd., Monkton. 410-771-4816. Grades: K-8, Coed. Enrollment: 300. Affiliation: Episcopalian. Call for times.

Saint James School

17641 College Rd., Hagerstown. 301-733-9330. Grades: 8-12, Coed. Enrollment: 225. Affiliation: Episcopalian. Call for times.

Sandy Spring Friends School

16923 Norwood Rd., Sandy Spring. 301-774-7455. Grades: Preschool-12, Coed. Enrollment: 570. Affiliation: Quaker. 10/18, 1-4 p.m.

School of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen

111 Amberly Way. 410-464-4100. Grades K-8, Coed. Enrollment: 420. Affiliation: Roman Catholic. 11/3, 8:30-11:30 a.m.

St. Paul’s School

11152 Falls Rd., Brooklandville. 410-825-4400. Grades: K-4, lower school is coed. Grades: 5-12, middle/upper school is all-male. Enrollment: 766. Affiliation: Episcopalian. 10/16, 9-11 a.m. (lower), call for other dates. Several dates Oct. through Jan. for middle and upper schools. Call for times.

St. Paul’s School for Girls

11232 Falls Rd., Brooklandville. 410-823-6323. Grades: 5-12, All-female. Enrollment: 405. Affiliation: Episcopalian. Call for times.

St. Mark School

26 Melvin Ave., Catonsville. 410-744-6560. Grades: Pre-K-8, Coed. Enrollment: 373. Affiliation: Roman Catholic. 11/12, 2/4, 9-11 a.m.

St. Timothy’s School

8400 Greenspring Ave., Stevenson. 410-486-7400, stt.org. Boarding and day, grades 9-12, All-female. Enrollment: 165. Affiliation: Episcopalian. 10/3, 11/14, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.

St. Ursula School

8900 Harford Rd. 410-665-3533. Grades: pre-K-8, Coed. Enrollment: 640. Affiliation: Roman Catholic. 11/11, 8:30-11 a.m., 1/26, 12:30-2:30 p.m.

St. Pius X School

6432 York Rd. 410-427-7400. Grades: Pre-K-8, Coed. Enrollment: 215. Affiliation: Roman Catholic. 10/11, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.; 11/18, 8:30-11:30 a.m.

The Seton Keough High School

1201 Caton Ave. 410-646-4444. setonkeough.com. Grades: 9-12, All-female. Enrollment: 240. Affiliation: Roman Catholic. 10/24, 1-3 p.m.

Severn School (now merged with Chesapeake Academy)

201 Water St., Severna Park (middle and upper); 1185 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd., Arnold (lower school). 410-647-7700. Grades: pre-K-12, coed Enrollment: 810. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 11/5, 7-9 p.m. (upper); 10/21, 7 p.m. (middle); 10/23, 9-11 a.m. (lower school)

Shady Side Academy Senior School

423 Fox Chapel Rd., Pittsburgh PA. 412-968-3180. shadysideacademy.org. Grades 9-12, coed, day & boarding. Enrollment: 500. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 10/31, 11 a.m.

The Waldorf School of Baltimore

4801 Tamarind Rd. 410-367-6808. Grades: nursery-8, Coed. Enrollment: 133. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. 10/25, 2-4 p.m., pre-k-8.

West Nottingham Academy

1079 Firetower Rd., Colora. 410-658-5556. Boarding/day, 9-12, Coed. Enrollment: 130. Affiliation: Non-sectarian. Call for tours.

After several years of day care, Deserea Russell felt her oldest daughter, Madison Speaks, then 4 years old, was ready for a more stimulating environment that would prepare her for kindergarten.

So the Columbia mom, who had just made a move from Washington, D.C., began the search for pre-K programs in Howard County. After attending several open houses and applying to a few local schools, she was most impressed by Glenelg Country School in Ellicott City.

Each fall, families like the Russells across the Baltimore region enter the final stages of the independent-school research process—a sometimes daunting experience, which is why admissions advisors suggest starting at least one year in advance. Most open houses and admissions events begin in the fall, with final applications due in the winter, and acceptances and final selections in the spring.

For Russell, what was intended to be a pit-stop on the way to public kindergarten ended up igniting a passion for independent schooling. Seven years later, both of her daughters remain at Glenelg—Madison Speaks, now 11, entered sixth grade this fall, while her younger sister, Zaria, 8 years old, follows in third grade.

“Our intention was to move on from Glenelg after pre-K, but I went to a kindergarten informational for public school, and I was intimidated by how large the class sizes could be and how they weren’t offering some of the curriculum or programs that we had come to expect from GCS,” Russell recalls. “So we decided to stay there.”

With this in mind, Russell advises other parents to keep an open mind when it comes to educational options.

“Maybe you don’t expect to come this far out of your area, or pay tuition, or even choose a private school, but you have to do what’s best for your child,” she counsels. “Your child may not survive or thrive in a setting where there’s a lot of students and might not get that special attention they need.”

She says taking her 4-year-old daughter along to the open house and observing her interactions confirmed the family’s decision to choose Glenelg. Says Russell, “You can see in their eyes if they like it.”

Do Your Research

Finding the Right Match

With more than 120 independent schools in the Maryland and Washington, D.C., region, there is an abundance of qualified institutions to fit each child’s needs. To find the right match, it’s important to determine your family’s top priorities in a school, from its price and location to learning style and diversity.

First, it’s a good idea for families to establish a set of basic criteria that they’d like in a potential school. Weigh options such as faith-based or nondenominational, co-ed or single gender, traditional or progressive, large or small, cost, and local, commuting, or boarding programs.

Once the family’s criteria has been established, the next step is prioritizing which elements are most important, for example, a religious framework or the teaching philosophy, since it may not be possible to meet both criteria in a single institution.

With their priorities defined and at top of mind, families can better evaluate a school during admissions events. “Having reviewed the website ahead of time and coming with questions that they can address while they’re here is extremely helpful for parents to make the most effective use of their time while they’re at an open house,” says Karen Wootton, director of admissions at Glenelg Country School.

Located on a 90-acre campus in Ellicott City, the school enrolls students in pre-K through 12th grade.

While cost is a very important factor in a family’s final choice, Wootton suggests parents not cross any schools off their list based on tuition alone.

“Families who need to seek financial aid are sometimes reluctant to share that information from the start because they’re afraid that it might jeopardize or affect somehow the success of their application process,” she says. “The fact of the matter is, it does not. And I don’t know of any independent schools out there that consider whether a family is applying for aid or not in their admission process.”

In Baltimore, the median day school tuition for the 2017-2018 academic year was $23,840, according to the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). A third of the region’s more than 46,000 students received financial aid, with the average award for a single student at $13,354. That’s about 56 percent of the average tuition price—and a big difference in affordability for most families. (For more about how to afford a private-school tuition, see our sidebar on footing the bill.)

In fact, Wootton emphasizes the importance of transparency in all aspects of the application process. “It’s important for families to be open about their needs,” she says. “Don’t hide anything from the school, because it’s only to the child’s benefit when the parents and the school work together to make sure that we have all of the information that we need in making sure that it will be a good fit for the student.”

Prioritization allows families to narrow down the serious contenders on their list and focus their efforts during the next step of the school selection process: open houses and visit days.

The First Look

Navigating the Open House

Most Baltimore-area schools hold open houses for prospective families during October and November. Don’t be shy about checking these events out, either, even if your child won’t be applying the same year.

Rossini suggests parents attend open houses the year before they plan to start the application process.

At The Park School, a co-ed, nonsectarian pre-K-12 school in Baltimore County, formal admissions events include tours with principals, open houses, parent interviews and tours, and student visit days. Ranked in the top 10 percent of private K-12 schools in the country by Niche, a website with comprehensive rankings and report cards for schools and neighborhoods across the country, Park was founded in 1912 and is rooted in the progressive educational philosophy of John Dewey. It has 820 students making up its lower, middle, and upper schools.

“Sometimes parents visit a school with specific expectations about what they will see and hear,” says Ruthie Kalvar, director of admissions at Park. “It may close them off to aspects of school life that they never even thought about.” Instead, Kalvar suggests families learn about the school’s philosophy and then look for it in action. At Park, that philosophy includes curriculum devoted to intellectual inquiry, experiential analysis, and collaboration.

“During a visit, we recommend looking for students who are really engaged and thinking, rather than being told what to think, memorizing, and repeating,” says Kalvar. “Your observations and responses to your questions should reveal the opportunities that students have for growth, for individual and collaborative challenges, and for the opportunities they have to develop and pursue passions both inside and outside of the classroom.”

The chance to get on campus, see facilities in person, and meet faculty and staff at an open house may be enough to drop a few options off your list, or push others to the top. But admissions professionals agree it’s just the first step in getting to know a school’s inner workings.

“Stay engaged with the school. Attend events that you are invited to, not only open-house events but musicals, plays, sporting events. Read the school’s newspaper if they have one, and any magazines that are sent home to you,” says Wootton. “Try your best to understand the culture of the school to help you know if it’s the best fit for your child. There are many options out there, just as there are when students are looking at colleges. Each school presents unique qualities that may or may not be the right fit for every child, but just try to do your homework throughout the admissions process.”

Third Base

Completing the Application Process

You’ve made your lists, done your research, and picked your top contenders. Now it’s time for the application process, which wraps up in the winter months of December and January for most local schools.

If your child has his or her heart set on a specific school, do what you can to demonstrate that to the admissions team, both in your application and by attending as many prospective events as possible.

For older children, Glenelg conducts an interview during the shadow day.

“I always enjoy it when the student shares something with me that helps me remember who they are—not just their favorite class in school or what kind of sports they play, but maybe a story that they can tell me about a project that they completed, or a trip they took, or something that is unique about them,” she suggests. Stories like these can help the child stand out in the minds of admissions professionals. “If they can think of something ahead of time to talk about for their interview, that can be very helpful for the student.”

Families that approach the application process with a positive mindset have the most to benefit, says The Park School’s Kalvar.

“You will not only learn about schools and their distinctive features, but you’ll also gain immeasurable insight into your child, your family, and Baltimore, too,” she says. “It’s always interesting to hear opinions about schools, but it’s a good idea for families to remember that people look at schools through different lenses. What feels right for one student and family might not feel right for another. Context is important, and you should set out to gather as much first-hand information as possible.”

Kalvar points to the school’s sense of community as one of the best indicators of a potential fit. “Make sure you feel welcomed and comfortable and that the school understands and appreciates who your child is,” she says. “It’s important to remember that today’s parents must consider what’s possible beyond their own experiences they had in school. Twenty-first century learning requires a different sort of engagement on the part of students. Keep an eye out for schools that are willing to grow and change—and get excited for the new possibilities that lie ahead for your child.”

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Archbishop Curley High School
Lower Open house: 10/27 and 10/28, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
3701 Sinclair Ln. 410-485-5000.
Grades: 9-12, all male. Enrollment: 560. Affiliation: Roman Catholic/Franciscan.

Archbishop Spalding High School
Open house: 10/28, 12-3 p.m.
8080 New Cut Rd. Severn. 410-969-9105.
Grades: 9-12, co-ed. Enrollment: 1,253. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

The Auburn School, Baltimore Campus
Open house: 10/3, 9-11 a.m.
7401 Park Heights Ave. Pikesville. 410-617-0418.
Grades: K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 63. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

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Baltimore Lab School
Open house: Third Thursday breakfast tour each month 9-10:15 a.m.
2220 St. Paul St. 410-261-5500.
Grades: 1-12, co-ed. Enrollment: 137. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Beth El @ Federal Hill
Open house: Call for tour information. 1530 Battery Ave. 410-528-6001.
Grades: 2-5 years of age, co-ed. Enrollment: 40. Affiliation: Jewish.

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Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School
Lower School Open House: 11/16 and 12/5, 8:45 a.m. Middle School Open House: 11/27, 7 p.m. High School Open House: 11/19, 7 p.m.
3300 Old Court Rd. Pikesville. 410-486-1905.
Grades: 15 months-grade 12, co-ed. Enrollment: 950. Affiliation: Jewish.

The Boys’ Latin School of Maryland
Open House: 10/14, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
822 W. Lake Ave. 410-377-5192.
Grades: K-12, all-male. Enrollment: 630. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

The Bryn Mawr School
Open House: 10/21, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
109 W. Melrose Ave. 410-323-8800.
Grades: K-12, all-female except co-ed Little School. Enrollment: 678. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

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Calvert Hall College High School
Open House: 11/11, 12-4 p.m.
8102 La Salle Rd. 410-825-4266.
Grades: 9-12, all-male. Enrollment: 1,175. Affiliation: Roman Catholic and Lasallian.

Calvert School
Open House: 10/18, 11/14, 9-11 a.m.
105 Tuscany Rd. 410-243-6054.
Grades: K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 592. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Cambridge School
Open House: 10/15, 9-11 a.m., 10/16, 6:30-8 p.m., 11/5, 9 a.m., 3/7, 9-11 a.m.
110 Sudbrook Ln. Pikesville. 410-486-3686.
Grades: K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 121. Affiliation: Christian.

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The Catholic High School of Baltimore
Open House: 10/20, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
2800 Edison Hwy. 410-732-6200.
Grades: 9-12, all-female. Enrollment: 320. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

Columbia Academy Elementary and Middle School
Open House: Call for times.
10350 Old Columbia Rd. Columbia. 410-312-7413.
Grades: Junior K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 150. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Concordia Preparatory School
Open House: 10/13, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
1145 Concordia Dr., Towson. 410-825-2323.
Grades: 6-12, co-ed. Enrollment: 310. Affiliation: Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

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Eastern Technical High School
Open House: 10/18, 6-8 p.m.
1100 Mace Ave., Essex. 410-809-0190.
Grades: 9-12, co-ed. Enrollment: approx. 1,181. Affiliation: Non-sectarian, public.

Fork Union Military Academy
Open House: Call for appointment.
4744 James Madison Hwy. Fork Union, Virginia. 1-800-GO-2-FUMA (1-800-462-3862).
Grades: 7-12, and post-grad program, boarding, all-male. Enrollment: approx. 367. Affiliation: Christian.

Friends School of Baltimore
Open House: First Look@Friends: Several dates Oct-Jan, 9-11am.
5114 N. Charles St. 410-649-3200.
Grades: Pre-K-12, co-ed. Enrollment: 803. Affiliation: Quaker.

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Garrison Forest School
Open House: Parent visit days, Lower school: 10/12, 8 -10 a.m.; Middle school: 10/24, 7:45-9:30 a.m.; Upper school: 10/25, 8-10 a.m.
300 Garrison Forest Rd., Owings Mills. 410-363-1500.
Grades: Pre-K-12, all-female except co-ed pre-K. Enrollment: 550. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Gilman School
Open House: Call for times, 10/5 through 11/30.
5407 Roland Ave. 410-323-3800.
Grades: K-12, all-male. Enrollment: 1,023. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Glenelg Country School
Open House: 10/19, 11/6, 12/5, 9 a.m.
12793 Folly Quarter Rd. Ellicott City. 410-531-8600.
Grades: age 2-grade 12, co-ed. Enrollment: 750. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

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Greenspring Montessori School
Open House: Call for times.
10807 Tony Dr., Lutherville-Timonium. 410-321-8555.
Grades: 18 months-grade 9, co-ed. Enrollment: 252. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

The Highlands School
Open House: Call to schedule tour.
2409 Creswell Rd. Bel Air. 410-836-1415.
Grades: 1-12, co-ed. Enrollment: 80/rolling admissions. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Harford Day School
Open House: 11/6, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
715 Moores Mill Rd. Bel Air. 410-838-4848.
Grades: Pre-K (age 3)-grade 8, co-ed. Enrollment: 300. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

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Immaculate Conception School
Open House: Middle School: 10/18, 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Pre-K to Grade 8: 11/8, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
112 Ware Ave., Towson. 410-427-4903.
Grades: Pre-K (age 3)-grade 8, co-ed. Enrollment: 535. Affiliation: Catholic.

Institute of Notre Dame Open House: 11/3, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
901 Aisquith St. 410-522-7800.
Grades: 9-12, all-female. Enrollment: 354. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

Jemicy School Open House: Call to schedule tour.
11202 Garrison Forest Rd., Owings Mills (upper school). 11 Celadon Rd., Owings Mills (lower and middle schools) 410-653-2700.
Grades: 1-12, co-ed. Enrollment: 394. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

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John Carroll School Open House: 10/27, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
703 E. Churchville Rd. Bel Air. 410-879-2480.
Grades: 9-12, co-ed. Enrollment: 659. Affiliation: Catholic.

Krieger Schechter Day School
Open House: 11/28, 7 p.m. Drop-in days: 10/17, 12/12, 1/9, 9 a.m.
8100 Stevenson Rd. 410-486-8640.
Grades: K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 295. Affiliation: Jewish.

Loyola Blakefield
Open House: 10/21, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
500 Chestnut Ave., Towson. 410-823-0601.
Grades: 6-12, all-male. Enrollment: 970. Affiliation: Jesuit Catholic

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Maryvale Preparatory School
Upper School: 9/28 and 10/25, 8:30 a.m., Middle School: 10/12 and 11/6, 8:30 a.m.
11300 Falls Rd. Lutherville. 410-252-3366.
Grades: 6-12, all-female. Enrollment: 425. Affiliation: Catholic.

McDonogh School
Upper School: 10/28, 3-5 p.m. Middle School: 10/28, 12:30-2:30 p.m. Lower School: 10/11, 10/24, 11/6, 9 a.m.
8600 McDonogh Rd. Owings Mills. 410-363-0600.
Grades: Pre-K-12, co-ed. Enrollment: 1,384. Affiliation: Non-sectarian

Mercersburg Academy
Open House: 10/8, 12/10, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
300 E. Seminary St. Mercersburg, Pennsylvania. 717-328-6173.
Grades: 9-12, plus post-grad year, boarding, and day, co-ed. Enrollment: 435. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

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Mercy High School
Open House: 10/20, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
1300 E. Northern Pkwy. 410-433-8880.
Grades: 9-12, all-female. Enrollment: 350. Affiliation: Catholic.

Mother Seton Academy
Open House: 11/4, 12-3 p.m.
2215 Greenmount Ave. 410-563-2833.
Grades: 6-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 75. Affiliation: Catholic.

Mount de Sales Academy
Open House: 11/4, 12-3 p.m.
700 Academy Rd. Catonsville 410-744-8498.
Grades: 9-12, all-female. Enrollment: 510. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

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Mount Saint Joseph High School
Open House: 10/28, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
4403 Frederick Ave. 410-644-3300.
Grades: 9-12, all-male. Enrollment: 924. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

Notre Dame Preparatory School
Open House: 10/13, 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
815 Hampton Ln. Towson. 410-825-6202.
Grades: 6-12, all-female. Enrollment: 800. Affiliation: Catholic.

The Odyssey School
Open House: Call for tour times.
3257 Bridle Ridge Ln. Stevenson. 410-580-5551.
Grades: K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 164. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

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Oldfields School
Open House: 11/12, call for times.
1500 Glencoe Rd. Sparks Glencoe. 410-472-4800.
Grades: 8-12, all-female. Enrollment: 180. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Our Lady of Grace Pre-school
Open House: 9/18, 9-11 a.m.
18310 Middletown Rd. Parkton. 410-329-6956.
Grades: Preschool, co-ed. Enrollment: 35. Affiliation: Catholic.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Open House: Call for times.
1704 Old Eastern Ave. Essex. 410-686-4972.
Grades: Pre-K-12, co-ed. Enrollment: 502. Affiliation: Catholic.

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Our Lady of Perpetual Help School
Open House: 10/17, 10 a.m.; 11/14, 10. a.m.; 12/6, 7 p.m.
4801 Ilchester Rd. Ellicott City. 410-744-4251.
Grades: Pre-K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 240. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

Our Lady of Victory Catholic School
Open House: 11/16, 9-11 a.m.
4416 Wilkens Ave. 410-242-3688.
Grades: Pre-K-8, co-ed Enrollment: 194. Affiliation: Catholic.

The Park School of Baltimore
Open House: Call for times.
2425 Old Court Rd. 410-339-7070.
Grades: Pre-K-12, co-ed. Enrollment: 822. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

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Pauline Mash School for Early Childhood Education
Open House: Call for tour information.
8101 Park Heights Ave. 410-602-2245.
Grades: 8 weeks-5 years of age, co-ed. Enrollment: 120. Affiliation: Jewish.

Peabody Preparatory Institute of The Johns Hopkins University
Open House: Call for times.
21 E. Mount Vernon Pl. 667-208-6640.
Grades: Music and dance instruction for all ages and abilities, co-ed. Enrollment: Approx. 2,000 per week at four locations. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Redeemer Classical Christian School
Open House: 11/1, 6:30-8 p.m.
6415 Mount Vista Rd. Kingsville. 410-592-9625.
Grades: Pre-K-12, co-ed. Enrollment: 250. Affiliation: Christian.

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Roland Park Country School
Open House: Middle/upper school: 10/14, 1-4 p.m. Lower school: Several dates October-January, 8:30-10 a.m., call for dates.
5204 Roland Ave. 410-323-5500.
Grades: Pre-K-12, all-female except co-ed preschool. Enrollment: 610. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

St. Francis of Assisi School
Open House: 10/6, 12-2 p.m.
3617 Harford Rd. 410-467-1683.
Grades: Pre- K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 260. Affiliation: Roman Catholic.

St. James Academy
Open House: 11/15, 9-10:30 a.m. Coffee with headmaster: 11/29, 12/5, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
3100 Monkton Rd. Monkton. 410-568-7573.
Grades: Pre-K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 300. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

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Saint James School
Open House: 10/20, 1/21, call for times.
17641 College Road, Hagerstown. 301-733-9330.
Grades: 8-12, co-ed. Enrollment: 238. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

St. John’s Parish Day School
Open House: Call for times.
9130 Frederick Rd. Ellicott City. 410-465-7644.
Grades: Age 3-grade 5, co-ed. Enrollment: 350. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

St. Mark School
Open House: 10/8, 11/12, 9-11 a.m.; 1/29, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.; 3/14, 9-11 a.m.; 4/16, 1-3 p.m.; 5/1, 9-11 a.m. 26 Melvin Ave. Catonsville. 410-744-6560.
Grades: Pre-K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 340. Affiliation: Catholic.

---

St. Paul’s School

Open House: Upper School: 10/4, 11/8, 12/6, 8:45-10:15 a.m., Middle School: 10/2, 10/23, 11/13, 12/4, 8:45-10:15 a.m., Lower School: 10/16, 9-11 a.m.
11152 Falls Rd. Brooklandville. 410-823-0061.
Grades: Pre-K-4, lower school is co-ed. Grades: 5-12, middle/upper school is all-male. Enrollment: 758. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

St. Paul’s School for Girls
Parent information sessions: Upper School: 10/23; middle school: 10/26; Joint middle and upper school open house: 11/7.
11232 Falls Rd. Brooklandville. 410-632-1082.
Grades: Infants-grade 4, co-ed; 5-12, all-female. Enrollment: 444. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

St. Timothy’s School
Open House: 10/20, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
8400 Greenspring Ave. Stevenson. 410-486-7401.
Grades: 9-12, boarding and day, all-female. Enrollment: 200. Affiliation: Episcopalian.

---

St. Ursula School
Open House: 11/16, 8:30-11 a.m., 1/27, 1-3 p.m.
8900 Harford Rd. Parkville. 410-665-3533.
Grades: Pre-K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 639. Affiliation: Catholic.

St. Pius X School
Open House: Call for times.
6432 York Rd. 410-427-7400.
Grades: Pre-K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 170. Affiliation: Catholic.

Sandy Spring Friends School
Open House: 10/14, 1-3:30 p.m.; 5/21, 8:15-11 a.m.
16923 Norwood Rd. Sandy Spring. 301-774-7455.
Grades: Pre-K-12, co-ed. Enrollment: 575. Affiliation: Quaker.

---

The School of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen

Open House: 10/9, 11/16, 1/29, 4/16, 8:30-11:30 a.m.
111 Amberly Way. 410-464-4100.
Grades: K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 377. Affiliation: Catholic.

Severn School (now merged with Chesapeake Academy)
Open House: Call for times.
1185 Baltimore-Annapolis Blvd., Arnold (lower school) and 201 Water St., Severna Park (middle/upper school). 410-647-7700.
Grades: Pre-K-12, co-ed. Enrollment: 844. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

---

Shady Side Academy Senior School
Open House. Call for times.
423 Fox Chapel Rd. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 412-968-3000.
Grades: 9-12, co-ed, day and boarding. Enrollment: 460. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Springdale Preparatory School
Open House: Call for Times.
1000 Green Valley Rd. New Windsor. 855-405-8600.
Grades: 5-12, day and boarding, co-ed. Enrollment: TBA. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

Trinity School
Open House: All grades: 10/12, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.; kingergarten: 11/8, 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m.; all grades: 11/11, 11 a.m. after 10 a.m. mass; 12/6, all grades: 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
4985 Ilchester Rd. Ellicott City. 443-498-5040.
Grades: Pre-K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 350. Affiliation: Catholic.

---

Waldorf School of Baltimore
Open House: Call for times.
4801 Tamarind Rd. 410-367-6808.
Grades: Pre-K-8, co-ed. Enrollment: 133. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

West Nottingham Academy
Open House: Call for times.
1079 Firetower Rd. Colora. 410-658-5556.
Grades: 9-12, day and boarding, co-ed. Enrollment: 130. Affiliation: Non-sectarian.

You don’t have to be born-and-bred Baltimore to have been asked The
Question, much less posed it to someone else—the mark of a true
Baltimorean lies in the answer. The Question is, of course, “Where’d you
go to school?”

Why do we ask The Question? How did this tradition come to define a person? And does it still matter the way it once did?

Let’s call on Stefanie DeLuca. Three and a half years ago, she got
the biggest break in her still-young academic career. The Chicago native
jumped at the job opportunity she’d been offered at Johns Hopkins
University as an assistant professor of sociology. She’d been born and
raised in Chicago and even stayed local for college, attending the
University of Chicago and Northwestern. So she found herself homesick
and confused early on in Charm City. Mainly because people kept starting
conversations with The Question.

“It was awkward for me,” she says. “This was happening to me a lot at
the Downtown Athletic Club, where I’d get to talking to people and
they’d ask me where I went to school. And my first response was: ‘So
what?’ I went to college and then to grad school and it would get
confusing because I just had no idea about it, and it would end up being
embarrassing.”

People like to point out that Baltimore is a big city with a
small-town feel. Some people say it wistfully—others, with a sneer. But
whether people love it or hate it, they acknowledge it. They see it
reflected in Charm City traditions, from the rowdy, communal nature of
eating steamed crabs in a large group, to the celebrity status of the
local news anchors and weathermen, to the postmodern worship of
Baltimore’s Hons.

The tradition that goes the furthest in fueling the “smalltown”
argument—the one that causes folks to label the town as “parochial”—is
our obsession with our high schools. And we’re not talking stamp
collecting level of obsession, we’re talking Glenn Close in Fatal
Attraction. In some cities, people might be judged on what part of town
they’re from. Others might be judged on what they do for a living. In
Baltimore, where you went to high school speaks loudest. All at once, it
tells people where you grew up, just which rung you (and your family)
cling to on the social ladder, and sometimes even gives a pretty good
indication of what you do for a living. Heck, it even susses out whether
you’re from Baltimore, as anyone not from around these parts assumes
you’re referring to their college alma mater.

For the sake of clarity, let’s outline what we’re assuming are most
people’s presumptions—that Baltimore has certain “Power Schools” whose
reputations are of excellence, whether it be in the arts, sciences,
athletics, or even religion. When someone in town asks you where you
went to school, these are the alma maters that carry the most weight.
And they’re pretty widely agreed upon: Baltimore School for the Arts,
Beth Tfiloh, Boys’ Latin, Bryn Mawr, Calvert Hall, City, Dulaney,
Friends, Gilman, Loyola, Maryvale, McDonogh, Mount Saint Joseph, Notre
Dame Prep, Park, Poly, both St. Paul’s schools, and Western.

Tom Kiefaber owns and runs one of the lasting icons of a bygone
Baltimore era, the Senator Theatre. This is appropriate because, after a
peripatetic adolescent tour through Baltimore’s public, private, and
parochial school systems, he possesses rare insight into The Question.

His elementary school years took him to McDonogh once and Gilman
twice (he points out that this doesn’t deter Gilman from calling him
every year during fundraising season). And by junior high, he was a
genuine adolescent Odysseus, wandering from school to school.

First, he was back at McDonogh. The next year, he branched out to Boys’ Latin, then Baltimore Institute, then

Roland Park Public. Finally, he strung a couple years together at
Baltimore Lutheran—long enough to edit the school paper and become
school president as a senior, graduating in 1971.

So these days, when asked The Question, Kiefaber says he “learned to
cut to the chase and shorten the exchange by responding that I didn’t go
to St. Paul’s or Friends.”

Out-of-towners are usually forced to adapt similarly. After a couple
decades of answering The Question, some of them get savvy enough to
respond with a convincing “Oh, I went to the ‘Gilman’ of Boston” or
possibly “the ‘Maryvale’ of Poughkeepsie.”

DeLuca, on the other hand, tried to dig up the roots of the tradition
to satisfy her curiosity—after all, her forté is studying the effects
of social context on adolescents.

Initially, she says, “my gut reaction was that Baltimore’s a small
town with a lot less turnover. So this is simply more of the local
tradition, because you have a solid population that doesn’t change as
much over time. It’s a good bet that someone’s going to know what you’re
talking about. And they’re going to have gone to high school here. It’s
largely not something that people even think about.”

DeLuca went first to the census data, hoping that something might
leap out at her to explain Baltimore’s intense love affair with its high
schools. “I was trying to think of things that would change the
cultural milieu here,” she explains, “and which would explain some of
what might seem provincial or parochial, but which I look at as
culturally traditional.” No luck.

But when asked about drawing a parallel to the close ties most people
create in college fraternities and sororities, DeLuca acknowledges some
similarity. “In the South, fraternity and sorority involvement is for
life,” she says. “Because it’s a status thing. And I think that’s what
all of this comes down to. I don’t think the specifics of whether it was
Delta Phi Epsilon or Calvert Hall are what matters. It comes down to
when people are interacting socially, there’s just a little bit of
getting a footing when it comes to social status. It’s a common
denominator. And it’s a way to get a better handle on who you’re talking
to.”

Social institutions, she explains, are simply shortcuts that we take.
We take them because they’re easy and we take them because sometimes
they actually get us somewhere quicker.

“It either serves a purpose of sussing out who you’re talking to, or
it’s just a force of habit and the specifics are irrelevant—it’s just a
way of entering into a conversation with somebody,” she says. Either
way, it’s the Baltimore version of asking people where they’re from or
what they do for a living. It’s a more polite way of asking “Who are
you?”

“I think it may be related to our provincial past, when your
classmates often reflected your social class,” Kiefaber offers.
“Although the clear delineation in the past has blurred somewhat, it
remains a method for efficiently establishing where an individual may
fit in the Greater Baltimore Scheme of Things.”

When two Baltimoreans are involved, he says, The Question is always
followed by a quick game of Who Do You Know? “Since indigenous
Baltimoreans tend to stay put, there are fewer degrees of separation
here and the ‘Where did you go to school?’ inquiry is still an effective
search engine that beats Google every time.”

Writer Laura Lippman, who started at Western before transferring to
Wilde Lake, nods in vigorous agreement. “Baltimore is obsessed with high
school because, in general, no one ever leaves,” she says. “I’ve heard
newcomers say they’ve never known a place that was so obsessed with high
school. And the old high schools—Western, Poly, City, Eastern, Forest
Park, etc.—had very strong identities once upon a time. It was a very
convenient way to stereotype. Why do you think I’m so quick to invoke
[my] one year at Western? It’s a total brainiac credential to have been
A-course.”

And boy, does Lippman have a point— Baltimoreans love to stick
around. Proof of that lies at the heart of this very discussion. DeLuca
points out the obvious: If the best of Baltimore’s high-school alums
always left town, there wouldn’t be much point to asking The Question.

Fortunately, most of those alumni have remained in and around Charm
City, helping to lead and shape the city over the past half-century.
More importantly, those school ties are as instrumental as ever in
getting alumni into colleges, boardrooms, and elite social circles.

“I often have kids who are seniors who are getting jobs at some
point,” says Barry Fitzpatrick, principal at Mt. St. Joe. “And they say
‘Wow, Mr. So-and-so hired me because I’m a St. Joe grad and so is he.’
You have people giving a little bit of a preference in hiring to guys
from their high school.”

Fitzpatrick’s counterpart at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute—always
shortened to “Poly”—agrees. “The hand has always reached backward to
pull folks along,” says Dr. Barney Wilson, Poly’s principal and a class
of ’76 grad.

Last year, for instance, Willard Hackerman, construction magnate and
Poly alumnus, established a scholarship for three Poly grads each year
for the next 25 years who go on to attend Johns Hopkins University.

“When I went to Pittsburgh for college,” says Wilson, “there was an
article in the paper that there were some Poly students at Carnegie
Mellon. The vice president of Westinghouse at the time immediately
called the school and took 15 of us to dinner and paid for it and said
to us: ‘Welcome to Pittsburgh. I know that Carnegie Mellon’s going to be
okay because there are 15 students from Poly and Western here.’
Anything he could do to support his schools, he would do.”

There’s no question that this is how Baltimore’s school ties have remained so strong—and why The Question is still relevant.

“If someone asked me today about where I went to school,” Wilson
says, “the last thing I’d think about is college. The very first thing
I’d think about is Poly. When I’m out and I see a City or Western ring, I
immediately engage in conversation and we immediately have some common
ground.” He’s even met fellow Baltimoreans in such farflung locales as
Africa and Australia simply because he spotted their school rings.

And although the “provincial” and “parochial” labels don’t always
carry such savory associations, Baltimore’s school ties are admirable in
their ability to go beyond race. “Poly now is predominantly African-
American,” says Wilson. “Before 1960, most of the folks were white male.
But they still have the same love for the school and the love for the
students who are there, because they’re Poly students and race doesn’t
really come into it.” It may seem insignificant, but it’s apparently
refreshingly different after some of the things he’s seen in other
places.

“In New York, a lot of the alumni at some of the stronger schools
have abandoned the schools because the population has changed,” he says.
“The rigor didn’t change—the schools are still producing topnotch
students who can compete nationally. But the alumni support has waned.
Baltimore, to its credit, has not abandoned its schools along racial
lines.”

It’s clear that Baltimore’s high-school alums haven’t abandoned
Baltimore either. A look at some of the most notable alumni of
Baltimore’s schools reads like a who’s who of Baltimore’s elite over the
years. And in many cases, it serves to reinforce the reputations
schools have.

And that’s another unique element to The Question—graduation rates
don’t matter. SAT scores don’t matter. Class sizes don’t matter. For the
purposes of the average Baltimorean asking The Question, the proof of a
Power School is in the pudding—the alumni.

For starters, if you want to be a politician, City College is
apparently the place to be. They’ve turned out Elijah Cummings, Theodore
McKeldin, Dutch Ruppersberger, William Donald Schaefer, and Kurt
Schmoke. The Notre Dames haven’t done too badly either, with Barbara
Mikulski and Democratic Leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy
Pelosi, hailing from IND, and Baltimore City Judge and First Lady of
Baltimore, Katie Curran O’Malley, attending Notre Dame Prep.

Poly’s got the market on future construction tycoons cornered, with
grads like Alonzo Decker (of Black & Decker fame), Robert Poole and
E. Robert Kent, and the aforementioned Willard Hackerman.

Most of the other Power Schools have prominent alums from more varied
walks of life. Consider McDonogh, responsible for tennis star Pam
Shriver, former Crown Central Petroleum CEO Henry Rosenberg, beer guru
and Clipper City beermaster Hugh Sisson, and interior designer Stiles
Colwill.

Or Gilman, whose alumni list includes Governor Robert Ehrlich,
Moxley’s Ice Cream owner Tom Washburn, Sylvan Learning founder Doug
Becker, Living Classrooms CEO James Piper Bond, and restaurateur
extraordinaire Tony Foreman.

Of course, not all civic leaders spring forth from City College: City
Councilman Keiffer Mitchell attended Boys’ Latin. Maryland Attorney
General Joe Curran came out of Loyola Blakefield, along with former
Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro III, and Baltimore County Executive Jim Smith.
State Senator Lisa Gladden and Maryland State Schools Superintendent
Nancy Grasmick both graduated from Western High. Walter Sondheim
matriculated from Park School. And Ken Mehlman, chairman of the
Republican National Committee, went to Pikesville High.

There’s no shortage of scribes and inkstained wretches on the rolls
of our alums either: Laura Lippman came out of Wilde Lake, H.L. Mencken
walked the halls of Poly long ago, Leon Uris was a product of City
College, Tom Clancy graduated from Loyola, Anna Deveare Smith went to
Western, and Gilman boasts both Frank Deford and Walter Lord.

Baltimore also claims some serious Hollywood power as well, with
alums like Fox Filmed Entertainment’s Tom Rothman, of Park School;
producer Marc Platt, of Pikesville High; Columbia, TriStar’s Steve
Mosko, of John Carroll; and actor Edward Norton, of Wilde Lake. Even
Charles Theater co-owner John Standiford came from Friends School. And a
list of important Baltimoreans in the performing arts is almost too
long to consider. Milford Mill Academy has produced successful
performers like Mario, Mo’nique, and Maysa Leak. Baltimore School for
the Arts and Carver Center for Arts and Technology are responsible for
world-class musicians, actors, and actresses year after year after year.

Some of our landmark local businesses are owned and run by Baltimore
alums too. Advertising impresarios Allan Charles and Steve Eisner
attended City and Park, respectively. Severna Park High lays claim to
Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti. Bread winners Sam and Alfie Himmelrich
graduated from Park. And Maryvale grad Patricia Brown is the president
of Johns Hopkins HealthCare.

Then there’s sports—an arena unto itself, as it were. If you’re
hoping to play in the NFL, you could do worse than Woodlawn, which
produced three current NFL players. No mention of Towson High would be
complete without world-class swimmer and Olympic gold medalist Michael
Phelps. Towson Catholic graduated an Olympic medalist and an NBA star—
Anita Nall Richesson and Carmelo Anthony. Legendary ABC sportscaster Jim
McKay attended Loyola Blakefield. Rangers first-baseman Mark Teixeira
hails from Mt. St. Joe. Dundalk High turned out Oriole Mike Bielecki and
skateboarder Bucky Lasik. The NBA’s Juan Dixon and ESPN draft guru Mel
Kiper Jr. both share the same alma mater in Calvert Hall. And Kisha
Ford, a Bryn Mawr alumna, became the leading scorer in Georgia Tech
history before moving on to star in the WNBA.

The list of local notable alums goes on and on. But it’s easy to see
why schools are so proud to invoke the names of their greatest grads—and
why it’s so easy to apply reputations to the schools completely outside
of their geographical locations and tuition costs. A constantly
changing student body would seem to make a consistent reputation for
academic or athletic excellence difficult to achieve, but most of the
Power Schools have done this. That’s what makes The Question still
relevant.

It’s also easy to see why that old list of Power Schools needs to be
updated and expanded. Schools like Pikesville, Milford Mill Academy,
Archbishop Curley, Wilde Lake, and Carver have earned a measure of
respect thanks to their alums who’ve gone on to bigger things, whether
they stuck around Crabtown or moved on.

“The problem with the term,” Mt. St. Joe’s Fitzpatrick points out,
“is that there are other schools out there who are doing a really good
job who aren’t ‘in the loop’ or wouldn’t be identified as ‘power
schools.’ They get overlooked in the mix, and they’re every bit as good
as those traditional power schools.”

The extensive list of accomplished Baltimore alumni suggests that
there’s some symbiotic relationship between the student and the
institution. That great schools attract great students, and that, during
their four years together, the best qualities of each are imparted upon
the other.

---

Kurt Schmoke
Dean of Howard University Law School and former Mayor of Baltimore
City College, Class Of ’68

“My first day was a culture shock for me because I entered as a 9th
grader at a time when high schools were primarily 10th grade through
12th. So going to a very big, all-male high school with 4,000 young men
as a 9th grader was a little intimidating.

I had a great time in high school. Sports played a big part because I
played varsity football and varsity lacrosse. Every cliché about team
sports applied to my experience at City College. It built wonderful
friendships, I enjoyed the camaraderie of the team, had outstanding
teachers as coaches, and it was a real boost to my college prospects and
thus the rest of my career.

George Young, who was the general manager of the New York Giants back
when they won the Super Bowl in the 1990s, was my football coach. I
stayed in touch with him for many, many years up until his death a few
years ago. A number of English teachers were extremely helpful as well.
John Pense in particular. Up until his 90s, he was sending me notes
about things that he read, interests that he had. Harold Greenwald was a
real supporter of the arts in Baltimore and an outstanding teacher at
City. These are the kinds of people who took an interest in students in
an ongoing way.

The most nerve-wracking part of high school was my junior prom
because I got my license just five days before prom and if I had failed
the exam, then I would’ve probably lost my date. Things went well
though. No trauma.”

—Brad Nelson

---

Laura Lippman
Writer
Wilde Lake, Class Of ’77

“Baltimore was still working on the old 7th-9th junior high school
paradigm when I was kid, but I was recommended for the ‘A’ course at
Western, which meant that one entered the school in 9th grade.

City teachers went on strike my year at Western and we missed a month
of classes. (I totally supported the strike; my mom was a librarian in
the system.) I was already floundering in Algebra II and when we came
back, the teacher decided to skip some segments so we could ‘finish’ the
book. This completely discombobulated me. I managed to get an ‘A’
through rote memorization, but I never understood anything that was
going on. I cried almost every Sunday night that spring, just thinking
about the week of algebra ahead. When I got out to Wilde Lake, my
adviser (a.k.a. homeroom teacher) was math teacher Lynn Collins, [who]
showed me that I was actually quite good at math.

My family decided to try Wilde Lake for a number of reasons. It was
about as stark a change as one can imagine, from an academically
rigorous program to the open-space no-failure concept, [which] was
pretty easy. And I got to do some really unusual things, such as write
the book and lyrics for a novel I wanted to turn into a musical, which
counted as part of my English Lit. grade one year. Ultimately, Wilde
Lake was very good for me, because it was so non-competitive. Instead of
focusing on what other students were doing, we tended to focus on our
own work and grades.”

---

Dontae Winslow
Professional Trumpet Player
Baltimore School For The Arts, Class Of ’92

“I was very, very nervous for my audition. I remember going into the
room and seeing all the faculty sitting there—my future trumpet teacher,
head of the music department. You sight read a selection, which I
wasn’t very good at. They listen to it and write down some pointers. And
then they tell you a week later if you’re in the school.

My trumpet teacher was very supportive of my career and what I wanted
to do. She realized I had a lot of trouble getting acclimated to the
instrument and was a hard learner on the trumpet. I was one of the most
determined kids there, but probably not up to par on where I should have
been. She was very, very supportive and through the years, she got me
to where I wanted to be on the trumpet.

Many people that leave the school become successful, and I think it’s
because they have a good paradigm for success. There’s no peer
pressure. The white kids and the black kids get along. There’s no
pressure to wear the latest gear. Never any fights. The population
varied so much, and not even everyone came in with the same goal, but
everyone had a sensitivity and a goal for bettering themselves and
creating beautiful art. The school teaches you about the professional
world. We were always performing in front of donors. We had to be on
time and be prepared. You get used to a demanding schedule, something
most high school students didn’t have to. Even people who graduated
there and became CEOs or bankers benefited from the discipline at the
school.”

—B.N.

---

Jhane Barnes
Fashion Designer
Dulaney High School, Class Of ’72

“In high school I was thinking of three different careers. Science
(astrophysicist), musician (in a symphony orchestra), or fashion.

My trig teacher told me my math skills were weak and I would only be
an ‘average’ scientist and I didn’t strike him as an ‘average’ person. I
never recovered from feeling deficient in math, which is very funny
since I employ two mathematicians to write my special design software
and I use math every day in ways most people can’t fathom!

My music teacher told me I was good at many different instruments but
wasn’t ‘great’ at any one. He said most likely I’d end up as a music
teacher like him and he didn’t see that for me.

We had an experimental clothing and pattern-making class instead of
the traditional Home Ec, and my teacher, Mrs. Robinette, said that
designing was where she saw the passion in me. I thought fashion was
shallow and lacked real cerebral challenge—it took many years for me to
change my opinion on that!

The principal gave me $500 to make 20 band uniforms for our dance
band. This was a pivotal moment for me, fitting so many guys’ different
shapes. I had permission to skip homeroom period and report directly
every morning to my very own sewing room (the band practice room)
equipped with machines and irons and a big table.”

---

It’s Academic

You might hear all about St. Joe’s wrestling prowess or Dunbar’s
basketball history or City’s football dynasties, but what about the
mathletes?

For 35 years, It’s Academic has been the bowl game of choice for
brainiacs. It’s even been recognized by no less authority than the
GuinnessBook of World Records as the longestrunning quiz show on TV,
having debuted in 1961 in D.C. and 1971 in Baltimore.

Longtime host Mac McGarry reminisces about a few of the memorable moments from his years grilling Baltimore’s teens.

On the show’s influence: “Steven Mosko [John Carroll
School, class of ’74, now head of Columbia, TriStar Television] once
said that he developed an interest in the TV and film business by
attending an It’s Academic taping. I thought that was terrific!”

On brains vs. brawn: “It gives the students on It’s
Academic the same attention that an athlete would get. How ironic is
that? Some of the teams used to give out letters for appearing on the
show. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a sports fan! I follow sports very
carefully. But I think it’s fine that scholarship is also noticed on the
same level as athletics.”

On one memorable dynasty: “The Pape family from
Edgewood High in Harford County sent us three siblings in a row. I
designated their seat on the board the Papal Chair!”

On his favorite answers: “I don’t want to use this
in any disparaging way, because these kids were trying to answer the
questions seriously. But the best answers I ever got were: The question
was ‘Who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo?’ The answer came back: ‘Duke
Ellington.’ I could hardly go on! The second one, and the guy was
serious, was ‘Who, along with Friedrich Engels, wrote the Communist
Manifesto?’ And the guy shouted out ‘Groucho Marx!’ Those are still my
favorites and they both came out of Baltimore.