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Western's
third home was a brand new, expensive building at Lafayette Avenue and McCulloh Street,
opened in 1896. For thirty-three years, Western girls tackled difficult academic and
business ('clerical') classes and enjoyed a full social life there. The school had already
assumed a pre-eminent place in United States' educational history.
By 1922, plans
had been announced at an Alumnae Association banquet to search for a new site for the
Western Female High School. In 1927, the cornerstone for the "new" Western on
Gwynns Falls Parkway was laid. These spacious, beautifully landscaped grounds and the
grandeur of the building were touted as one of the most remarkable educational settings on
the East Coast.
The future of
Western was in doubt on two occasions. The first occurred when the school needed to move
again in 1954, this time to Howard and Center Streets; the second, in 1967, before the
last move was made to her current home on the large, well-equipped campus on Falls Road at
Cold Spring Lane. During both tumultuous times, skeptics in the community questioned
whether Western should continue as an all-girls school. The alumnae, students, staff and
parents waged vociferous, successful battles in each case and Western High School remains
intact, the oldest of only two all-female public high schools in the United States.
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Since 1975,
Western has been a city-wide/ magnet liberal arts college preparatory school. Students
must apply and meet entrance criteria to be admitted. Western's reputation for scholastic
achievement is substantiated by an average college placement of 85% for the last twenty
years. The student population, drawn from throughout Baltimore, consists of a diverse
racial, ethnic, and socio-economic mix that mirrors the city of Baltimore.
Western's most
rigorous academic program is the Advanced College Preparatory Program (the 'A' course)
which was established in 1933 by a joint agreement between Western and Goucher College.
Students who graduate from the 'A' course may enter college with advanced standing
annually produces championship athletic teams and prize-winning performing arts students
and sponsors nearly forty active clubs and organizations.
Through dozens
of historical benchmarks: the Civil War, World War I, the Great Depression, World War II,
Korea and Vietnam; through women's suffrage marches and civil rights demonstrations,
Western alumnae have made notable contributions to the quality of life in America and
Western High School lives on.
Want to know what is happening at Western High now? Browse the school calendar and synchronize it
with your own, to drop by in the near future. Being visible to the students, show you care...
and we do! Click the link to
WHS Calendar 2006-2007
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The History of Western High School, Baltimore MD
A Prominent All Girls School
On November 1, 1844, Western High School officially opened its doors for the first time in Armitage Hall at 100 N. Paca Street in Baltimore. In those two small rented rooms, Mr. Robert Kerr, principal and sole teacher, welcomed thirty-six excited young girls. Thus began the unique legacy of Western, a pioneer in women's educaton in this country. Before Western was established, there had been no opportunity for Baltimore girls to get an education beyond grammar school.
In the Beginning
In those early
days, admission to the school was by examination only and students studied as many as
thirty subjects. Until 1853, there was no public commencement ceremony; students were
certified to have completed the program by passing public exit examinations.
As the school
enrollment rapidly grew, its location was moved to Fayette and Green Streets (1846-1858)
and then to Fayette Street near Paca (1858-1896). In 1867, the curriculum expanded from
three years to four; as a result, no commencement exercises were held that year. By 1870,
900 girls had graduated from the school - most to become teachers.