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Northwestern High School (Hyattsville, Maryland)
Encyclopedia
Northwestern High School (NHS), established in 1951, is a public comprehensive
secondary school located in Hyattsville
, Maryland
in Prince George's County
, less than a mile from the internationally known University of Maryland, College Park
. It is part of the Prince George's County Public Schools
system. Two middle school
s (Hyattsville Middle School and Nicholas Orem Middle School
) feed into Northwestern, as well as twelve elementary school
s, which are part of the Northwestern Cluster of Schools.
Completed in August 2000, at 386000 sq ft (35,860.6 m²) and a capacity of 2,700 students, Northwestern is the second largest high school in the state of Maryland when measured by total square footage, and it became the first of the county's current high schools to be replaced with a new facility.
In December 2009, Northwestern was recognized as a Silver Medal School amongst "America's Best High Schools" by U.S. News & World Report
. Northwestern is accredited by the Commission on Secondary Schools which is a division of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
.
Jim Henson
, creator of The Muppets
, graduated from Northwestern in 1954. On October 5, 2002, during an official building dedication ceremony attended by Jane and Heather Henson, as well as representatives from The Jim Henson Legacy, Inc., Northwestern was given permission to rename the D/E/F-Wing at Northwestern, in honor of the late Jim Henson.
, in Montgomery County
. He is now the current superintendent of schools
in the Anne Arundel County Public Schools
system, also in Maryland. William Ritter, himself, was appointed head of the Region 5 District in 2004 (and later, head of the school systems FIRST-Financial Incentive Rewards for Supervisors & Teachers program), where Jerome Thomas—who was a long time vice-principal at Northwestern—took his position. Northwestern houses a branch of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington and operates an Evening High School
for the Northern half of the county, as well as a Saturday High School
program. Northwestern hosts a very popular Saturday-run "ISP Flea Market" that is sponsored by the school's International Studies Program (ISP). Northwestern is also an official county site for conducting the nationally administered SAT
college assessment exams.
Northwestern is home to the county-wide COLOURS Performing Arts Program and, for several years, served as host to the annual county-wide High School Chorus Festival and Band Festival, that showcases school choir
s and bands
in the PGCPS, who are then adjudicated by renowned music directors from around the country. Northwestern is often used as a secondary site for the Superiors Concert which is the PGCPS festival for choirs who were rated superior during at the lower-level county festival. Northwestern also served as host school for Gateway Music Festival's Washington, DC national choir competition, in 2003, and hosted the 2004 Maryland All-State Band Festival.
The boys gym
nasium, girls auxiliary gymnasium, band, choir, and orchestra rooms, were all located at the rear of the building, as well. The C-wing was accessible to the B-wing by a long suspended enclosed bridge that could only be reached from the second floor. A large field of space was located between wings B & C and was dubbed, "The Senior Courtyard". Originally reserved exclusively for seniors to provide their own special area to converge during their assigned lunch, the Senior Courtyard was eventually opened to the entire student body. Northwestern was one of the few schools to allow students outside during lunch, as most schools didn't have the proper accommodations to allow this. The Justice Memorial Auditorium was another add-on and was part of the A-wing, which was the final addition to the original building. The A-wing was the only section of the old facility that had air conditioning. Northwestern was converted from a grades 10-12 "senior high school" to a grades 9-12 "high school" configuration, in 1981.
was completed, back in 1978. While it took two years to construct the new facility, the building was not actually fully completed until midway through the 2001-02 school year. Classes commenced at the new Northwestern before the former facility had been torn down. The large bus lot, which is located directly in front of the new building, and the expansive main parking lot, had yet to be paved prior to the opening of the new building because the old facility stood where these new areas were to be made. In addition, there were a few exterior portions of the new facility which weren't finally constructed to finalize the building, until 2002. Except for the auditorium, which was retained from the old building and completely overhauled and transformed into D-Wing of the new school, the old Northwestern was razed while classes were ongoing in the new building. The main parking lot for the new school lies where the former facility once stood.
At 386000 sq ft (35,860.6 m²), Northwestern High School has a capacity of 2,700 students with a Fall 2011 enrollment of approximately 2,700 students. Northwestern's largest student enrollment was reached during the 2006-2007 school year, in which over 3,000 students were registered. Northwestern had over twenty portable classrooms, to accommodate the over-enrollment. Northwestern had never had portable trailers until, ironically, after the new facility was built. Even though Northwestern's Fall 2011 enrollment is at capacity, the school currently houses twenty portable classrooms, all of which are located at the rear of the facility spanning one end of the building to the other. The additional classroom space is primarily needed to accommodate the expansive course offerings at the school, although, they also serve for slight control of overcrowding.
Until 2006, Northwestern was officially the largest high school in Maryland when measured by square footage, a distinction that has since been given up to the brand new 434600 sq ft (40,375.7 m²). Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School, located in Southern Prince George's County. However, with Wise having a capacity of 2,600 students and Northwestern having a capacity of 2,700 students, Northwestern is still the largest high school in Prince George's County in terms of building capacity. There was controversy for a time for the distinction of, what was then, the "largest high school in Maryland", between Northwestern and neighboring Montgomery Blair High School
in Montgomery County
, over which of the two schools was physically larger—in square footage—over the other. Both schools were designed by the same architectural firm, both schools were constructed around the same time (Blair in 1998 and Northwestern in 2000), both schools share a very similar design both internally and externally, and both schools are of similar size. Blair was constructed for 372000 sq ft (34,559.9 m²) originally and Northwestern for 386000 sq ft (35,860.6 m²). Through certain technicalities, Blair's total square footage was upped to around 386000 sq ft (35,860.6 m²). But, it was decided that Northwestern—with the addition of its greenhouse
to the second floor of the A-Wing in 2001—retains its slightly larger physical size over Blair, despite Blair having a larger maximum student capacity.
On the exterior, Northwestern's campus features three courtyards, all of which are located between the four wings of the building. The school has a total of five parking lots: the large main parking lot (located in front of the facility and in place of where the former facility once stood) which is designated for staff, students, and visitors; another parking lot adjacent to the main parking lot and located in front of the auditorium, which is reserved for staff and visitors; two smaller parking lots located at the rear of the facility, both of which are reserved for staff or visitors attending athletic events; and a large bus bay capable of accommodating forty-four school buses, which is located directly in front of the facility and also doubles as another parking lot for staff and visitors, during and after the regular school day. The school has six tennis court
s located just outside the auditorium to the east of the building and it has several basketball court
s located at the rear of the building outside the food court, which have been decommissioned and now serves as an area which houses several of the schools portable classrooms. There are a total of three athletic fields, all located in the rear of the building: the football
/soccer stadium which also encompasses the running track which surrounds the football/soccer field; a softball field, and a baseball field.
Northwestern is divided into four distinct "sub-schools" referred to as: the A-Wing, B/G-Wing, C-Wing, and D/E/F-Wing. Each sub-school can house between 600 to 700 students. The original plan for Northwestern, was to physically divide the school into four smaller schools, hence the design theme of the building. Sub-School A was intended to be the "School of Fine, Creative, and Performing Arts"; Sub-School B was to be the "School of Career and Consumer Education"; Sub-School C was to be a general facility that housed mainly elective courses, in addition the schools main offices, security office, and health center; and Sub-School D was to be "The School of Intensive and Specialized Instruction", which would house the schools honors and advanced placement program as well as the schools ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) program and Vocational Development (Special Education) program. Students were not to be permitted to interact with students from other sub-schools, and students from each sub-school were to be isolated within their sub-school, for the majority of the school day. Due to scheduling conflicts and feasibility issues with this type of sub-school concept, the idea for restrictive sub-schools was dropped before the new building ever opened, while the idea of smaller learning communities was retained and revised to become less restrictive and isolating.
The sub-schools are connected by a large, uniquely architectural main hallway called, The Skywalk, which features a tiered three-story design. A student looking over the third floor Skywalk can see straight down to the first floor main hallway. The building features an artistic, colorful design theme using multiple variations of the colors: blue, purple, teal, gray, and white. The colors were inspired largely by the official school colors which are navy blue and white. The four main academic sections of the building house specialized programs as part of Northwestern's initiative to provide smaller learning environments in which students can specialize in specific areas of study, similar to a college. Across the main hallway from the sub-buildings are other facilities encompassing the H, J, & K-Wings (there is no "I-Wing"), which includes the main gymnasium, auxiliary gymnasium, main cafeteria/food court
(H-Wing), NJROTC unit and Child Development wing (K-Wing), and library/media center. The H, J, and K-Wings aren't separate buildings like Wings A-F. Another unique design feature of Northwestern, is its three satellite cafeterias or commissary's, which supplement the main food court. There is a commissary in Wings A, B/G, and D/E/F. These commissary's were generally intended for seniors, only, but students for all grade levels use the facilities. Northwestern features three "lecture hall
s" with stadium seating which resemble classrooms typically found at large universities. These lecture halls can seat 30-50 students. The auditorium—which comprises the entire portion of the building referred to as the D-Wing—has a maximum capacity of 1,100 spectators. Northwestern also has two high capacity elevator
s that are restricted for personnel use, only. Northwestern in a technologically advanced school and has over six computer lab
s, in addition to the media center
. Northwestern currently has over 1,100 computers, one of the largest of any high school in Maryland. Each classroom at Northwestern has a bank of at least five computers, all of which have internet access. All of the lavatories at Northwestern feature automatic flush toilets, automatic on/off sinks, and automatic hand dryers. As an energy conservation effort, the lighting in the hallways have an auto-on/off feature, where sensors will automatically shutoff the lights if people movement is not detected within a certain period of time, and conversely will turn-on the lights when people movement is detected.
and soccer stadium (previously known as the Prince George's County Memorial Stadium) can accommodate the entire student population and features a modern, air-conditioned press box. There are also two softball/baseball fields (one at either side of the football field) and six tennis courts. The new baseball field was dedicated to long time baseball coach, football coach, gym teacher, athletic director and alumnus Martin "Marty" Gallagher. This honor was organized by Coach Gallagher's former athletes from the 60's, 70's and 80's. The gym
nasium is currently the second largest gymnasium in Prince George's County; the facility is able to seat over half the school's population. When the bleachers are retracted, the gymnasium is able to provide three full-sized basketball courts for practice and play. It was widely rumored that the new school was to feature, amongst other things, an indoor swimming pool, but it did not come to fruition for various reasons.
. When the original Health & Wellness Center was founded back in the mid-90s in the old building, it was the first of its kind in PGCPS. Two other centers have since been established, more recently, in other area schools.
The Health Center is located across from the Main Administrative Offices (Room C207) and combines the Health and Wellness Center and the Health Suite in one location. The Health and Wellness Center provides basic health, counseling, education and prevention services in support of Northwestern students' academic and social success. Services include physical examinations, tests and treatment for infections and transmittable diseases, immunizations and well-baby care, mental health counseling and health behavior education. All students and infant/toddlers of teen parents enrolled in the Adolescent Teen Parenting Program are eligible to receive confidential primary health care services and treatment. The emphasis is on health promotion, disease prevention and self-care.
Services are provided at no direct charge to students or parents/guardians, except when appropriate to bill enrollees insurance company or medical assistance.
including those from African or Caribbean nations; 45.04% Hispanic
; 6.8% Asian
; and 3.4 Caucasian
. Of these students, 1270 are male
and 1183 are female
. About 400 students are "Limited English Proficient" (LEP) or ESOL and over 200 are in Special Education
. More than half of Northwestern’s students qualify for Free and Reduced Meal (FARM) status.
year must complete a pre-registration form which reflects which of the Northwestern academy programs, they will be interested in enrolling in. Certain academies have specific requirements that students need to satisfy in order to apply for that program.
and all of the city of Mount Rainier
, the towns of Avondale
, Brentwood
, North Brentwood
, and University Park
, and the communities of Lewisdale and West Hyattsville. Students from portions of the city of College Park
, Langley Park
, Landover
, Riverdale Park
, and some areas considered to be Adelphi
, also attend Northwestern. It was not until 1965 that Northwestern received its first multi-cultural students who were bussed in from an adjacent area (Bladensburg).
, Mount Rainier, Rosa L. Parks, Ridgecrest, Riverdale, Thomas S. Stone, and University Park.
In 2005, Northwestern was the first high school in Prince George's County to implement a mandatory school uniform
policy.
" program of instruction, Northwestern High School offers several specialized programs in addition to the core curriculum mandated by the Prince George's County Public Schools system. A career academy operates as a "school-within-a-school" model, that provides a college preparatory curriculum with a career-related theme. The curriculum organizes instruction in academic subjects around an industry or career theme and enables students to fulfill requirements for college entrance in addition to acquiring work-related knowledge and skill.
All students are provided a core set or curricula and experiences in the ninth and tenth grades. Ninth graders will become a part of the Ninth Grade Academy to provide greater structure and focus with the goal of enhancing basic skills and preparing them for more intensive study after their selection of a career academy by the end of sophomore year. During the eleventh and twelfth grades, students will be exposed to more specific or specialized instruction and participate in various work-based learning experiences. Since all students take a "core foundation" of academic courses, career pathways overlap enough to allow the flexibility to change academies, if interests change or new knowledge and skills are acquired.
Northwestern has identified nine career clusters, which are organized around broad career fields. Of the nine career clusters, Northwestern has implemented four sub-schools. Each wing at Northwestern hosts at least one sub-school and one or more "academy programs". The various programs are:
Northwestern also features the America's Choice School Design Signature Program, a whole-school program which promotes reading and the language arts.
& Humanities
, Performing Arts
, and Visual Arts. The school was granted the exclusive rights to use Jim Henson's name, by the family of Mr. Henson. The school is the largest sub-school at Northwestern. Students enrolled in the Jim Henson School, receive extensive instruction in either: vocal music, instrumental music, general music, drama, journalism, dance, fine arts, and television production, or a combination of the arts disciplines. The vocal and instrumental music programs at Northwestern, as well as the Advanced Placement Art program, have collectively received numerous awards throughout the years for their work.
, and provides content in the fields of electronics
, biotechnology
, aerospace
, civil engineering
, and architecture
. The Academy of Engineering is a partnership with Project Lead The Way, Inc. (PLTW) and The STEM Academy. The program is a four-year sequence of courses which, when combined with traditional mathematics and science courses in high school, introduces students to the scope, rigor and discipline of engineering prior to entering college. Students in the Academy of Engineering take specialized courses, specific to the academy, such as: Principles of Engineering; Introduction to Engineering Design; and Digital Electronics. Specialization Courses include: Computer Integrated Manufacturing; Biotechnical Engineering; Civil Engineering and Architecture; Aerospace Engineering; and Capstone Course: Engineering Design and Development.
is an academy program that connects high school students with the world of financial services, offering a curriculum that covers banking and credit, financial planning, international finance, securities, insurance, accounting, and economics. The AOF is a national program that was established to develop students with the skills and knowledge to succeed in this fast-paced growth area of business.
Academy of Military Science, provides secondary school students the opportunity to become informed, responsible citizens prepared for high school graduation. Program highlight include: a focus on academics including United States military history; exploration of national security issues; the study of meteorology and astronomy; communications and advanced technologies employed by the Armed Services; navigation and survival skills; healthy lifestyles and physical fitness; organizational skills and financial management; career exploration in a wide variety of fields (both military and nonmilitary) and the foundations of responsible leadership. Cadets learn and continue to develop leadership skills and application of military courtesies and customs as they complete each year of their NJROTC programs. The curriculum is structured for success in high school and beyond. Through the demonstration of discipline, honor, self-respect, and commitment cadets gain increasing responsibilities within their programs. NJROTC cadets and units must complete civic action projects and community service. The program also provides field trips to historical military sites and institutions; visits to colleges/universities and military academies to increase awareness and opportunities; and participation on one of the various Drill Teams could include travels to neighboring counties, states, and possibly to competitions held nationwide. The programs provide college scholarships and Military Academy appointment opportunities for qualified cadets. With the completion of specific requirements, several courses within the NJROTC curriculum can earn cadets college credits through the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
. Students who successfully complete a minimum of three years of the NJROTC program and qualify to enter the active duty military service, receive pay/rank increases of two grades above non-NJROTC recruits.
, science
, and social studies
(U.S. History
, L/S/N Government, and World History
are required); one credit in fine arts and Foundations of Technology; and a ½ credit of Personal Fitness (Physical Education
) and Health
. There are variety of completer electives a student must choose from, as well as a combination of ways they can earn those elective credits. Two credits of a foreign language
(both credits must be of the same language) are required, as well as three additional credits is miscellaneous electives. Optionally, a student may elect to complete two credits in Advanced Technology Education and three credits in miscellaneous electives. As another option, a student could complete a state-approved technology program and any remaining credits in electives.
Northwestern students can also choose from 20 Advanced Placement courses, with at least one AP course offered in every major humanities
discipline.
Northwestern students enrolled in the School of Business Management have a variety of completer courses to choose from. Academy of Finance electives include: Introduction to Financial Services 1/2; Banking & Credit; Business Law; College Accounting; Introduction to Investment & Insurance; Financial Planning; International Finance; Economics & World of Finance; Computer Applications; and Advanced Accounting. Academy of Business Management electives include: Entrepreneurship 1
and Entrepreneurship 2 courses. Other completer courses available to students in both academies include: Principals of Business Administration; Financial Management; and Accounting 1.
Northwestern students enrolled in the PLTW Academy of Engineering can choose from a variety of completer courses such as: Introduction to Engineering Design; Principles of Engineering; Digital Electronics; Civil Engineering & Architecture; and Engineering Design & Development.
There are a host of other academy-specific electives offered at Northwestern such as: Career Research & Development courses; NJROTC courses; Child Growth & Development courses; Television Production courses; and Computer Graphics courses.
Northwestern offers foreign language
course offerings in French
, Italian
, Japanese
, and Spanish
. Advanced Placement foreign language offerings include AP French Language 5, AP Italian Language and Culture, AP Japanese Language and Culture, AP Spanish Language 5, AP Spanish Literature 6.
Students interested in computer graphics
can choose from courses such as Computer Graphics 1, Computer Graphics 2, and AP Computer Graphics.
Northwestern students are required to complete a biology
course before graduation. Non-traditional science courses include: Integrating the Sciences; Anatomy
& Physiology
; Microbiology
; Introduction to Environmental Relationships & Problems; Plants & People; Forensic Lab Science 1/2
; and Medical Science.
There are a wide array of electives offered in the humanities, which include: African American Studies
; African Area Studies
; Drama
; Economic Issues
; Practical Law
; Journalism/Yearbook
; Psychology
; Public Policy Issues
; SAT Preparation
; Social Studies Research Seminar
; and Student Government
. Northwestern's award-winning music
program offers students twelve performance ensembles ranging from Marching Band
and Steel Drum Band to Concert Choir
. There are non-performance elective courses offered such as Music Survey, Musicianship and AP Music Theory.
The Concert Choir is the beginning to intermediate-level choir and the main vocal performing group at Northwestern. All choristers are members of the ensemble. There is an open-enrollment for the Concert Choir. Enrollment varies, but has ranged from around 85-students to over 130-students, in grades nine through twelve. Students sing many genres of music such as: classical
, spiritual
, international, secular
, sacred
, jazz
, and show tune
s. Level Six repertoire, which is the most challenging level of music on the music rating system, is performed by the Concert Choir. The Choir has performed classical works from Mozart
and Schubert
to challenging spirituals
from William L. Dawson and Moses Hogan
. The Choir has been rated Superior from local to international venues. The Advanced Ensemble is a select choir of approximately 50-students in Grades 10-12 and is the premiere touring/performing choir. Members are either hand-selected or auditioned from the main Concert Choir, for participation. The Advanced Ensemble was formed in 1999 as a Chamber Choir
, which was an extra-curricular ensemble that met after-school, only. Due to higher participation in the Chamber Choir, over the years, the group was eventually turned into a credit-earning ensemble that now meets during the regular school day, and the groups name was also changed as the group no longer met the criterion for a chamber choir due to its growing enrollment. The Advanced Ensemble meets regularly as a credit-earning course, and is completely separate from the main Concert Choir. The Advanced Ensemble performs music of the same genre, as the main Concert Choir, but the music tends to be more challenging, including more foreign language repertoire. The Advanced Ensemble has also been rated Superior at choral competitions, both at home and abroad. More recently, the Advanced Ensemble placed 1st at the national iSing Music Challenge held at Reid Temple A.M.E. Church in Lanham, Maryland. The Choir was awarded a $5,000 prize. The Gospel Choir comprises most of the members from the Concert Choir. The Gospel Choir is currently taught as an after-school ensemble. The Gospel Choir has performed gospel music
works from contemporary gospel greats such as Kirk Franklin
, Hezekiah Walker
, and Donnie McClurkin
. The Gospel Choir consistently ranks Superior at home, as well as nationally and internationally. The brand new Women's Chorale will be a beginning to intermediate-level ensemble for females in Grades 9-12. This ensemble will be the equivalent of the main Concert Choir.
The Choirs participate yearly in nationwide and international choral competitions, consistently bringing home multiple 1st place/Superior honors for eight of the last twelve years. In prior years, the Choirs have placed 1st and received grand championship honors (awarded to the best overall choir regardless of school size or ensemble classification) at competitions in: Chicago
, IL (1999); Myrtle Beach, SC (2001); New Orleans, LA (2002); Baltimore
, MD (2003); Atlanta, GA (2004); New York City
, NY (2005); Williamsburg
, VA (2006), and Toronto
, Canada (2008). The Concert Choir recently was awarded the highest honors, a "Superior" rating, at the 2011 Festival of Gold invitational in New York City. The entire Choir and several Choir alumni members, have been invited overseas to participate in a prestigious 10-day festival tour of South Africa, in 2013. The Ihlombe! South African Festival will feature some of the world's best choirs and while in South Africa, the Choir will tour the country and perform in-concert in the cities of Pretoria
, Soweto
and Cape Town
, as well as numerous other locations in and around Johannesburg
. The Choirs have consistently received superior-ratings at the annual all-county chorus festival, by notable people like Mr. Samuel Bonds and Mrs. Linda Hall, vocal music directors of the world renowned choirs at The Duke Ellington School of the Arts
and Baltimore City College
, respectively. The choirs have also been eligible to participate in the Maryland All-State Chorus Festival, held at different locations throughout the state each year. The Choirs have been ranked Excellent or higher, at the event.
Outside of festivals and competitions, the Choirs perform extensively throughout the Washington-area, as well as putting on two annual shows for the school and community, a Winter Concert and a Spring Concert. The holiday-themed winter concert, held in December, generally draws larger crowds between the two annual concerts, and the winter concert typically features Christmas-oriented music with some non-holiday themed pieces. The spring concert, held in May, is usually more formal, and features music that has been taken to local and international festivals, as well as other challenging pieces that have been learned during the second semester of the school year. Three other yearly events are sponsored by the choir, two of them being fund raising events: "Fiesta Latino", "Henson Night", and "The Soul Cafe".
The Choirs have been featured on the national television network, NBC
; a PBS
network broadcast special, Celebrate America with Tim Janis; the University of Maryland television network; and have performed with the Towson State University Choir and the University of Maryland Chamber Singers. The Choirs have performed two world premiers—Many Voices, One World with original poetry by Northwestern students and Undisclosed Locations with Northwestern's award-winning Jazz Band. Both collaboration projects were in conjunction with the University of Maryland School of Music, with songs written exclusively for the Choir by the late composer, Christopher Patton.
Performance-based ensembles
Released Time students are allowed to leave school prior to the end of the normal school day to pursue a non-credit program of activities approved but not sponsored or supervised by the school. Most of these students leave after their 2nd period class. While released time students have school privileges, such as participation in athletic and other extracurricular activities, they must exit the school building at the conclusion of their normal day and return at the time their scheduled activity begins. The Guidance Counselors discuss the terms of release time with students, and the students and their parents must complete the necessary paperwork for students to be on released time.
Marketing Work Study students are seniors participating in the Marketing Completer program. These students take their scheduled classes and, in most cases, are dismissed from school at the end of 2nd period. All Marketing Work Study students should have a label on the back of their student IDs that identifies them as participants in the Marketing Work Study program. These students are also not to leave school before the conclusion of second period class. While these students have jobs, their work schedules should not conflict with their normal school day.
The Cooperative Office Experience (COE)/Government Connection Work Study students participate in a school sponsored work-based learning experience in partnership with the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) in Washington, DC. Students must report to their work site by a specified time. Prince George's County school buses transport these students to the Prince George's Plaza Metro Station. COE students can be identified by their student identification and FCC work identification badges.
for its achievements in its Advanced Placement (AP) program, for 2005. Northwestern was ranked second in the county (out of 24 high schools) for students scoring highest on the nationally administered Advanced Placement Tests, by College Board
, the association which governs AP programs and its related courses throughout the country.
In January 2006, the College Board reported that 17.9% of Northwestern's 2005 graduates earned a passing score of 3 or higher (the highest being a 5) which is above the national average of 14.1%. This achievement ranked Northwestern behind only the county's leading high school, Eleanor Roosevelt, which has consistently ranked first in the county due largely in part to its specialized, Science and Technology Center magnet program. This was the first time that Northwestern had achieved this distinction.
Northwestern offers one of the largest AP programs in Prince George's County, offering courses such as AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP U.S. History, AP English Literature, AP Studio Art, and AP Spanish, just to name a few. Northwestern's rating of 17.9% surpasses the national average of 14.1%. Northwestern's closest contender in the county is academically notable, Bowie High School
, which received a rating of 13.2%.
to share resources with NHS and for students in the program to work interdependently with the University of Maryland's flagship College Park campus, which is only about a mile away from NHS. Due to the court-ordered restructuring of PGCPS magnet programs, several magnets were eliminated in 2003 including Northwestern's and Nicholas Orem's.
Iris T. Metts) to become a "Center for the Visual and Performing Arts" (VPA) Magnet School in the Fall of 2004, for the northern area of the county. This decision was based largely on (1) the new building and its huge fine/performing arts wing, (2) the tremendous successes of NHS's award-winning choirs, bands, and orchestra, and (3) feeder school Hyattsville Middle becoming a "Creative and Performing Arts" Magnet that same year. This announcement was made during the official naming ceremony for the schools D/E/F Building in honor of Jim Henson. Northwestern would have joined Suitland High School in the Southern part of the county as a VPA Magnet School.
However, the addition of the VPA Magnet at Northwestern has been delayed indefinitely. This delay was partly due to severe budget constraints on the school system. Further, the system under Metts' successor, Dr. Andre J. Hornsby, faced increasing pressure from the state to overhaul the county's hallmark magnet programs, which were created in the 1980s by a court mandate to end racial segregation
in Prince George's County schools, since racial segregation was ruled no longer an issue in the now predominantly African-American county.
Since 2004, Northwestern has still been actively pursing having a performing arts magnet program, implemented within the school. This has not been easy, largely due to the high turnover rates of the county's superintendents. Each time a new superintendent is brought into the school system, Northwestern has to essentially "sell its case of the magnet", to the new superintendent.
Over the years, Northwestern teams have produced 13 team state championships, and numerous lower level championships. The Wildcats official flag was designed in 1965 via a competition judged by the art department.
Fall sports
Winter sports
Spring sports
‡ Indicates a sport with both junior varsity
and varsity
divisions.
Comprehensive high school
Comprehensive high schools are the most common form of public high schools in the United States and are meant to serve the needs of all students, as compared to the common practice in other nations in which examinations are used to sort students into different high schools for different populations...
secondary school located in Hyattsville
Hyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 17,557 at the 2000 census.- History :The city was named for its founder, Christopher Clark Hyatt. He purchased his first parcel of land in the area in March 1845...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
in Prince George's County
Prince George's County, Maryland
Prince George's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland, immediately north, east, and south of Washington, DC. As of 2010, it has a population of 863,420 and is the wealthiest African-American majority county in the nation....
, less than a mile from the internationally known University of Maryland, College Park
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
. It is part of the Prince George's County Public Schools
Prince George's County Public Schools
The Prince George's County Public Schools system is a large school district administered by the government of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States and is overseen by the Maryland State Department of Education...
system. Two middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
s (Hyattsville Middle School and Nicholas Orem Middle School
Nicholas Orem Middle School
Nicholas Orem Middle School is a public middle school located in Hyattsville, Maryland in Prince George's County. It is part of the Prince George's County Public Schools system...
) feed into Northwestern, as well as twelve elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
s, which are part of the Northwestern Cluster of Schools.
Completed in August 2000, at 386000 sq ft (35,860.6 m²) and a capacity of 2,700 students, Northwestern is the second largest high school in the state of Maryland when measured by total square footage, and it became the first of the county's current high schools to be replaced with a new facility.
In December 2009, Northwestern was recognized as a Silver Medal School amongst "America's Best High Schools" by U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
. Northwestern is accredited by the Commission on Secondary Schools which is a division of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association dedicated to educational excellence and improvement through peer evaluation and accreditation...
.
Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
, creator of The Muppets
The Muppets
The Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference...
, graduated from Northwestern in 1954. On October 5, 2002, during an official building dedication ceremony attended by Jane and Heather Henson, as well as representatives from The Jim Henson Legacy, Inc., Northwestern was given permission to rename the D/E/F-Wing at Northwestern, in honor of the late Jim Henson.
About Northwestern
Mr. Edgar Batenga is the new acting principal at Northwestern, as a permanent principal has yet to be selected. Mr. Batenga replaced Mr. Jerome Thomas, who was principal from 2004 until July 2011. Mr. Thomas succeeded former principal, William T. Ritter, who was formerly the schools Dean of Students, until 2000, when then principal, Kevin M. Maxwell, left the Prince George's County Public Schools system to head Walter Johnson High SchoolWalter Johnson High School
Walter Johnson High School is located at 6400 Rock Spring Drive in Bethesda, an unincorporated region of Montgomery County, Maryland.WJHS serves areas in Bethesda and Rockville, as well as the towns of Garrett Park and Kensington.-History:...
, in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
. He is now the current superintendent of schools
Superintendent (education)
In education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....
in the Anne Arundel County Public Schools
Anne Arundel County Public Schools
Anne Arundel County Public Schools is the public school district serving Anne Arundel County, Maryland. The AACPS school system is the 5th largest in Maryland, and the 46th largest in the United States. The district has over 5,000 teachers supporting a comprehensive curriculum from Pre-K through...
system, also in Maryland. William Ritter, himself, was appointed head of the Region 5 District in 2004 (and later, head of the school systems FIRST-Financial Incentive Rewards for Supervisors & Teachers program), where Jerome Thomas—who was a long time vice-principal at Northwestern—took his position. Northwestern houses a branch of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington and operates an Evening High School
Continuing education
Continuing education is an all-encompassing term within a broad spectrum of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada...
for the Northern half of the county, as well as a Saturday High School
Continuing education
Continuing education is an all-encompassing term within a broad spectrum of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada...
program. Northwestern hosts a very popular Saturday-run "ISP Flea Market" that is sponsored by the school's International Studies Program (ISP). Northwestern is also an official county site for conducting the nationally administered SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
college assessment exams.
Northwestern is home to the county-wide COLOURS Performing Arts Program and, for several years, served as host to the annual county-wide High School Chorus Festival and Band Festival, that showcases school choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
s and bands
School band
A school band is a group of student musicians who rehearse and perform instrumental music together. A concert band is usually under the direction of one or more conductors...
in the PGCPS, who are then adjudicated by renowned music directors from around the country. Northwestern is often used as a secondary site for the Superiors Concert which is the PGCPS festival for choirs who were rated superior during at the lower-level county festival. Northwestern also served as host school for Gateway Music Festival's Washington, DC national choir competition, in 2003, and hosted the 2004 Maryland All-State Band Festival.
Northwestern Campus (1951-2000)
Northwestern Senior High School was founded in 1951 as a public secondary school. Northwestern was the consolidation of three schools: Hyattsville High School, Greenbelt High School, and Mount Rainier High School. Beginning in the 1960s, several additions were added to the original school in different stages, including what was called the "new" art wing. By the year 2000, Northwestern consisted of a long "main wing" with three "wings" branching out like fingers attached to it. These wings were referred to as the A-wing, B-wing, and C-wing. The cafeteria was located at the rear of the school on the second floor and attached to the C-wing.The boys gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium, girls auxiliary gymnasium, band, choir, and orchestra rooms, were all located at the rear of the building, as well. The C-wing was accessible to the B-wing by a long suspended enclosed bridge that could only be reached from the second floor. A large field of space was located between wings B & C and was dubbed, "The Senior Courtyard". Originally reserved exclusively for seniors to provide their own special area to converge during their assigned lunch, the Senior Courtyard was eventually opened to the entire student body. Northwestern was one of the few schools to allow students outside during lunch, as most schools didn't have the proper accommodations to allow this. The Justice Memorial Auditorium was another add-on and was part of the A-wing, which was the final addition to the original building. The A-wing was the only section of the old facility that had air conditioning. Northwestern was converted from a grades 10-12 "senior high school" to a grades 9-12 "high school" configuration, in 1981.
The new building
By the mid-1990s, Northwestern was beginning to show its age. A plan to replace the structure with a brand new $45 million dollar facility was proposed. Prince George's County Public Schools contracted the SHW Group LLP to design and build the new Northwestern. Construction of the new school began in late summer of 1998, the new facility located directly behind the old building. Students attended classes in the old building while construction of the new facility took place only yards away from the rear of the old school. In fact, the new school was physically connected to the old building at the rear (stage area) of the auditorium. The new building officially opened to students and staff in August 2000, just in time for the new school year, thus becoming the first new high school constructed in Prince George's County since Eleanor Roosevelt High SchoolEleanor Roosevelt High School (Greenbelt, Maryland)
Eleanor Roosevelt High School , is a Maryland public magnet high school specializing in science, mathematics, technology, and engineering. The school was established in 1978 at its current location in Greenbelt, Maryland and is part of the Prince George's County Public Schools system...
was completed, back in 1978. While it took two years to construct the new facility, the building was not actually fully completed until midway through the 2001-02 school year. Classes commenced at the new Northwestern before the former facility had been torn down. The large bus lot, which is located directly in front of the new building, and the expansive main parking lot, had yet to be paved prior to the opening of the new building because the old facility stood where these new areas were to be made. In addition, there were a few exterior portions of the new facility which weren't finally constructed to finalize the building, until 2002. Except for the auditorium, which was retained from the old building and completely overhauled and transformed into D-Wing of the new school, the old Northwestern was razed while classes were ongoing in the new building. The main parking lot for the new school lies where the former facility once stood.
Northwestern Campus (2000-Present)
Until 2006, Northwestern was officially the largest high school in Maryland when measured by square footage, a distinction that has since been given up to the brand new 434600 sq ft (40,375.7 m²). Dr. Henry A. Wise, Jr. High School, located in Southern Prince George's County. However, with Wise having a capacity of 2,600 students and Northwestern having a capacity of 2,700 students, Northwestern is still the largest high school in Prince George's County in terms of building capacity. There was controversy for a time for the distinction of, what was then, the "largest high school in Maryland", between Northwestern and neighboring Montgomery Blair High School
Montgomery Blair High School
Montgomery Blair High School is a public high school located in unincorporated Silver Spring in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States...
in Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is a county in the U.S. state of Maryland, situated just to the north of Washington, D.C., and southwest of the city of Baltimore. It is one of the most affluent counties in the United States, and has the highest percentage of residents over 25 years of age who hold post-graduate...
, over which of the two schools was physically larger—in square footage—over the other. Both schools were designed by the same architectural firm, both schools were constructed around the same time (Blair in 1998 and Northwestern in 2000), both schools share a very similar design both internally and externally, and both schools are of similar size. Blair was constructed for 372000 sq ft (34,559.9 m²) originally and Northwestern for 386000 sq ft (35,860.6 m²). Through certain technicalities, Blair's total square footage was upped to around 386000 sq ft (35,860.6 m²). But, it was decided that Northwestern—with the addition of its greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...
to the second floor of the A-Wing in 2001—retains its slightly larger physical size over Blair, despite Blair having a larger maximum student capacity.
On the exterior, Northwestern's campus features three courtyards, all of which are located between the four wings of the building. The school has a total of five parking lots: the large main parking lot (located in front of the facility and in place of where the former facility once stood) which is designated for staff, students, and visitors; another parking lot adjacent to the main parking lot and located in front of the auditorium, which is reserved for staff and visitors; two smaller parking lots located at the rear of the facility, both of which are reserved for staff or visitors attending athletic events; and a large bus bay capable of accommodating forty-four school buses, which is located directly in front of the facility and also doubles as another parking lot for staff and visitors, during and after the regular school day. The school has six tennis court
Tennis court
A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
s located just outside the auditorium to the east of the building and it has several basketball court
Basketball court
In basketball, the basketball court is the playing surface, consisting of a rectangular floor with tiles at either end. In professional or organized basketball, especially when played indoors, it is usually made out of a wood, often maple, and highly polished...
s located at the rear of the building outside the food court, which have been decommissioned and now serves as an area which houses several of the schools portable classrooms. There are a total of three athletic fields, all located in the rear of the building: the football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
/soccer stadium which also encompasses the running track which surrounds the football/soccer field; a softball field, and a baseball field.
Northwestern is divided into four distinct "sub-schools" referred to as: the A-Wing, B/G-Wing, C-Wing, and D/E/F-Wing. Each sub-school can house between 600 to 700 students. The original plan for Northwestern, was to physically divide the school into four smaller schools, hence the design theme of the building. Sub-School A was intended to be the "School of Fine, Creative, and Performing Arts"; Sub-School B was to be the "School of Career and Consumer Education"; Sub-School C was to be a general facility that housed mainly elective courses, in addition the schools main offices, security office, and health center; and Sub-School D was to be "The School of Intensive and Specialized Instruction", which would house the schools honors and advanced placement program as well as the schools ESOL (English Speakers of Other Languages) program and Vocational Development (Special Education) program. Students were not to be permitted to interact with students from other sub-schools, and students from each sub-school were to be isolated within their sub-school, for the majority of the school day. Due to scheduling conflicts and feasibility issues with this type of sub-school concept, the idea for restrictive sub-schools was dropped before the new building ever opened, while the idea of smaller learning communities was retained and revised to become less restrictive and isolating.
The sub-schools are connected by a large, uniquely architectural main hallway called, The Skywalk, which features a tiered three-story design. A student looking over the third floor Skywalk can see straight down to the first floor main hallway. The building features an artistic, colorful design theme using multiple variations of the colors: blue, purple, teal, gray, and white. The colors were inspired largely by the official school colors which are navy blue and white. The four main academic sections of the building house specialized programs as part of Northwestern's initiative to provide smaller learning environments in which students can specialize in specific areas of study, similar to a college. Across the main hallway from the sub-buildings are other facilities encompassing the H, J, & K-Wings (there is no "I-Wing"), which includes the main gymnasium, auxiliary gymnasium, main cafeteria/food court
Food court
A food court is generally an indoor plaza or common area within a facility that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining. Food courts may be found in shopping malls and airports, and in various regions may be a standalone development...
(H-Wing), NJROTC unit and Child Development wing (K-Wing), and library/media center. The H, J, and K-Wings aren't separate buildings like Wings A-F. Another unique design feature of Northwestern, is its three satellite cafeterias or commissary's, which supplement the main food court. There is a commissary in Wings A, B/G, and D/E/F. These commissary's were generally intended for seniors, only, but students for all grade levels use the facilities. Northwestern features three "lecture hall
Lecture hall
A lecture hall is a large room used for instruction, typically at a college or university. Unlike a traditional classroom with a capacity from one to four dozen, the capacity of lecture halls is typically measured in the hundreds...
s" with stadium seating which resemble classrooms typically found at large universities. These lecture halls can seat 30-50 students. The auditorium—which comprises the entire portion of the building referred to as the D-Wing—has a maximum capacity of 1,100 spectators. Northwestern also has two high capacity elevator
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
s that are restricted for personnel use, only. Northwestern in a technologically advanced school and has over six computer lab
Computer lab
A computer lab, also known as a computer suite or computer cluster is typically a room which contains many networked computers for public use...
s, in addition to the media center
School library
A school library is a library within a school where students, staff, and often, parents of a public or private school have access to a variety of resources...
. Northwestern currently has over 1,100 computers, one of the largest of any high school in Maryland. Each classroom at Northwestern has a bank of at least five computers, all of which have internet access. All of the lavatories at Northwestern feature automatic flush toilets, automatic on/off sinks, and automatic hand dryers. As an energy conservation effort, the lighting in the hallways have an auto-on/off feature, where sensors will automatically shutoff the lights if people movement is not detected within a certain period of time, and conversely will turn-on the lights when people movement is detected.
Athletic facilities
Northwestern was planned with enhanced emphasis on athletics. The footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and soccer stadium (previously known as the Prince George's County Memorial Stadium) can accommodate the entire student population and features a modern, air-conditioned press box. There are also two softball/baseball fields (one at either side of the football field) and six tennis courts. The new baseball field was dedicated to long time baseball coach, football coach, gym teacher, athletic director and alumnus Martin "Marty" Gallagher. This honor was organized by Coach Gallagher's former athletes from the 60's, 70's and 80's. The gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasium is currently the second largest gymnasium in Prince George's County; the facility is able to seat over half the school's population. When the bleachers are retracted, the gymnasium is able to provide three full-sized basketball courts for practice and play. It was widely rumored that the new school was to feature, amongst other things, an indoor swimming pool, but it did not come to fruition for various reasons.
Northwestern Health & Wellness Center
The Health & Wellness Center is a joint venture between Northwestern High School and the Prince George's Hospital Center in Cheverly, MarylandCheverly, Maryland
Cheverly is a town in central Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C., United States. The town was founded in 1918 and it was incorporated in 1931. Cheverly had 6,433 residents as of the 2000 Census....
. When the original Health & Wellness Center was founded back in the mid-90s in the old building, it was the first of its kind in PGCPS. Two other centers have since been established, more recently, in other area schools.
The Health Center is located across from the Main Administrative Offices (Room C207) and combines the Health and Wellness Center and the Health Suite in one location. The Health and Wellness Center provides basic health, counseling, education and prevention services in support of Northwestern students' academic and social success. Services include physical examinations, tests and treatment for infections and transmittable diseases, immunizations and well-baby care, mental health counseling and health behavior education. All students and infant/toddlers of teen parents enrolled in the Adolescent Teen Parenting Program are eligible to receive confidential primary health care services and treatment. The emphasis is on health promotion, disease prevention and self-care.
Services are provided at no direct charge to students or parents/guardians, except when appropriate to bill enrollees insurance company or medical assistance.
The student body
Enrollment
As of Fall 2011, Northwestern High School has an enrollment of approximately 2,700 students, although the school district cites the enrollment—as of September 2010—at approximately 2,458 students. The demographics of the student body (as of 2009) was 96.5% minority, of which 44.2% are African-American/BlackAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
including those from African or Caribbean nations; 45.04% Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...
; 6.8% Asian
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
; and 3.4 Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...
. Of these students, 1270 are male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
and 1183 are female
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
. About 400 students are "Limited English Proficient" (LEP) or ESOL and over 200 are in Special Education
Special education
Special education is the education of students with special needs in a way that addresses the students' individual differences and needs. Ideally, this process involves the individually planned and systematically monitored arrangement of teaching procedures, adapted equipment and materials,...
. More than half of Northwestern’s students qualify for Free and Reduced Meal (FARM) status.
Admissions
There is no admissions process (i.e. pre-entrance examination) for students to attend Northwestern. Students must live in the designated zoned attendance area for Northwestern. In 8th grade, middle school students who will be attending Northwestern freshmanFreshman
A freshman or fresher is a first-year student in secondary school, high school, or college. The term first year can also be used as a noun, to describe the students themselves A freshman (US) or fresher (UK, India) (or sometimes fish, freshie, fresher; slang plural frosh or freshmeat) is a...
year must complete a pre-registration form which reflects which of the Northwestern academy programs, they will be interested in enrolling in. Certain academies have specific requirements that students need to satisfy in order to apply for that program.
Communities served by Northwestern
Northwestern High School serves students from almost all of the city of HyattsvilleHyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 17,557 at the 2000 census.- History :The city was named for its founder, Christopher Clark Hyatt. He purchased his first parcel of land in the area in March 1845...
and all of the city of Mount Rainier
Mount Rainier, Maryland
Mount Rainier is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 8,498 at the 2000 census. Bordering Washington, DC, Mount Rainier got its start as a streetcar suburb. According to local tradition, surveyors from the Pacific Northwest named the town, giving the...
, the towns of Avondale
Avondale, Maryland
Avondale is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. For statistical purposes, it is part of the Chillum census-designated place .-History:...
, Brentwood
Brentwood, Maryland
Brentwood is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,844 at the 2000 census. Brentwood is less than away from Washington, DC...
, North Brentwood
North Brentwood, Maryland
North Brentwood is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 469 at the 2000 census. The municipality of North Brentwood is located north of Washington, D.C., and is surrounded by the communities of Hyattsville, Brentwood, and Cottage City...
, and University Park
University Park, Maryland
University Park is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,318 at the 2000 census.-Geography:University Park is located at ....
, and the communities of Lewisdale and West Hyattsville. Students from portions of the city of College Park
College Park, Maryland
College Park is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, USA. The population was 30,413 at the 2010 census. It is best known as the home of the University of Maryland, College Park, and since 1994 the city has also been home to the "Archives II" facility of the U.S...
, Langley Park
Langley Park, Maryland
Langley Park is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the Washington, D.C. metro area. It is located inside the Capital Beltway, on the northwest edge of Prince George's County, Maryland, bordering Montgomery County, Maryland....
, Landover
Landover, Maryland
Landover is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, within the census-designated place of Greater Landover. The Prince Georges County Sports and Learning Complex is in Landover...
, Riverdale Park
Riverdale Park, Maryland
Riverdale Park is a town in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 6,690 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Riverdale Park is located at ....
, and some areas considered to be Adelphi
Adelphi, Maryland
Adelphi is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. The population was 14,998 at the 2000 census...
, also attend Northwestern. It was not until 1965 that Northwestern received its first multi-cultural students who were bussed in from an adjacent area (Bladensburg).
Northwestern feeder schools
Hyattsville is fed directly by Hyattsville Middle School and Nicholas Orem Middle School, both of which are located in Hyattsville. Elementary schools which feed into Northwestern include Carole Highlands, César Chávez, Chillum, Hyattsville, LewsidaleLewisdale Elementary School
Lewisdale Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Hyattsville, Maryland. Grade levels range from Pre-kindergarten through fifth grade...
, Mount Rainier, Rosa L. Parks, Ridgecrest, Riverdale, Thomas S. Stone, and University Park.
Dress code
School uniform
A school uniform is an outfit—a set of standardized clothes—worn primarily for an educational institution. They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries . When used, they form the basis of a school's dress code.Traditionally school uniforms have been largely subdued and...
policy.
Sub-schools and academy programs
As part of adopting a "smaller learning communitiesSmall Learning Community
A Small Learning Community , also referred to as a School-Within-A-School, is a form of school structure that is increasingly common in secondary schools to subdivide large school populations into smaller, autonomous groups of students and teachers....
" program of instruction, Northwestern High School offers several specialized programs in addition to the core curriculum mandated by the Prince George's County Public Schools system. A career academy operates as a "school-within-a-school" model, that provides a college preparatory curriculum with a career-related theme. The curriculum organizes instruction in academic subjects around an industry or career theme and enables students to fulfill requirements for college entrance in addition to acquiring work-related knowledge and skill.
All students are provided a core set or curricula and experiences in the ninth and tenth grades. Ninth graders will become a part of the Ninth Grade Academy to provide greater structure and focus with the goal of enhancing basic skills and preparing them for more intensive study after their selection of a career academy by the end of sophomore year. During the eleventh and twelfth grades, students will be exposed to more specific or specialized instruction and participate in various work-based learning experiences. Since all students take a "core foundation" of academic courses, career pathways overlap enough to allow the flexibility to change academies, if interests change or new knowledge and skills are acquired.
Northwestern has identified nine career clusters, which are organized around broad career fields. Of the nine career clusters, Northwestern has implemented four sub-schools. Each wing at Northwestern hosts at least one sub-school and one or more "academy programs". The various programs are:
- The Jim Henson School of Arts, Media, and Communications
- Academy of Arts & Humanities
- Academy of Vocal MusicChoirA choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
- Academy of Instrumental Music
- Academy of Visual ArtsVisual artsThe visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...
- School of Business Management and Finance
- Academy of Business Management
- National Academy of Finance
- School of Human Resource Services
- International Studies Program (ISP)
- NJROTC Academy of Military Science
- School of Manufacturing, Engineering, and Technology
- Project Lead the Way Academy of Engineering
Northwestern also features the America's Choice School Design Signature Program, a whole-school program which promotes reading and the language arts.
Academy of Arts, Media & Communications
The Jim Henson School of Arts, Media, and Communications offers academies in three arts disciplines: ArtsFine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
& Humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
, Performing Arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
, and Visual Arts. The school was granted the exclusive rights to use Jim Henson's name, by the family of Mr. Henson. The school is the largest sub-school at Northwestern. Students enrolled in the Jim Henson School, receive extensive instruction in either: vocal music, instrumental music, general music, drama, journalism, dance, fine arts, and television production, or a combination of the arts disciplines. The vocal and instrumental music programs at Northwestern, as well as the Advanced Placement Art program, have collectively received numerous awards throughout the years for their work.
Project Lead the Way Academy of Engineering (PLTW/AOE)
The Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Academy of Engineering (AOE) educates high school students in the principles of engineeringEngineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
, and provides content in the fields of electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
, biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
, aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
, civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
, and architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
. The Academy of Engineering is a partnership with Project Lead The Way, Inc. (PLTW) and The STEM Academy. The program is a four-year sequence of courses which, when combined with traditional mathematics and science courses in high school, introduces students to the scope, rigor and discipline of engineering prior to entering college. Students in the Academy of Engineering take specialized courses, specific to the academy, such as: Principles of Engineering; Introduction to Engineering Design; and Digital Electronics. Specialization Courses include: Computer Integrated Manufacturing; Biotechnical Engineering; Civil Engineering and Architecture; Aerospace Engineering; and Capstone Course: Engineering Design and Development.
Academy of Finance (AOF)
The National Academy of Finance (AOF)Academy of Finance
The Academy of Finance was first established in 1982 by the National Academy Foundation. The Academy of Finance is one of the four member programs sponsored by the National Academy Foundation...
is an academy program that connects high school students with the world of financial services, offering a curriculum that covers banking and credit, financial planning, international finance, securities, insurance, accounting, and economics. The AOF is a national program that was established to develop students with the skills and knowledge to succeed in this fast-paced growth area of business.
The NJROTC Academy of Military Science
The Naval Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (NJROTC)Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a Federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools across the United States...
Academy of Military Science, provides secondary school students the opportunity to become informed, responsible citizens prepared for high school graduation. Program highlight include: a focus on academics including United States military history; exploration of national security issues; the study of meteorology and astronomy; communications and advanced technologies employed by the Armed Services; navigation and survival skills; healthy lifestyles and physical fitness; organizational skills and financial management; career exploration in a wide variety of fields (both military and nonmilitary) and the foundations of responsible leadership. Cadets learn and continue to develop leadership skills and application of military courtesies and customs as they complete each year of their NJROTC programs. The curriculum is structured for success in high school and beyond. Through the demonstration of discipline, honor, self-respect, and commitment cadets gain increasing responsibilities within their programs. NJROTC cadets and units must complete civic action projects and community service. The program also provides field trips to historical military sites and institutions; visits to colleges/universities and military academies to increase awareness and opportunities; and participation on one of the various Drill Teams could include travels to neighboring counties, states, and possibly to competitions held nationwide. The programs provide college scholarships and Military Academy appointment opportunities for qualified cadets. With the completion of specific requirements, several courses within the NJROTC curriculum can earn cadets college credits through the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs is a campus of the University of Colorado system, the state university system of Colorado....
. Students who successfully complete a minimum of three years of the NJROTC program and qualify to enter the active duty military service, receive pay/rank increases of two grades above non-NJROTC recruits.
International Studies Academy
The International Studies Academy (also known as The International Studies Program) at Northwestern High School, is an interdisciplinary honors program which affords students the opportunity to choose a curriculum offering a focus in global education and technology. ISP students are also strongly encouraged to participate in international travel. This component of the ISP greatly enhances participating students’ understanding of their world and enriches their ability to interact successfully with a broad range of peoples and regions. Similarly, the experiences offered within ISP reinforce students’ capacity for viewing career paths in technology-related professions, as well as in foreign policy, international affairs and foreign exchange.General Academics
Northwestern students generally undertake a college preparatory curriculum that follows the graduation requirement guidelines set forth by the state of Maryland, that includes: four years of English; three years of mathematicsMathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, and social studies
Social studies
Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the Social Studies...
(U.S. History
History of the United States
The history of the United States traditionally starts with the Declaration of Independence in the year 1776, although its territory was inhabited by Native Americans since prehistoric times and then by European colonists who followed the voyages of Christopher Columbus starting in 1492. The...
, L/S/N Government, and World History
World History
World History, Global History or Transnational history is a field of historical study that emerged as a distinct academic field in the 1980s. It examines history from a global perspective...
are required); one credit in fine arts and Foundations of Technology; and a ½ credit of Personal Fitness (Physical Education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
) and Health
Health education
Health education is the profession of educating people about health. Areas within this profession encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health...
. There are variety of completer electives a student must choose from, as well as a combination of ways they can earn those elective credits. Two credits of a foreign language
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
(both credits must be of the same language) are required, as well as three additional credits is miscellaneous electives. Optionally, a student may elect to complete two credits in Advanced Technology Education and three credits in miscellaneous electives. As another option, a student could complete a state-approved technology program and any remaining credits in electives.
Northwestern students can also choose from 20 Advanced Placement courses, with at least one AP course offered in every major humanities
Humanities
The humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
discipline.
Northwestern students enrolled in the School of Business Management have a variety of completer courses to choose from. Academy of Finance electives include: Introduction to Financial Services 1/2; Banking & Credit; Business Law; College Accounting; Introduction to Investment & Insurance; Financial Planning; International Finance; Economics & World of Finance; Computer Applications; and Advanced Accounting. Academy of Business Management electives include: Entrepreneurship 1
Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship is the act of being an entrepreneur, which can be defined as "one who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods". This may result in new organizations or may be part of revitalizing mature organizations in response...
and Entrepreneurship 2 courses. Other completer courses available to students in both academies include: Principals of Business Administration; Financial Management; and Accounting 1.
Northwestern students enrolled in the PLTW Academy of Engineering can choose from a variety of completer courses such as: Introduction to Engineering Design; Principles of Engineering; Digital Electronics; Civil Engineering & Architecture; and Engineering Design & Development.
There are a host of other academy-specific electives offered at Northwestern such as: Career Research & Development courses; NJROTC courses; Child Growth & Development courses; Television Production courses; and Computer Graphics courses.
Northwestern offers foreign language
Foreign language
A foreign language is a language indigenous to another country. It is also a language not spoken in the native country of the person referred to, i.e. an English speaker living in Japan can say that Japanese is a foreign language to him or her...
course offerings in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, and Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Advanced Placement foreign language offerings include AP French Language 5, AP Italian Language and Culture, AP Japanese Language and Culture, AP Spanish Language 5, AP Spanish Literature 6.
Students interested in computer graphics
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
can choose from courses such as Computer Graphics 1, Computer Graphics 2, and AP Computer Graphics.
Northwestern students are required to complete a biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
course before graduation. Non-traditional science courses include: Integrating the Sciences; Anatomy
Anatomy
Anatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy , and plant anatomy...
& Physiology
Physiology
Physiology is the science of the function of living systems. This includes how organisms, organ systems, organs, cells, and bio-molecules carry out the chemical or physical functions that exist in a living system. The highest honor awarded in physiology is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or...
; Microbiology
Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, which are defined as any microscopic organism that comprises either a single cell , cell clusters or no cell at all . This includes eukaryotes, such as fungi and protists, and prokaryotes...
; Introduction to Environmental Relationships & Problems; Plants & People; Forensic Lab Science 1/2
Forensics
Forensic science is the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to a legal system. This may be in relation to a crime or a civil action...
; and Medical Science.
There are a wide array of electives offered in the humanities, which include: African American Studies
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
; African Area Studies
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
; Drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
; Economic Issues
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
; Practical Law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
; Journalism/Yearbook
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
; Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
; Public Policy Issues
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
; SAT Preparation
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
; Social Studies Research Seminar
Social studies
Social studies is the "integrated study of the social sciences and humanities to promote civic competence," as defined by the American National Council for the Social Studies...
; and Student Government
Students' union
A students' union, student government, student senate, students' association, guild of students or government of student body is a student organization present in many colleges and universities, and has started appearing in some high schools...
. Northwestern's award-winning music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
program offers students twelve performance ensembles ranging from Marching Band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
and Steel Drum Band to Concert Choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
. There are non-performance elective courses offered such as Music Survey, Musicianship and AP Music Theory.
Performing arts
Band
The Northwestern High School Instrumental Music Program has been rated superior and received first place, as well as grand championship rankings, at local, state, and national levels.Choir
The vocal music program has become a nationally and internationally recognized program, that consists of four performance ensembles, which include: the Concert Choir (Full Chorus), Advanced Ensemble, Gospel Choir, and a brand new Women's Chorale. The Concert, Advanced, and Gospel Choirs have all received numerous superior ratings at the local and state level, as well as national and international venues. The largest choir has typically been the Concert Choir. Enrollment in this Choir has been as high as 130-members in the past. More recently, enrollment in the Concert Choir ranged from 85 to 110-students. The vocal music program at Northwestern is not considered extra-curricular. All Choirs at Northwestern are offered as credit courses during the academic school day. All Choir members are expected to occasionally participate in special after-school rehearsals, which can meet for as long as two-hours after the normal school day, but more commonly for approximately 80-minutes. Each summer, a special week-long Summer Choir, has been held in early August for all new and returning choir members. This summer choir provides a chance for students to get a head start on repertoire for the upcoming performance season and also allows for new students to become acclimated to the choir and to veteran members of the choir.The Concert Choir is the beginning to intermediate-level choir and the main vocal performing group at Northwestern. All choristers are members of the ensemble. There is an open-enrollment for the Concert Choir. Enrollment varies, but has ranged from around 85-students to over 130-students, in grades nine through twelve. Students sing many genres of music such as: classical
Classical period (music)
The dates of the Classical Period in Western music are generally accepted as being between about 1750 and 1830. However, the term classical music is used colloquially to describe a variety of Western musical styles from the ninth century to the present, and especially from the sixteenth or...
, spiritual
Spiritual (music)
Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...
, international, secular
Secular music
Secular music is non-religious music. "Secular" means being separate from religion.In the West, secular music developed in the Medieval period and was used in the Renaissance. Swaying authority from the Church that focused more on Common Law influenced all aspects of Medieval life, including music...
, sacred
Sacred
Holiness, or sanctity, is in general the state of being holy or sacred...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, and show tune
Show tune
A show tune is a popular song originally written as part of the score of a "show" , especially if the piece in question has become a "standard", more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context...
s. Level Six repertoire, which is the most challenging level of music on the music rating system, is performed by the Concert Choir. The Choir has performed classical works from Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
and Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
to challenging spirituals
Spiritual (music)
Spirituals are religious songs which were created by enslaved African people in America.-Terminology and origin:...
from William L. Dawson and Moses Hogan
Moses Hogan
Moses George Hogan was an African-American composer and arranger of choral music. He was best known for his very popular and accessible settings of spirituals. Hogan was a pianist, conductor and arranger of international renown...
. The Choir has been rated Superior from local to international venues. The Advanced Ensemble is a select choir of approximately 50-students in Grades 10-12 and is the premiere touring/performing choir. Members are either hand-selected or auditioned from the main Concert Choir, for participation. The Advanced Ensemble was formed in 1999 as a Chamber Choir
Chamber choir
A chamber choir or group of chamber singers is the choral equivalent of a chamber ensemble, using voices instead of instruments. This prestigious choir will usually consist of 20-40 elite and dedicated singers. Several chamber choir formats exist, ranging from barbershop groups to exclusively...
, which was an extra-curricular ensemble that met after-school, only. Due to higher participation in the Chamber Choir, over the years, the group was eventually turned into a credit-earning ensemble that now meets during the regular school day, and the groups name was also changed as the group no longer met the criterion for a chamber choir due to its growing enrollment. The Advanced Ensemble meets regularly as a credit-earning course, and is completely separate from the main Concert Choir. The Advanced Ensemble performs music of the same genre, as the main Concert Choir, but the music tends to be more challenging, including more foreign language repertoire. The Advanced Ensemble has also been rated Superior at choral competitions, both at home and abroad. More recently, the Advanced Ensemble placed 1st at the national iSing Music Challenge held at Reid Temple A.M.E. Church in Lanham, Maryland. The Choir was awarded a $5,000 prize. The Gospel Choir comprises most of the members from the Concert Choir. The Gospel Choir is currently taught as an after-school ensemble. The Gospel Choir has performed gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
works from contemporary gospel greats such as Kirk Franklin
Kirk Franklin
Kirk Dwayne Franklin is an American Gospel music musician, choir director, and author, and is most notably known for leading urban contemporary gospel choirs such as The Family, God's Property and One Nation Crew .- Early years :...
, Hezekiah Walker
Hezekiah Walker
Bishop Hezekiah Xzavier Walker, Jr. is a Grammy Award-winning gospel music artist, founder and leader of the Love Fellowship Choir , and Pastor and Bishop of the Love Fellowship Tabernacle, with locations in Brooklyn, New York, and Bensalem, Pennsylvania, in the United States...
, and Donnie McClurkin
Donnie McClurkin
Donald Andrew McClurkin, Jr. is an American gospel music singer and minister. He has won three Grammy awards, ten Stellar awards, two BET awards, two Soul Train awards, one Dove award and one NAACP Image award for his work....
. The Gospel Choir consistently ranks Superior at home, as well as nationally and internationally. The brand new Women's Chorale will be a beginning to intermediate-level ensemble for females in Grades 9-12. This ensemble will be the equivalent of the main Concert Choir.
The Choirs participate yearly in nationwide and international choral competitions, consistently bringing home multiple 1st place/Superior honors for eight of the last twelve years. In prior years, the Choirs have placed 1st and received grand championship honors (awarded to the best overall choir regardless of school size or ensemble classification) at competitions in: Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, IL (1999); Myrtle Beach, SC (2001); New Orleans, LA (2002); Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, MD (2003); Atlanta, GA (2004); New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, NY (2005); Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
, VA (2006), and Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada (2008). The Concert Choir recently was awarded the highest honors, a "Superior" rating, at the 2011 Festival of Gold invitational in New York City. The entire Choir and several Choir alumni members, have been invited overseas to participate in a prestigious 10-day festival tour of South Africa, in 2013. The Ihlombe! South African Festival will feature some of the world's best choirs and while in South Africa, the Choir will tour the country and perform in-concert in the cities of Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, Soweto
Soweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
and Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, as well as numerous other locations in and around Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
. The Choirs have consistently received superior-ratings at the annual all-county chorus festival, by notable people like Mr. Samuel Bonds and Mrs. Linda Hall, vocal music directors of the world renowned choirs at The Duke Ellington School of the Arts
Duke Ellington School of the Arts
The Duke Ellington School of the Arts is a high school located at 35th Street and R Street, Northwest, Washington, D.C., and dedicated to arts education. One of the high schools of the District of Columbia Public School system, it is named for the American jazz bandleader and composer Edward...
and Baltimore City College
Baltimore City College
The Baltimore City College , also referred to as The Castle on the Hill, historically as The College, and most commonly City, is a public high school in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. The City College curriculum includes the International Baccalaureate Programme and emphasizes study in the classics...
, respectively. The choirs have also been eligible to participate in the Maryland All-State Chorus Festival, held at different locations throughout the state each year. The Choirs have been ranked Excellent or higher, at the event.
Outside of festivals and competitions, the Choirs perform extensively throughout the Washington-area, as well as putting on two annual shows for the school and community, a Winter Concert and a Spring Concert. The holiday-themed winter concert, held in December, generally draws larger crowds between the two annual concerts, and the winter concert typically features Christmas-oriented music with some non-holiday themed pieces. The spring concert, held in May, is usually more formal, and features music that has been taken to local and international festivals, as well as other challenging pieces that have been learned during the second semester of the school year. Three other yearly events are sponsored by the choir, two of them being fund raising events: "Fiesta Latino", "Henson Night", and "The Soul Cafe".
The Choirs have been featured on the national television network, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
; a PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
network broadcast special, Celebrate America with Tim Janis; the University of Maryland television network; and have performed with the Towson State University Choir and the University of Maryland Chamber Singers. The Choirs have performed two world premiers—Many Voices, One World with original poetry by Northwestern students and Undisclosed Locations with Northwestern's award-winning Jazz Band. Both collaboration projects were in conjunction with the University of Maryland School of Music, with songs written exclusively for the Choir by the late composer, Christopher Patton.
Performance-based ensembles
- Concert Choir
- Women's Chorale
- Advanced Ensemble
- Gospel Choir
- Concert Band
- Marching BandMarching bandMarching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
- Jazz Ensemble
- Percussion Ensemble
- Wind Ensemble
- Flute Choir
- Full OrchestraOrchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
- String Orchestra
- String Ensemble
Release-time/work study program
Northwestern has three groups of 12th grade students that have an abbreviated class schedule. Most of these students take two classes per day before leaving school. These groups include:- Released Time students
- Marketing Work Study students
- COE/Government Connection Work Study students.
Released Time students are allowed to leave school prior to the end of the normal school day to pursue a non-credit program of activities approved but not sponsored or supervised by the school. Most of these students leave after their 2nd period class. While released time students have school privileges, such as participation in athletic and other extracurricular activities, they must exit the school building at the conclusion of their normal day and return at the time their scheduled activity begins. The Guidance Counselors discuss the terms of release time with students, and the students and their parents must complete the necessary paperwork for students to be on released time.
Marketing Work Study students are seniors participating in the Marketing Completer program. These students take their scheduled classes and, in most cases, are dismissed from school at the end of 2nd period. All Marketing Work Study students should have a label on the back of their student IDs that identifies them as participants in the Marketing Work Study program. These students are also not to leave school before the conclusion of second period class. While these students have jobs, their work schedules should not conflict with their normal school day.
The Cooperative Office Experience (COE)/Government Connection Work Study students participate in a school sponsored work-based learning experience in partnership with the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) in Washington, DC. Students must report to their work site by a specified time. Prince George's County school buses transport these students to the Prince George's Plaza Metro Station. COE students can be identified by their student identification and FCC work identification badges.
Advanced Placement program honors
Northwestern High School was cited in The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
for its achievements in its Advanced Placement (AP) program, for 2005. Northwestern was ranked second in the county (out of 24 high schools) for students scoring highest on the nationally administered Advanced Placement Tests, by College Board
College Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...
, the association which governs AP programs and its related courses throughout the country.
In January 2006, the College Board reported that 17.9% of Northwestern's 2005 graduates earned a passing score of 3 or higher (the highest being a 5) which is above the national average of 14.1%. This achievement ranked Northwestern behind only the county's leading high school, Eleanor Roosevelt, which has consistently ranked first in the county due largely in part to its specialized, Science and Technology Center magnet program. This was the first time that Northwestern had achieved this distinction.
Northwestern offers one of the largest AP programs in Prince George's County, offering courses such as AP Calculus, AP Physics, AP U.S. History, AP English Literature, AP Studio Art, and AP Spanish, just to name a few. Northwestern's rating of 17.9% surpasses the national average of 14.1%. Northwestern's closest contender in the county is academically notable, Bowie High School
Bowie High School (Maryland)
Bowie High School is a public high school in Bowie, Maryland. It is part of Prince George's County Public Schools.-Academics:Bowie High School has the second highest student SAT average in Prince George's County, and is rated second on The Washington Post's Advanced Placement Challenge Index....
, which received a rating of 13.2%.
Magnet program (former)
In the mid-1990s Northwestern housed the University of Maryland Collaborative Project continuation magnet program for students who were enrolled in the Science, Mathematics, and Technology Magnet Program at Nicholas Orem Middle School. The program allowed the University of Maryland, College ParkUniversity of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
to share resources with NHS and for students in the program to work interdependently with the University of Maryland's flagship College Park campus, which is only about a mile away from NHS. Due to the court-ordered restructuring of PGCPS magnet programs, several magnets were eliminated in 2003 including Northwestern's and Nicholas Orem's.
Center for the Visual and Performing Arts
In 2003, Northwestern was slated (by former school district superintendentSuperintendent (education)
In education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....
Iris T. Metts) to become a "Center for the Visual and Performing Arts" (VPA) Magnet School in the Fall of 2004, for the northern area of the county. This decision was based largely on (1) the new building and its huge fine/performing arts wing, (2) the tremendous successes of NHS's award-winning choirs, bands, and orchestra, and (3) feeder school Hyattsville Middle becoming a "Creative and Performing Arts" Magnet that same year. This announcement was made during the official naming ceremony for the schools D/E/F Building in honor of Jim Henson. Northwestern would have joined Suitland High School in the Southern part of the county as a VPA Magnet School.
However, the addition of the VPA Magnet at Northwestern has been delayed indefinitely. This delay was partly due to severe budget constraints on the school system. Further, the system under Metts' successor, Dr. Andre J. Hornsby, faced increasing pressure from the state to overhaul the county's hallmark magnet programs, which were created in the 1980s by a court mandate to end racial segregation
Racial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
in Prince George's County schools, since racial segregation was ruled no longer an issue in the now predominantly African-American county.
Since 2004, Northwestern has still been actively pursing having a performing arts magnet program, implemented within the school. This has not been easy, largely due to the high turnover rates of the county's superintendents. Each time a new superintendent is brought into the school system, Northwestern has to essentially "sell its case of the magnet", to the new superintendent.
Extracurricular activities
Athletics
Northwestern High School sports teams are called the Wildcats. The Wildcats sports teams compete in the Prince George's Athletic Conference North Division, and are a part of the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA). Northwestern is a class 4A school, which are those in the upper one-fourth of schools in the state by enrollment.Over the years, Northwestern teams have produced 13 team state championships, and numerous lower level championships. The Wildcats official flag was designed in 1965 via a competition judged by the art department.
State Championships
- 1956: Boys Basketball
- 1957: Boys Track & Field
- 1958: Boys Track & Field
- 1967: Boys Basketball
- 1968: Boys Basketball
- 1973: Boys Cross Country
- 1973: Boys Soccer
- 1979: Girls Basketball
- 1987: Boys Basketball
- 1987: Girls Indoor Track
- 1995: Boys Soccer
- 1999: Boys Track & Field
- 2004: Boys Basketball
Fall sports
- CheerleadingCheerleadingCheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
‡ - Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- FootballAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
‡ - Pom-PonsPom-ponA pom-pon is a fluffy, decorative ball or tuft. Pom-pons may come in many colors, sizes, and varieties and are made from a wide array of materials, including wool, cotton, paper, plastic, and occasionally feathers....
- Soccer (Boys & Girls)‡
- VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
Winter sports
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
(Boys & Girls)‡ - Indoor Track & FieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
(Boys & Girls) - SwimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
- WrestlingWrestlingWrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
Spring sports
- BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
‡ - GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- Outdoor Track & FieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
(Boys) - SoftballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
‡ - TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
(Co-Ed)
‡ Indicates a sport with both junior varsity
Junior varsity
Primarily in North America, junior varsity or JV players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition , usually at the high school and college levels in the United States and Canada. The main players comprise the varsity team...
and varsity
Varsity team
In the United States and Canada, varsity sports teams are the principal athletic teams representing a college, university, high school or other secondary school. Such teams compete against the principal athletic teams at other colleges/universities, or in the case of secondary schools, against...
divisions.
Clubs & Organizations
Northwestern has as an eclectic array of extracurricular clubs, organizations, and activities for its students to partake in. The follow list is current as of August 2011.- Academy of Finance
- Anime
- Art Honors Society
- Band (Select Ensembles)
- Best Buddies
- Bio Med
- Chess Club
- Choir (Select Ensembles)
- Drama
- ESOL Homework
- Environmental Action*
- Fashion Club
- FBLA
- Forensics
- International Studies Program (ISP)
- Mentor Cares
- Latin Dance
- Manga
- Math Club
- Mock Trial
- National Honor Society
- Physical Fitness
- Poetry Club
- Student Government Association (SGA)
- Television Production
Notable alumni
- Len BiasLen BiasLeonard Kevin "Len" Bias was a first team All-American college basketball player at the University of Maryland. He was selected by the Boston Celtics as the second overall pick in the 1986 NBA Draft on June 17, but died two days later from cardiac arrhythmia induced by a cocaine overdose...
— famed college basketball player; drafted by the Boston CelticsBoston CelticsThe Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which... - William J. BoarmanWilliam J. BoarmanWilliam Joseph "Bill" Boarman is the 26th Public Printer of the United States. A former American printer, labor union leader, and government consultant, he has previously served as Senior Vice-President of the Communications Workers of America and President of that union's Printing, Publishing &...
— Public Printer of the United StatesPublic Printer of the United StatesThe title of Public Printer of the United States refers to the official head of the Government Printing Office . Pursuant to , this officer must be nominated by the President of the United States and approved by the United States Senate... - Leigh BoddenLeigh BoddenLeigh Edmond Bodden is an American football cornerback who is currently a free agent. He was originally signed by the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at Duquesne....
(1999) — NFL defensive back for the New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National... - Steve CharnovitzSteve CharnovitzSteve Charnovitz is a scholar of public international law, living in the United States. He teaches at The George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC, and is best known for his writings on the linkages between trade and environment and trade and labor rights.-Background:Charnovitz is...
— law professor - Jimmy EarlJimmy EarlJimmy Earl is an American jazz musician and composer. He has released two studio albums and recorded extensively. He has toured the world with major artists. He is ranked #22 on the DigitalDreamDoor list of greatest fusion bassists...
(1975) — bass guitarist - Daniel EpsteinDaniel EpsteinDaniel Epstein is an American pianist.-Life:A graduate of the Juilliard School, Epstein was launched into international renown when the conductor, Eugene Ormandy,invited him to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1973...
(1966) — poet and author - John FaheyJohn Fahey (musician)John Fahey was an American fingerstyle guitarist and composer who pioneered the steel-string acoustic guitar as a solo instrument. His style has been greatly influential and has been described as the foundation of American Primitivism, a term borrowed from painting and referring mainly to the...
— guitarist - Harold FoxHarold Fox (basketball)Harold Fox is a former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association for the Buffalo Braves. In his freshman year of college, Fox played for Brevard Community College where he averaged 27.7 points per game in 29 appearances. After his sophomore year, Fox...
— NBA player for the Buffalo BravesBuffalo BravesThe Buffalo Braves were a team in the National Basketball Association. They later moved to San Diego, California to become the San Diego Clippers then subsequently the Los Angeles Clippers.... - Jeff GreenJeff Green (basketball)Jeffrey Lynn Green is an American professional basketball player with the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association. Green attended Georgetown University until following his junior year, when he entered the 2007 NBA Draft...
(2004) — NBA player for the Boston CelticsBoston CelticsThe Boston Celtics are a National Basketball Association team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1946, the team is currently owned by Boston Basketball Partners LLC. The Celtics play their home games at the TD Garden, which... - Jim HensonJim HensonJames Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
(1954) — creator of The MuppetsThe MuppetsThe Muppets are a group of puppet characters created by Jim Henson starting in 1954–55. Although the term is often used to refer to any puppet that resembles the distinctive style of The Muppet Show, the term is both an informal name and legal trademark owned by the Walt Disney Company in reference... - Sharmba MitchellSharmba MitchellSharmba David Mitchell , known professionally as Sharmba Mitchell, is a boxer who was WBA light welterweight champion.Mitchell, nicknamed "Little Big Man", is a native of Takoma Park, Maryland, but a resident of Washington, D.C.....
(1988) — Boxer, Former WBA & IBF Light Welterweight Champion - Chadwick NkangChad NkangDerek Chad Nkang is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
(2003) — NFL player for the Jacksonville JaguarsJacksonville JaguarsThe Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... - Arnold ResnicoffArnold ResnicoffArnold E. Resnicoff is an American Conservative rabbi, a decorated retired military officer and military chaplain, and a consultant on leadership, values, and interreligious affairs to military and civilian leaders...
(1964) — rabbi, Navy Chaplain, Special Assistant (Values and Vision) to the Secretary and Chief of Staff, United States Air Force - Joel ResnicoffJoel ResnicoffJoel Hirsch Resnicoff was an American artist and fashion illustrator, who incorporated expressionistic art into commercial fashion illustrations, stating his belief that "commercial art is the art of the century." His work did not fit easily into any one category, and "the figures in his...
(1966) — artist and fashion illustrator - Larry Michael SpriggsLarry SpriggsLarry Michael Spriggs is an American former professional basketball player.Spriggs was born in Cheverly, Maryland. A 6'7" forward from Howard University, Spriggs began his professional career in the minor-league Continental Basketball Association, where he earned 1982 Rookie of the Year Honors...
— NBA player for the Los Angeles LakersLos Angeles LakersThe Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. They play in the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...
(1981–1986) - Gregory TolerGreg TolerGreg Toler is an American football cornerback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft...
— NFL defensive back for the Arizona CardinalsArizona CardinalsThe Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...