Roland Park Country School

Last updated
Roland Park Country School
Rpcs logo2.png
Location
Roland Park Country School
5204 Roland Avenue

Baltimore
,
MD

United States
Information
Type Private, Day, College-prep
Established1900
Sister school Bryn Mawr School
Gilman School
Head of SchoolCaroline Blatti
Faculty107
Grades P–12
Gender Girls
Co-ed (preschool)
Enrollment610
Average class size15 students
Student to teacher ratio6:1
Campus Suburban, 21-acre (85,000 m2) campus
Color(s)Red   and white  
Athletics16 Upper School sports, 9 Middle School sports
Athletics conference IAAM
Accreditation AIMS
Yearbook"Quid Nunc"
Affiliation NCGS
Website www.rpcs.org

Roland Park Country School (RPCS) is an independent all-girls college preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It serves girls from kindergarten through grade 12. It is located on Roland Avenue in the northern area of Baltimore called Roland Park. [1] An August 2010 Baltimore magazine article cites RPCS as the "best school for tomorrow’s leaders." [2]

Contents

History

The neighborhood of Roland Park in Baltimore, Maryland, was established in 1891 by the Roland Park Company. A school was soon needed. [3] Therefore, in 1894, the company established the Roland Park School and installed teachers Adelaide and Katherine Howard at 410 Notre Dame Avenue (now 4810 Keswick Road). The school opened there on September 25, 1894. [4] The company hired “a high-quality staff” and turned the school into a “first-rate college preparatory institution.” [3] It became the “first fully accredited independent school for girls in Baltimore.” [5]

Academics

Roland Park Country School (RPCS) has a dual emphasis, one of which is “academic achievement.” [5]

The school has 85 classroom teachers, 85% of whom hold advanced degrees. Their average class size is 15 students. The student–teacher ratio is 9:1 compared to a national average of 13:1. [12]

RPCS is divided into four schools, each with its own head: Pre-school, Lower School, Middle School, and Upper School. [13] All four offer math, physical education, and science.

Pre-school
The Pre-school is open to three and four-year-old girls and boys. The curriculum includes language arts, library, music, art, foreign language, and computer. [14]

Lower School
The Lower School includes kindergarten, pre-first grade, and grades 1-5. The courses offered include language arts, French, social studies, Spanish, computer, Mandarin Chinese, music, dance, art, and library. [15]

Middle School
The Middle School includes grades 6-8. The courses offered include Chinese, lab skills, civics, French, geography, Spanish, art, ancient history, Latin, music, Technology, dance, English, library, and theater. [16]

Upper School
The Upper School comprises grades 9-12. Courses required or offered as electives include foreign language, college prep, public speaking, English, laboratory science, in three sections regular, accelerated, and honors, history, fine and performing arts, affective education, and SAT preparation. Advanced Placement courses are available in twenty-six subjects. [17]

RPCS offers a Foreign Language Certificate to Upper School students who meet its formal study and its experience of immersion in a foreign language requirements. The formal study requirements entail studying two languages simultaneously during a student’s Upper School years. The experience of immersion in a foreign language includes participation in one of the student exchange program, attending a foreign language summer camp or studying abroad in a foreign language. [18]

RPCS includes the STEM Institute, as a “school within a school” with its own director. Its purpose is to train Upper School students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Graduation requirements include formal course work and “a series of semester-long research apprenticeships.” The course work must include two Advanced Placement STEM courses, four full years of science, and four full years of math. [19]

In Tri-School Coordination, adopted in 1987, Upper School students are allowed to take courses at Gilman School and the Bryn Mawr School. This provides students in the three schools a choice of 95 electives. Pedestrian bridges connect the three campuses. [20]

Kaleidoscope
Kaleidoscope Lifelong Learning at Roland Park Country School was established in 1947 “to create outreach programs for alumnae, their friends and the Baltimore community”. “Courses, book talks, trips, and summer camps are offered in the fall, spring and summer semesters. Over 100 Kaleidoscope educational programs and entertainment options with 1,000 participants are hosted each semester.” [21]

Diverse student body

In 1963, RPCS changed its admission policy to read: “Application without discrimination for all qualified applicants." [7] As a result, the school enrolls a diverse student body as shown in the following chart. [22]

Student classificationPercent at RPCS
White
71
Black
18
Asian
9
Hispanic
2

Athletics

Roland Park Country School (RPCS) has a dual emphasis, one of which is “athletic accomplishment.” [5]

Athletic sports have been “formally” a part of RPCS since World War I. [10] The sports offered by the school include badminton, basketball, crew, cross-country, field hockey, golf, indoor soccer, lacrosse, soccer, softball, squash, swimming, tennis, volleyball, and winter track. [23] The school is member of the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland. [24]

RPCS began its Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006 to honor those who have made significant contributions to the school’s athletic program. [25]

Facilities
Having completed construction of its Athletic Complex in 2008, [7] the school’s athletic facilities include two turf fields, an indoor rowing tank, and a fitness center. [24]

Championship teams
RPCS fielded at least one championship team starting in 1981 through 2015 with the exception of six years. In four of these years, four championship teams were fielded as follows: [26]

Notable alumnae

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References

  1. ↑ RPCS-History.
  2. ↑ Serpick, Evan (August 2010). "Independent Schools Guide". Baltimore magazine. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  3. 1 2 Eden Unger Bowditch, Growing Up in Baltimore: A Photographic History (Arcadia Publishing, 2001), 56.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Roland Park, MD. “Then and Now: West”
  5. 1 2 3 Judy Colbert, Insiders’ Guide to Baltimore (Rowman & Littlefield, 2010), 165.
  6. ↑ Marsha Wight Wise, Baltimore Neighborhoods, Volume 4 (Arcadia Publishing, 2009), 31.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 RPCS-Timeline.
  8. ↑ Atlantic Educational Journal, Volume 11:2, October, 1915 (Globe Publishing and Printing Company, 1916), 108.
  9. ↑ Eden Unger Bowditch, Growing Up in Baltimore: A Photographic History (Arcadia Publishing, 2001). 56.
  10. 1 2 Eden Unger Bowditch, Growing Up in Baltimore: A Photographic History (Arcadia Publishing, 2001), 57.
  11. ↑ Heubeck, Elizabeth. "Caroline Blatti takes over as head of all-girls' Roland Park Country School". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2017-02-26.
  12. ↑ Private School Review. Accessed March 7, 2016.
  13. ↑ RPSC:Academics. Accessed March 3, 2016.
  14. ↑ RPSC:Pre-school. Accessed March 21, 2016.
  15. ↑ RPSC:Lower School. Accessed March 22, 2016.
  16. ↑ RPSC:Middle School. Accessed March 30, 2016.
  17. ↑ RPSC:Upper School. Accessed March 22, 2016.
  18. ↑ RPSC:Foreign Language Certificate. Accessed March 7, 2016.
  19. ↑ RPCS:STEM Institute. Accessed March 11, 2016.
  20. ↑ RPSC:Tri-School Coordination. Accessed March 25, 2016.
  21. ↑ RPSC:Kaleidoscope. Accessed March 1, 2016.
  22. ↑ Great Schools-RPCS.
  23. ↑ Private School Review
  24. 1 2 RPCS-Athletics.
  25. ↑ RPCS-Athletic Hall of Fame.
  26. ↑ RPCS-Championship Teams.

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