Western School of Technology and Environmental Science | |
---|---|
Address | |
100 Kenwood Avenue Catonsville , Maryland 21228 United States | |
Coordinates | 39°16′10″N76°42′45″W / 39.26944°N 76.71250°W Coordinates: 39°16′10″N76°42′45″W / 39.26944°N 76.71250°W |
Information | |
School type | Public High School Magnet School |
Motto | "Respect the Tech" |
Patron saint(s) | Home of the Wolverines |
Established | 1970 (Western Vocational-Technical School) 1993 (Western School of Technology and Environmental Science) |
School district | Baltimore County Public Schools |
Superintendent | Verletta White (interim) |
Grades | 9–12 |
Gender | Co-ed |
Enrollment | 931 |
Average class size | 24 |
Campus | Suburban |
Color(s) | Light sky blue, white and black |
Athletics conference | 1A |
Sports | Soccer, football, basketball, lacrosse, volleyball, baseball |
Mascot | Wolverines |
Nickname | Western Tech |
Team name | Western Wolverines |
National ranking | 547 |
Publication | Jostens |
Newspaper | Wolverines Newspaper |
Website | westernhs |
Western School of Technology and Environmental Science (WSTES), also known as Western Tech, is a public magnet high school in Catonsville, Maryland, United States. The school's main focuses are its twelve magnet programs pertaining to specific careers. [1] In December 2013, Western Tech was named one of six public Blue Ribbon Schools in Maryland for 2014. [2] On September 30, 2014, Western earned its status as a National Blue Ribbon School, becoming the seventeenth school in Baltimore County since 1994 to receive this honor. [3] [4]
Western Tech opened as Western Vocational-Technical School in 1970 alongside Eastern Vocational-Technical School, constructed for about $2 million. Students attending a regular high school interested in their school's vocational training programs could attend the schools for more specialized learning in 13 courses, such as automobile mechanics or cosmetology. [5] It accepted students from Catonsville, Woodlawn, and Lansdowne high schools. [6]
In 1993, the school was converted from a technical school to a full high school as a magnet school, alongside several others in the county. It renamed to Western School of Technology and Environmental Science beginning in the 1993–94 school year. It continued its technical programs, with additional environmental science magnets. [7] [6]
On April 11, 2013, at approximately 2:30 a.m., two portable classrooms were engulfed in flames. Over 75 firefighters got the blaze under control by 3:30 a.m. Because smoke entered the main building, the school was closed that day. The cause of the fire is unknown. [8]
Western School of Technology and Environmental Science received a 72.5 out of a possible 82.5 points (42%) on the 2018–2019 Maryland State Department of Education Report Card and received a 5 out of 5 star rating, ranking in the 99th percentile among all Maryland schools. [9]
Western Tech is currently ranked #6 in Maryland, and #517 among high schools nationally. [10]
Students must apply to Western Tech and the school can only accept a limited number of applicants. Therefore, the admission process is selective and competitive. Students must complete an assessment for the magnet program in which they applied to. Admission is based on these assessments among other criteria, including grades and attendance.
The programs offered are Academy of Health Professions, Automotive Service Technology, Business Management and Finance, Cosmetology, Culinary Arts and Restaurant Management, Environmental Science, Environmental Technology, Graphic/Print Communications Technology, Information Technology (with a choice between the Computer Science or Networking Pathway), Mechanical Construction/Plumbing and Sport Science Academy. [1]
The facilities include a state-of-the-art garage (for Automotive), kitchen (for Culinary), salon (for Cosmetology), and mock hospital (for Health Science).
In 2010, these technologically advanced programs have earned Western the title of "Best School for Hands-on Education" by Baltimore Magazine. [11]
Western Tech currently offers 17 different Advanced Placement courses. Western also offers internships and parallel enrollment for students in the 12th grade.
The 2019–2020 enrollment at the Western School of Technology and Environmental Science was 892 students. [12]
The graduation rate at WesternTech was 89.25% in 1996, 94.96% in 1997, and 94.91% in 1998. From 1999 to 2011, the graduation rate has been greater than 95%. [13] Also, over 95% of students have passed the HSA's. [14] The student enrollment has been as high as 1,070 in 2004 and as low as 434 in 1994.
Ethnicity | Percentage |
---|---|
Asian | 12% |
Black | 69% |
Other | 19% |
Male | Female |
---|---|
48% | 52% |
1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
434 | 639 | 873 | 1,018 | 1,012 | 1,043 | 1,037 | 1,035 | 1,036 | 1,040 | 1,070 | 1,065 | 1,042 | 975 | 936 | 885 | 873 | 890 | 890 | 926 |
Western Tech does not have a field of its own, therefore sports must be played at nearby Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) or at other schools in Baltimore County.
In 2013, the Western Tech girls basketball team won the A1 Girls State Basketball Championship, beating Dunbar High School with a score of 46–40.
Western Tech supports 14 athletic teams in Maryland Athletic Conference 1A.
Volleyball:
Girls Basketball
Girls Indoor Track
Girls Outdoor Track
Boys Outdoor Track
Patapsco High School and Center For The Arts is a public high school in the United States, located in Dundalk in Baltimore County, Maryland, near Baltimore.
Landstown High School Governor's STEM and Technology Academy is a public secondary school located in Virginia Beach, Virginia which first opened in 2001.
Wilde Lake High School is a secondary school located in Columbia, Maryland's Village of Wilde Lake, United States, one of 12 public high schools in Howard County.
Eastern Technical High School (ETHS) is a 1997, 2009, and 2010 Maryland Blue Ribbon High School, a 2010 National Blue Ribbon High School, and a 1999 USDE New American High School located in Essex, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Along with their regular classes, students enrolled at this magnet school participate in a career major of their choosing. Academic areas include Allied Health, Construction Management, Culinary Arts, Engineering Careers, Information Technology, Law and Public Policy, Interactive Media Production, and the Teacher Academy of Maryland. The school features a variety of sports teams for both girls and boys. In addition, the school offers various clubs like the National Honor Society, Student Government Association, Math, Social Studies, Music, English, Spanish, and Science Honor Societies, Future Business Leaders of America, Red Cross Society, a concert band, yearly drama productions by the Theater Club, and other such organizations.
Digital Harbor High School is a magnet high school located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Occupying the campus of the former Southern High School, it is currently one of two secondary schools and a comprehensive high school that specializes in information technology of Baltimore.
Eleanor Roosevelt High School (ERHS) is a Maryland public magnet high school specializing in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The school was established in 1976 at its current location in Greenbelt, Maryland, United States and is part of the Prince George's County Public Schools system. It was the first high school named for former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Kenwood High School is a Baltimore County public high school located in Essex, Maryland, United States.
Parkland Magnet High School is a magnet school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina that offers an International Baccalaureate program and describes itself as a "Center for the Cultural Arts". Parkland was founded in 1965 as Parkland High School.
Colonel Richardson High School is located outside of Federalsburg, Maryland, United States and is part of the Caroline County Public Schools system. As of 2021, the school serves approximately 526 students in grades nine to twelve. Students generally live in the southern end of Caroline County in Federalsburg, Maryland, Preston, Maryland, and a number of smaller towns. Colonel Richardson Middle School serves as the feeder school.
Baltimore County Public Schools is the school district in charge of all public schools in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is the 25th largest school system in the US as of 2013. The school system is managed by the Board of Education, headquartered in Towson. The superintendent is Darryl L. Williams, appointed by the School Board on June 11, 2019.
W. E. B. Du Bois High School of Environmental Science was a public high school located in northeast Baltimore, Maryland. The school was named after sociologist and civil-rights activist Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois. The school was situated in the former Northern High School and shared the structure with the Reginald F. Lewis High School. The school was closed in the summer of 2015 by Baltimore City Public Schools as part of its 21st Century Building project.
Randallstown High School is a public high school located in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It serves students in the Randallstown, Woodlawn, and Owings Mills areas. It is a part of Baltimore County Public Schools. Its primary feeder schools are Deer Park Middle Magnet School, Woodlawn Middle School, Sudbrook Magnet Middle School, Southwest Academy Middle School, Windsor Mill Middle School and Old Court Middle School.
Sparrows Point High is a comprehensive high school for students in grades 9–12 and is one of the 24 high schools in the Baltimore County Public Schools. The current enrollment is 795 with 27.6–29.0 students per class. The school was established in 1908 and is located on a 35-acre (140,000 m2) campus in the southeastern corner of Baltimore County on a peninsula, which juts out into the Chesapeake Bay. The staff includes three administrators, 60 teachers, three guidance counselors, one librarian, eight instructional assistants, and four clerical personnel. Sparrows Point High is fully accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and by the Maryland State Department of Education. The school's colors are blue and gray and the mascot is the "Pointer".
Parkville High School (PHS) is a four-year public high school in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The school was originally established in 1953 on what is now the location of Parkville Middle School. The current high school building opened in 1961. Area middle schools include Parkville Middle, Loch Raven Academy, and Pine Grove Middle.
Stephen Decatur High School is a four-year public high school in Berlin, Worcester County, Maryland, United States. With the grades of 9–12 the school is a part of Worcester County Public Schools. It is one of four public high schools in Worcester County along with Pocomoke High School, Worcester Technical High School, and Snow Hill High School. The school was opened in 1954.
Dahmar Maurice Smiles,, is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the hurdles.
Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA), is the association that oversees public high school sporting contests in the state of Maryland. Organized after World War II in 1946, the MPSSAA is made up of public high schools from each of Maryland's 23 counties and independent city of Baltimore City, which joined the association in 1993 when its public high schools withdrew at the orders of a new Superintendent of Public Instruction (schools) in the Baltimore City Public Schools from the earlier longtime athletic league, the Maryland Scholastic Association (M.S.A.) which was founded in 1919. The MSA had been composed of public high schools in the City of Baltimore and private / religious / independent schools on the secondary level in the City of Baltimore and its metropolitan area and the surrounding central Maryland region. It was one of the few state-level interscholastic athletic leagues in the nation composed of both public and private/religious/independent secondary schools. After the Baltimore City public high schools withdrew from the MSA, the remaining private/religious/independent schools conferred and organized two parallel regional/state-wide athletic leagues with sports competition and exercise activities with one for young men and the other for young women. These were the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association and the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland]] which endured today. All three state-wide athletic leagues, two for private/religious/independent secondary schools and one for co-ed public high schools exist today marrying on the proud traditions, memories and championships of the old Maryland Scholastic Association (MSA) - one of the oldest state athletic leagues for secondary schools in the country.
North Caroline High School is located in Ridgely, Maryland, United States and is part of the Caroline County Public Schools (Maryland) system. It is one of two high schools in Caroline County. The school serves 1,114 in grades nine to twelve. Students generally live in the northern area of Caroline County in Ridgely, Greensboro, Denton, and a number of smaller towns. Lockerman Middle School serves as the feeder school.
Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is a division of the state government of Maryland in the United States. The agency oversees public school districts, which are 24 local school systems—one for each of Maryland's 23 counties plus one for Baltimore City. Maryland has more than 1,400 public schools in 24 public school systems, with 2019 enrollment of approximately 900,000. Of the student body, 42% are on FARMS and 22% are Title 1.
Elizabeth Anne Pelton is an American former competitive swimmer and multi FINA world champion.