Meade Senior High School

Not to be confused with Mead Senior High School.

Meade Senior High School is a public high school for grades 9 through 12 located at Fort Meade, Maryland, United States and is administered by Anne Arundel County Public Schools. Since its opening in 1977, the school has been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Secondary Schools. The building is currently undergoing renovation.

Meade Senior High School
Address
1100 Clark Road Fort Meade , MD 20755 United States
Coordinates	39°7′21″N 76°44′17″W / 39.12250°N 76.73806°W / 39.12250; -76.73806
Information
Type	Public
Motto	"Catch the Mustang Spirit"
Established	1977
School district	Anne Arundel County
Principal	Ryan Durr
Grades	9th–12th
Number of students	2,087 (2021)^[1]
Hours in school day	8:30am – 3:18pm
Campus type	Large suburb^[2]
Color(s)	Brown and gold    Sports: Black, gray, and white     ^[3]
Sports	Yes
Mascot	Mustang
Rival	Old Mill High School Patriots
Website	meadeseniorhigh.org

Academics

Regular course curriculum departments include: Art, Army JROTC, Business Education, English, Family & Consumer Sciences, Foreign Language (Spanish, French, Chinese, American Sign Language), Mathematics, Music, Physical & Health Education, Science, Social Sciences, Special Education, and Technology Education.

International Baccalaureate

Meade High School is one of three International Baccalaureate (IB) schools in Anne Arundel County. IB courses, in both the Middle Years (MYP) and Diploma (DP) Programmes, prepare students aged 16–19 for success in higher education and society. Many of the offered DP courses are given at both a standard and higher level.^[4]

Extracurricular activities

Meade's rival in extracurricular activities is Old Mill High School.^[5][6]

Clubs and non-athletics

Clubs and activities at Meade include:^[7]

• ASL Honor Society
• Asperger's and Autism Support Group
• Book Club
• Band Front/Color Guard
• Chinese Club
• Chorus
• Concert Band
• Cybersecurity Team
• Dance Company
• DECA
• Drama^[8]
• Drill Team (JROTC)
• English Honor Society
• FBLA
• GSA
• It's Academic
• Jazz Band/Stage Band
• Key Club
• Marching Band
• Math Club
• Mock Trial
• National Honor Society
• Newspaper/Journalism
• Orchestra
• Political Debate and Literacy
• Raiders (JROTC)
• Science Honor Society
• Spanish Honor Society
• Speech and Debate
• Stand Up to Cancer
• Steel Drum Band
• Step Team
• Student Ambassadors
• Student Council
• Yearbook

Athletics

The Meade Mustangs participate in a variety of sports, including:^[9]

Fall

• Cheerleading
• Cross country
• Field hockey (girls)
• Football (boys)
• Golf
• Soccer
• Tennis
• Volleyball (girls)^[8]

Winter

• Basketball 
• Bowling
• Cheerleading
• Indoor track
• Swimming
• Wrestling^[8]

Spring

• Baseball (boys)
• Bocce
• Lacrosse
• Outdoor track
• Softball (girls)
• Tennis^[8]

Demographics

Ethnic Breakdown (2023)^[10]

Ethnicity	# of students	% of students
African-American	1,122	48.2%
Asian	108	4.6%
HI/Pacific Islander	11	0.5%
Hispanic (of any race)	701	30.1%
White	235	10.1%
Two or more races	146	6.3%

Awards and recognition

Most notably the girls' and boys' track teams have won county and region championships since 2006. The outdoor boys' track team won their first state championship in 2007. Meade High School made AYP four years in a row, a major accomplishment. The 2011–2012 Meade wrestling team also won their first ever county championship^[11] that year while holding the best record out of any Meade sports team that year at 19–3. The M4 (Mighty Meade Mustang Marching) Band also went to ACC's (Atlantic Coastal Championships) for the first time in the history of the school in 2005,^{[citation needed]} and returned in the fall of 2009^[12] and 2010.^{[citation needed]} The basketball team won the state championship in March 2015.^[13]

Notable alumni

• Haddaway, singer, hit song: "What Is Love"^[14]
• Marina Harrison, first woman to represent Maryland at both Miss USA and Miss America^[15]
• Connie Isler, youngest head coach at Division I level, women's golf at Georgetown University^[16]
• Elijah Thurmon, wide receiver with the NFL Philadelphia Eagles and Oakland Raiders, and three CFL teams^{[17][18][19][20]}

Westboro Baptist Church protest

In April 2011, the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, protested against Meade High School, claiming that the school had a high number of homosexual students. When the group revisited the county in March 2012, it was brought to the attention of many Anne Arundel County residents, and a crowd of about 500 people showed up and protested Westboro Baptist Church. Meade is one of three high schools in Maryland to be protested by the Westboro Baptist Church, the other two being Glen Burnie High School, also in Anne Arundel County, and Walt Whitman High School of Montgomery County.^[21][22]

Past problems

Meade Senior High School's reputation among Anne Arundel County schools was poor as of 2007, with some parents and students in disagreement.^[23][24] This negative reputation stems from events in 2005, when former Principal Joan Valentine was accused of blocking efforts to investigate the beating of a single white student by ten to fifteen black students in January of that year.^[25][26]

Near the end of the 2006–2007 year, during the final day of exams, around twenty students became involved in a physical altercation which resulted in the involvement of police forces from multiple jurisdictions and minor injuries to policemen. A group of parents lodged complaints against the police for roughing up their children.^[27]

On September 30, 1994, a brawl started that injured three teachers and six students. Media specialist and Senior Class advisor, Don Gobbi, attempted to break up the fight and was punched and thrown to the floor. As he lay in the fetal position students began to kick him. Gobbi was flown by Maryland State Helicopter to Maryland Medical Center shock trauma. Teacher John O'Neill also attempted to break up the fight and was taken to North Arundel Hospital with minor injuries. The third teacher was not hospitalized. Gobbi was released from the hospital later that day and never returned to his position at the school.^[28][29]

References

1. "Maryland Report Card - Demographics - Enrollment". Maryland State Department of Education Maryland Report Card. August 23, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
2. "Meade High". National Center for Education Studies. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
3. "Meade Mustangs Football". MaxPreps. Retrieved March 18, 2019. Colors Black, Gray, White
4. "Meade HS: MYP/DP: Program of Study". Anne Arundel County Public Schools. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
5. Tassy, Elaine (May 20, 1998). "Anne Arundel high school students seek to inspire peers to donate blood". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 16, 2014. [Old Mill Senior High School] social studies teacher John Scripture ... has motivated donors by keeping alive a friendly rivalry with Meade Senior High School
6. Lemke, Tim (July 31, 2013). "Football Schedule Highlights Big Local Rivalries". Odenton-Severn Patch. Retrieved March 16, 2014. the schedule ... shows big matchups involving Arundel and Old Mill, and it's important to remember the emergence of Meade as the regional champion last year
7. "Clubs and Activities". Meade Senior High. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
8. "School Profile: Meade Senior High School". eSchoolprofile.com. Archived from the original on October 24, 2013. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
9. "Meade Mustangs Sports". Meade High School Athletics. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
10. "Maryland Report Card – Demographics – Enrollment". Maryland State Department of Education Maryland Report Card. September 8, 2023. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
11. Bunyan, Ed (February 24, 2011). "Meade High School wrestling team captures first county title". Flickr.
12. "Atlantic Coast Group 2 Open Recap" (PDF). njatob.org. National Judges Association Tournament of Bands. November 8, 2009. Retrieved November 16, 2009.^{[permanent dead link]}
13. Blackstone, Andrea (April 10, 2015). "'Beat The Pro!' celebrity basketball game to benefit charitable causes". The Baltimore Times. Retrieved October 9, 2017. the Meade Mustangs ... basketball team won the Maryland State 4A Boys Basketball Championship in March.
14. Genesis 1983 (Meade Senior High School yearbook) pg. 114
15. "Miss Maryland USA to Motivate Students at Southwest Academy" (Press release). Maryland State Department of Education. January 24, 2005. Retrieved February 18, 2008.
16. "Spring 2001 All-Mets". The Washington Post. Spring 2001. Retrieved November 8, 2015. Honorable Mention ... Connie Isler, Meade, Sr.
17. "NFL transactions". The Baltimore Sun. August 28, 2000. Retrieved June 22, 2020. Eagles: Waived ... WR Elijah Thurmon
18. "For The Record". The Baltimore Sun. September 2, 2002. Retrieved June 22, 2020. Raiders: Waived ... WR Elijah Thurmon
19. "Baseball American League". Chicago Tribune. January 9, 2003. Retrieved June 22, 2020. Bears: Signed ... WR Elijah Thurmon
20. Morea, Mike (June 20, 2016). "A mission of opportunity for Anne Arundel Youth Football Association". Capital Gazette. Retrieved June 22, 2020. Thurmon, a Meade High School grad
21. "Westboro Protesters Met With Opposition Outside Glen Burnie High". CBS Baltimore. March 13, 2012. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
22. Pearson, Bradford (April 9, 2009). "Students unite against anti-gay protest". The Gazette. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
23. "Parent reviews of Meade Senior High School". GreatSchools.net. Archived from the original on February 21, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
24. Hunter, Amir (April 2, 2007). "Noteworthy Meade principal retires". Teen Pulse: Meade High School. Capital-Gazette Newspapers. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
25. Hartley, Eric (June 17, 2005). "Court master blasts Meade principal's handling of fight". The Capital. Retrieved April 6, 2009.
26. Hartley, Eric (June 29, 2005). "Court master blasts principal's handling of racial attack". Modern Tribalist. Retrieved June 16, 2007.
27. "Meade parents want answers on school brawl arrests". Baltimore Sun. June 19, 2007. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
28. . The Washington Post. October 1, 1994. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2013 – via HighBeam Research.
29. "Six students charged in Meade High School brawl". Baltimore Sun. October 11, 1994. Retrieved January 19, 2013.

External links

• Official website
• AACPS webpage for Meade High School
• Meade Athletics website