Roland Park Country School - History

History

1894: A neighborhood school, the Roland Park School for girls, is established by Katherine and Adelaide Howard, of Richmond Virginia, at their home on Notre Dame Avenue, now Keswick Road. Money is loaned to them by the Roland Park Company.

1900: The Roland Park School, also called the Baltimore Country School for Girls, is sponsored by the Roland Park Company and directed by Corrine Jackson and Bertha Chapman.

1905: Located at 210 Roland Avenue, now 4608 Roland Avenue, the Roland Park School under Bertha Chapman, Principal, institutes a college preparatory curriculum. The school continues to admit boys to Playground through 4th Grade.

1916: Due to an expanding student body, the school moves to 817 West University Parkway under the leadership of Headmistress Nanna Duke Dushane. An open-air school is built on the Greenway estate.

1947: The night after the June commencement, 75% of the school is destroyed by fire. The Trustees and Headmistress Elizabeth Castle (who began at RPCS in 1922) make an immediate decision to rebuild, and additional fundraising begins to rebuild the gymnasium in memory of Amanda Lee Norris, retired Athletic Director. The school opens in September.

1963: Under Headmistress Anne Healy (who began in 1950) the school's admissions policy is changed to: "Application without discrimination for all qualified applicants." RPCS becomes a member of the Cum Laude Society, which recognizes academic achievement in secondary schools for the purpose of promoting excellence (Areté), justice (Diké) and honor (Timé). RPCS remains a member today.

1975: Gordon Lenci becomes the School's first Headmaster.

1976: Fire breaks out in the new Upper School Wing, built in 1968, during Thanksgiving vacation. School starts the following Monday in makeshift classrooms.

1978: Chestnutwood 5204 Roland Avenue: The Board of Trustees purchases the 21-acre (85,000 m2) estate adjacent to St. Mary's Seminary on Roland Avenue, known as Chestnutwood. The estate was formerly owned by Dr. and Mrs. A.R.L. Dohme and previously by Charles Bonaparte, the great-grandson of Jérôme Bonaparte, Napoleon Bonaparte's brother.

1980: In October students march north on Roland Avenue to their new campus at 5204 Roland Avenue.

1981: Due to a drop in the male birth population and limited space, RPCS terminates admission for young boys.

1983: Margaret Smith is appointed Headmistress.

1987: RPCS and the Gilman and Bryn Mawr schools begin to coordinate the Upper School (high school) classes so that students from all three schools could take classes at any of the three schools.

1992: Jean Waller Brune becomes the first alumna Head of School.

2001: RPCS celebrates its centennial, and dedicates its new building including Lower School additions, the Smith Middle School, new science laboratories and new Upper School class rooms.

2002: Two pedestrian bridges are built, one from RPCS to Gilman across Roland Avenue and one from Gilman to Bryn Mawr across Northern Parkway, so that students of the three schools can interact more easily and go to the other schools without having to cross the busy streets of Baltimore.

2005: The school relocates its tennis courts. New tennis courts were constructed west of the field hockey fields by St. Mary's Seminary and University

2007: The school starts construction on a new gym. The new gym will be two stories high and will include both a crew rowing tank and a track.

2008: The new athletic complex opens, including two outdoor synthetic turf fields, an elevated indoor track and the first rowing tank at any Maryland secondary school.