Community gets first look inside Howard County's newest high school, Guilford Park, in Jessup

Aug. 15—Howard County Public Schools' 13th high school opened its doors to the community for the first time this weekend, allowing future students and families, as well as those connected to the school's history, to tour the $129 million facility.

Guilford Park High School, in Jessup, shares the same design prototype as Long Reach, Reservoir and Marriotts Ridge high schools. Until now, Marriotts Ridge held the distinction of being the county's newest high school, opening in 2005.

The school will begin classes Aug. 28 with about 750 freshmen and sophomores only, adding a new class of ninth graders each year, eventually hosting 1,650 students in ninth through 12th grades.

Principal Josh Wasilewski, 45, of Crofton, said being the school's first leader will allow him to help shape the school's culture. He was Long Reach High School's principal from 2016 to 2022.

"It's an honor to be in this position," Wasilewski said. "This is a place where I can help shape a culture, focus on the relationships, and really have a place where students and staff feel cared for and valued when they walk in. Once we have that, we're gonna move students academically and structurally, and develop a really positive culture."

The Guilford Park student body will be composed of students who would have otherwise attended Hammond, Long Reach or Howard high schools. The school's 42-acre campus is the largest in the county, and its artificial turf stadium, seating 3,517, is also the largest in the county.

A feasibility study presented to the Board of Education on June 8 projects that the county's public schools will have a kindergarten through 12th grade enrollment of 56,536 beginning this fall, an increase of 432 students from last year. According to the study, half of the county's public schools are projected to be above 100% capacity next school year, including seven high schools.

Superintendent of Schools Michael Martirano said the plan to start with only two grades and add new ninth graders each year will be good for students.

"It's a really, really solid way tending to the emotional needs of our students, who have an identification with their previous school, to allow them to complete there and then start the new school with just two grade levels nine and 10," he said. "It's the community's school, and we recognize that. I personally have opened two new schools as a principal, and the sense of community and building that enthusiasm is critically important."

The building features 40 classrooms, including 10 flexible science classrooms and three technology education teaching spaces. For classrooms without windows, solar tubes work like skylights to provide natural illumination through ceiling panels, which look and function like traditional overhead lights.

Guilford Park is a designated green school and includes several environmental efficiency features. Power from roof-mounted solar panels should provide 18% of the school's electricity; underground cisterns will reduce runoff and reuse rainwater to irrigate sports fields; native plants will be installed to nullify the need for irrigation; rainwater will leave the site at the same rate as it entered; micro-bioretention areas will filter stormwater bound for waterways; and paint with low levels of volatile organic compounds will contribute to better indoor air quality.

"There are a lot of things that are that are state-of-the-art here," Howard County Board of Education Chair Antonia Watts said, "and we are really looking forward to energy efficiency."

The name Guilford Park was chosen by the Board of Education on Feb. 9, honoring the historic unincorporated historically Black community of Guilford in the county's southeast. The new building is a short drive from Guilford Elementary School, which was founded as a one-room schoolhouse serving the county's Black residents in the early 1900s.

"Guilford ... reflects the rich history of our African American community living there, working there," school board member Jennifer Swickard Mallo said in February.

The school's mascot, a panther, and colors were announced in April, chosen by community vote after a focus group of students from the three middle and three high schools feeding into Guilford Park convened to brainstorm potential names earlier in the year. The Panthers will play and practice on state-of-the-art athletic facilities, including 5 acres of natural turf playing fields for softball, baseball and field hockey.

While the Panthers will only field junior varsity teams in all sports — and varsity teams for cross country, track, golf, wrestling and tennis — for the 2023-2024 school year, Wasilewski said a wide slate of extracurricular activities, including marching band, dance and theater, will also be open to students.

Assistant Principal Adrienne Williams said she takes pride in the details the administrative team worked to perfect, such as the font for lettering on the building and the shape of the panther's teeth in the mascot logo. The first cohort of students attending the school will have a say in determining homecoming and prom traditions, student government structures, field trip opportunities, banners and murals, Wasilewski said.

"While there's a lot of stuff going on with the building, it's still a blank slate," Wasilewski said, "and that's done by design, because I want our students to help create and decide what they wanted in a building."

The media center holds about 8,000 books, but unused shelf space foreshadows future collections. Williams said student input will also determine which books the school will purchase next.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Saturday morning and the community was invited to tour the new building. Wasilewski, Martirano and Watts delivered remarks at the ribbon-cutting alongside County Executive Calvin Ball, Howard County Council Chair Christiana Rigby and state Sens. Clarence Lam and Guy Guzzone. Although construction crews could be seen working on grounds near the building, Martirano said the work will conclude before the new school year begins.

Rising 10th grader Ja'kya Joyce, 15, of Jessup, said she liked the look of the new school.

"I like the classrooms," Joyce said. "I like the auditorium, the gym, the cafeteria."

Her mother, Melinda Johnson, said she is concerned about her daughter's walk to school. The family lives less than 2 miles away, but her daily walk to school crosses a major road and much of the route does not have sidewalks, Johnson said. Joyce attended Hammond High School last year, where she was a bus-rider.

"I don't like the fact that they're not giving them school buses," Johnson said, "and we live far."

In May, the school board voted unanimously to increase walk zones from students' houses to schools to further maximize busing resources. The zones shifted from a half-mile to 1 mile for prekindergarten, 1 to 1 1/2 miles for middle school, and 1 1/2 to 2 miles for high school. The walk distance for elementary schoolers remained the same at 1 mile.

Rising 10th grader Jaxon Stevenson, 15, of Elkridge, said he is excited for the rare opportunity to experience a truly new school.

"It's interesting," Stevenson said, "it's something not a lot of people experience, but it's something to take advantage of. I'm excited to see what happens."

Stevenson's daily bus ride will be just over 15 minutes. The Elkridge resident attended Howard High School last year. His mother, Lee Stevenson, 41, of Elkridge, said she thinks the school looks incredible.

Math teacher Farah Jawhar, 28, of Ellicott City, said the opportunity to teach at Guilford High was enticing. Jawhar taught math at Howard High School last year.

"I love the idea of a brand-new school," Jawhar said. "I think it's exciting. You're creating the culture, you are building the community."

The school also offers exciting new technological resources for teachers to use, said math teacher Dani Borgia, 30, of Columbia, who taught at Mount Hebron High School last year.

"It's unbelievable," Borgia said. "I think I'm most excited about just all the new furniture and technology, everything seems so high-tech, and that's something that's really important to me as a teacher."

Borgia added that she is excited for the opportunities the new school will provide for student athletes.

By submitting your email to receive this newsletter, you agree to our Subscriber Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Howard County Times: Top stories

Athletic and activities manager Mike Lerner, 50, of Elkridge, said he plans to take advantage of the chance to build a sporting culture from the ground up. Lerner worked as Hammond High School's athletic and activities manager last year. He is responsible for hiring coaches, as well as organizing athletics transportation, scheduling, equipment and fields.

"We're gonna have to pivot and change our approaches as our kids grow," Lerner said, "and to be a part of that journey — to do it right from the ground up — it's a special opportunity."

Fielding varsity teams next year with only underclassmen attending the school will be a challenge, Lerner said, but also an opportunity to develop athletes for what could be a spectacular senior year. Elite athletes in this year's sophomore class, who might have made varsity teams under normal circumstances, will be developed as team leaders instead, he added.

"It's been a lot of work," Lerner said, "and it's been amazing. Our coaches have been amazing with stepping up, volunteering to help put all this stuff together and getting everything right for the kids. And it's been a massive undertaking, but I have never had so much fun doing a project in my life."

Lerner said he is excited for his own son to attend Guilford Park next year.

"I'm really excited for our community," Wasilewski said, "and I think this is gonna be an amazing place for our students, staff and parents."