Poolesville High School
Poolesville High School is a public all magnet high school located in Poolesville, Maryland, United States. History. The core of the building was built in 1911 as an elementary school. The building housed Poolesville's middle school and high school up until 1997 when John Poole Middle School was built. Poolesville's first graduates were seven students in 1920. From the school's inception until 2002, the school's mascot was an Indian, and its logo was the profile of an Indian warrior in full headdress. In 2001, amid some controversy, the school's students and Poolesville  Community voted on whether to keep the mascot or to change it to a falcon. Although the students and community elected to keep the Indian as the mascot, at the beginning of the 2001–2002 school year the Montgomery County Board of Education, under pressure from the Maryland Bureau of Indian Affairs, overruled the vote. Beginning in the 2002–2003 school year, the students voted to change the school's mascot to a falcon. On January 24th, 2022, the main office, guidance office, and the bus loop were moved to the left of the original area. Academics. Starting in the 2006–2007 school  year, honor students in northern Montgomery County ("upcounty") have the opportunity to become a part of one of three magnet programs called "houses": Global Ecology; Humanities; or Science, Math, and Computer Science. Students test into high school during their last year of middle school and, if accepted and enrolled, are "certificate" students and are required to take the standard courses pertaining to their specific program. As Poolesville is considered a whole magnet high school, Poolesville resident students (if they do not apply and join one of the other programs) automatically become part of a fourth program called the Independent Studies  program or ISP, but are "non-certificate" and can choose to take specialized courses. The Independent Studies Program is specifically for Poolesville resident students only and cannot be applied for by out-of-district students. Poolesville was ranked "Washington Post"s #1 Most Challenging High School in Maryland in 2016, U.S. News' #1 Best High School in Maryland, and "Newsweek"s #1 Top High School in Maryland in 2015. The school's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) program was ranked #121 in "Newsweek"s 2019 nationwide survey of US high schools. A total of 1,180 students attend the school, across all  grade levels and magnet programs, and are instructed by 65 full-time teachers. Transportation. Because magnet students may come from anywhere within upper Montgomery County, 18 buses service out-of-area students. For Poolesville local students, there are nine buses. Sports. Poolesville fields teams in the following sports: