Century High School Named Blue Ribbon School

Century High School is the only county school and one of six Maryland schools named a Maryland 2013 Blue Ribbon School. The six Maryland Blue Ribbon schools are now eligible for national Blue Ribbon Awards.

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program is a state and national program that recognizes and honors schools that exhibit high performance and/or significant improvement in reading and mathematics achievement as measured by Maryland’s assessments. Schools must meet rigorous standards developed by the Maryland State Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Education.

These schools are all extremely high achievers in reading and mathematics, and some serve an economically disadvantaged student population. Other achievement indicators include school leadership, professional development and instructional approaches according to a CCPS news release.

Superintendent of Schools Stephen Guthrie said in a statement “I am pleased to learn of the wonderful news and recognition for Century High School. Congratulations to students and staff and the parent community on this wonderful achievement.”

Century High School is a high performing school designed with a Career Academy structure.  At Century, 100 percent of students participate in one of four academies with over 90 percent earning a six-credit academy certificate by graduation. Student interns are placed at prestigious institutions including the National Cancer Institute, the National Security Agency, Northrop Grumman, and the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. 

The focus on 21st Century Careers has led Century to be named a University of Maryland Clark School of Engineering “Source School” and a Newsweek magazine national “Top High School.”

Century's scores on the HSA in math were 97.6 percent and reading was 96.8 percent, and 92 percent of students receiving Free and Reduced Meals passed all 4 HSA exams. Advanced Placement exams rose from 303 to 549 over the last 5 years with no drop in success with an average of 66 percent earning a 3 or above.

Maryland can select up to six schools for recognition, based on its school-age population. The Maryland Blue Ribbon Schools go on to compete for National Blue Ribbon Awards, which will be announced by the U.S. Department of Education next September.

Information in this article was taken from a Carroll County Public Schools news release.