Hereford High School (Parkton, Maryland)


Hereford High School is a four-year public high school located in the rural northern Baltimore County town of Parkton, Maryland, United States, as part of the Baltimore County Public Schools. The secondary school was established in 1953.
The school's district is the Hereford Zone. The Hereford Zone covers and makes up over a third of Baltimore County by area. Like those of most public schools in the region, Hereford students are transported by a busing system.
Hereford is notable for its agriscience program. It was the only one of its kind among the county's public high schools. Hereford's base feeder school, Hereford Middle School, also has a smaller agricultural program.

Hereford High School history

The Agricultural High School was opened by then rural Baltimore County in Sparks, Maryland in 1909 and had its first graduating class in 1912. The name was changed to Sparks High School around 1920, and it was converted into an elementary school in 1953. Hereford High School was established in nearby Parkton, Maryland to replace Sparks High School in 1953. It originally was home to a large population of farmers' children in northern Baltimore County due to the fact that at one time, Hereford's economy was almost entirely agriculture based. Since then, the disappearance of small farms and the growth of exurban housing development has caused the high school's agrarian roots to be carried on mostly by local tradition and its agricultural courses.

Departments

Academics

The music programs of Hereford High include the following:
Along with its counterpart female choral group, "Ladies Fare", the "Bulltones" perform at a variety of events, visiting schools in the vicinity as well as competing in notable locations such as Boston, Montreal, and Nashville.
In 2007, the Hereford High School Symphonic Band performed Chorus Angelorum by composer Samuel R. Hazo. The piece was commissioned for the Symphonic Winds section two years prior, after the death of Joey and Audrey Baseman.

Art

The National Art Honor Society chapter at H.H.S. provides services such as face-painting for the homecoming dance, sponsorship of Youth Art Month activities, assistance at after-school art programs in the area, a House of Ruth art supply fund, and more. It also hosts the high school's annual art auction and show, which exhibits student work.

Theatre

Several levels of Theatre classes are available to schedule. The department usually produces two to three shows each school year. Previously, Hereford partook in the Cappies program in the Baltimore area. But left the program in the 2012-2013 season. In the past, they have won awards for Best Musical, Best Supporting Actor in a Musical, Best Comedic Actress, Best Female Vocalist, Best Costumes, Lead Actress in a Musical and, under the direction in past years of Lee Waters, members of the theatre program as well as the program as a whole won a number of awards at the All State Theatre Festival, held annually at Magruder High School in Montgomery County. Because of this continually evolving program, the actors have been able to perform songs on the stage at the landmark Hippodrome Theatre on Eutaw Street in downtown Baltimore. They have also won awards at the yearly trip to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Festival. Other theatre related extracurricular activities include the Improv Troupe and Drama Club.

Athletics

The mascot of Hereford is the bull, due to the region's rich agrarian history.

State Championships (MPSSAA)

Hereford High plays in the state league Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association, and has won over 50 state athletic championships, more than any other school in Baltimore County. Hereford has also won the second most state championships in the Baltimore metro area, second only to Oakland Mills High in Columbia, Maryland in neighboring Howard County:
Hereford High is the host of the annual Bull Run Invitational Cross Country Meet, run in the end of September, which is one of the largest East Coast cross country running events, attracting over 100 schools from surrounding states. The course is noted for its hills, twists, turns and a steep ravine known as "The Dip", all making for what has been called "The Toughest Three Miles in Cross-Country" by John Dye of DyeStat.
The 2009 Boys Hereford Cross Country team was involved in a well publicized dispute over the Baltimore County Cross Country Championships. After winning the title by several points over rivals Towson and Dulaney, another team's coaches notified officials that one Hereford runner had violated a national high school running rule by wearing black compression shorts with white stitching on each side. The Hereford team member, who had finished fourth overall, was disqualified, costing the team the championship. There was much debate over the fairness of this ruling, since minor violations to the national rules occur frequently, many of which were at the very same race. The disqualified runner, a Hereford senior, was featured in an interview article by the New York Times.
In 2010, Hereford High School hosted and swept the championship meet with first-place finishes for both boys and girls. Freshman Erin Causey led the girls with a surprise top finish, followed by a matching performance by senior Mason Rivera. The girls seized their first state championship in five years, while the boys brought back championship cross country to Hereford that had been absent for thirty-two years. Varsity senior Sam Cornwell continued a family legacy, since his father, John, and uncles led Hereford to various cross country titles in the 1970s.

Track and field

In May 2006, Hereford High School initiated a controversial appeal of a ruling in the Class 2A state championship in girls' track. The initial ruling had upheld the victory of Alison Smith in the 1600-meter race, denying a claim that Paralympic medalist Tatyana McFadden, a wheelchair athlete, had assisted teammate Smith by pacing her. The consequential disqualification of McFadden and Smith by the Jury of Appeals of the State Games Committee cost defending champion Atholton High School the title.

Notable people