Quince Orchard High School

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Coordinates: 39°6′56″N 77°15′15″W / 39.11556°N 77.25417°W / 39.11556; -77.25417
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Quince Orchard High School
Address
Map
15800 Quince Orchard Road

Gaithersburg, Maryland
20878

United States
Coordinates39°6′56″N 77°15′15″W / 39.11556°N 77.25417°W / 39.11556; -77.25417
Information
TypePublic secondary
EstablishedSeptember 6, 1988; 35 years ago (1988-09-06)[1]
School districtMontgomery County Public Schools
PrincipalElizabeth L. Thomas[2]
Number of students2,154
CampusSuburban
Color(s)Red, black, and white
     
MascotCougar
RivalNorthwest High School
Damascus High School
NewspaperThe Prowler
YearbookTracks
Websitewww.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/qohs/

Quince Orchard High School (QOHS), also known as Q.O. High School, is a secondary school located on Quince Orchard Road in the Quince Orchard neighborhood of Gaithersburg in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States.

Academics[edit]

According to materials from the school, Quince Orchard "encourages advanced studies in both the arts and books." To this end, 31 Advanced Placement courses are offered, ranging from the arts to world history to science and math.[3] The school boasts higher-than-average SAT (562 verbal, 542 math) and ACT (22 composite) scores, and requires 75 hours of community service for graduation.[4]

In 2006, Quince Orchard High School was the 456th highest-rated school according to Newsweek magazine's list of the top 1,300 high schools in the United States.[5]

In 2014, Quince Orchard was ranked the sixth best high school in the state of Maryland and 176th in the United States by U.S. News & World Report on their list of best high schools.[6] In 2024, QO fell to 69th in Maryland and 3807th in the US.[7]

Arts and Sports[edit]

Over the years, the theater department has staged nearly 50 productions, including Up the Down Staircase[8] and the musical Grease.[9]

Students produce The Prowler newspaper and the yearbook Tracks.

The Quince Orchard High School Marching Band went to the inaugural USSBA National Championship and achieved a Montgomery County-record score of 90.275.[10] The next year,[when?] the band received their second record-breaking score for Montgomery County, Maryland, of 92.325, and placed 9th out of 18 national groups. In 2008, the marching band won the USSBA Group IV Open Maryland State Championships with the show "Jekyll and Hyde". More recently, the varsity football team won the 2022 Maryland State Championship. The Cougars also won the Maryland State Championship in 1991 and 2007, and were in the quarterfinals in 1993.[10]

Rivals[edit]

Quince Orchard's success in football has created a rivalry with Northwest, a school that is both close in proximity and has seen similar success on the football field.[11] They also have a rivalry with Damascus.[12]

Student demographics[edit]

For the 2022–2023 school year, Quince Orchard had a total enrollment of 2,154 students. The school's student body was 34.4% non-Hispanic white, 16.3% African American, 10.9% Asian American, and 33.5% Hispanic and Latino American.[4]

Zone[edit]

Quince Orchard's incoming freshmen come from Lakelands Park and Ridgeview Middle School.[13] Until the end of the 2007 school year, Quince Orchard also enrolled students who had graduated from Kingsview Middle School. The school serves students living in Gaithersburg and North Potomac. The feeder patterns of schools articulating to Quince Orchard goes as follows:

  • Lakelands Park MS
    • Brown Station ES
    • Rachel Carson ES
  • Ridgeview MS
    • Diamond ES
    • Fields Road ES
    • Jones Lane ES
    • Thurgood Marshall ES

Elementary school split articulations:

  • Most of Diamond ES articulates to Lakelands Park MS and Northwest HS

Expected Boundary Changes[edit]

As of the 2023-24 school year, QOHS projects to be over-enrolled for the next 15 years with its current attendance zones.[13] To address these concerns, along with overutilization among other nearby schools, the county is conducting a boundary study for the new Crown High School,[14] which has an expected completion date of August 2027.[13]

History[edit]

U.S. Army recruiter at QOHS in 2022

In 1984, the Montgomery County Council voted to build Quince Orchard High School in order to reduce crowding at Gaithersburg High School, and it allocated $20 million for its construction in 1984.[15][16][17] The school was expected to have 1,680 students upon opening, and it was designed to have a capacity of 2,000 students.[18] In 1987, a group of parents asked the Board of Education to name the school Potomac Falls High School instead, but the Board of Education decided to name it Quince Orchard High School because it was being built on Quince Orchard Road.[19] Construction costs ended up totaling $26 million by the time the school opened on September 6, 1988.[1]

Quince Orchard High School did not have a senior class during its first school year open, which made it difficult for its athletic teams to compete with other high schools in sports where size and experience are particularly advantageous.[20] Its football team's record was 1-8 in its first season. The softball field was not built in time for the first school year, and the school used the baseball field for field hockey.[20] Tennis courts were not completed until midway through the first school year, and the team finished 5-7 that year.[20]

Quince Orchard became the first public school in the state of Maryland to have a Sports Broadcasting Network in 2019. The QO Sports Network, founded by student Adam Gotkin, broadcasts select Quince Orchard athletic events.[21]

Notable alumni[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Goldstein, Amy (August 24, 1988). 21st Century School Awaits Pupils; Montgomery County's Newest Facility Accentuates High Tech. The Washington Post. August 24, 1988. p. A1.
  2. ^ "NEW PRINCIPALS ANNOUNCED AT SCHOOL BOARD MEETING". mymcmedia.org. May 8, 2018. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  3. ^ "Quince Orchard HS School Profile (PDF)" (PDF).[dead link]
  4. ^ a b "Quince Orchard HS at a Glance (PDF)" (PDF). Montgomery County Public Schools. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  5. ^ "Newsweek names MCPS high schools among best in nation[permanent dead link]". The Bulletin. May 8, 2006. p. 1, 3.
  6. ^ "Best High Schools Rankings". U.S. News & World Report. 2014. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014.
  7. ^ "Quince Orchard High School". U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Montgomery Entertainment". The Washington Post. November 8, 2007. p. T24.
  9. ^ "Curtain Calls". The Washington Post. April 10, 2008. p. 20 MN MS.
  10. ^ a b "Quince Orchard Band Milestones". Quince Orchard High School. Montgomery County Public Schools. Archived from the original on November 21, 2007.
  11. ^ Strober, Ben (2023-10-19). "Rivals Quince Orchard and Northwest Clash on Friday". Montgomery Community Media. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  12. ^ "Damascus avenges loss to Quince Orchard". WTOP News. 2014-09-21. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
  13. ^ a b c Division of Capital Planning, Montgomery County Public Schools. Superintendent's Recommended FY 2025 Capital Budget and the FY 2025–2030 Capital Improvements Program - Chapter 4: Quince Orchard Cluster. Accessed 6 June 2024
  14. ^ Division of Capital Planning, Montgomery County Public Schools. Board of Education Adopted Boundary Study Scope - to Determine the Service Area for the new Crown and Expansion of Damascus HS - March 19, 2024. Accessed 4 June 2024
  15. ^ Brisbane, Arthur S. (November 23, 1984). "Upcounty Montgomery: Unfulfilled Promises Thwart Residents Upcounty Reality Falls Short of Promises County Turns to New Focus for Growth". The Washington Post. p. A1.
  16. ^ Melton, R.H.; Spolar, Chris (December 20, 1984). "Montgomery Executive To Chop School Fund: $100 Million to Be Cut in Bond Program". The Washington Post. p. C1.
  17. ^ McAllister, Elisabeth (April 11, 1985). "2 Upcounty High Schools Approved". The Washington Post. p. MD2.
  18. ^ "School Board Actions". The Washington Post. May 23, 1985. p. MDA4.
  19. ^ "School Board Actions". The Washington Post. November 26, 1987. p. M4.
  20. ^ a b c Brady, Jim (December 29, 1988). "Quince Orchard High Survives Growing Pains: New School Overcomes 1st-Year Challenges". The Washington Post. p. DC8.
  21. ^ "Player Profile: Quince Orchard High School's Adam Gotkin". PressBox. 2020-05-13. Retrieved 2022-01-05.
  22. ^ Phillips, Doug (August 10, 2019). "Meet Coach Jason Ankrah". Schuyler Sun.
  23. ^ "TCU football: How linebacker Johnny Hodges came to Fort Worth". Houston Chronicle. December 24, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  24. ^ Jensen, Michael (August 5, 2007). "Interview with Greek's Paul James, page 2". AfterElton.com. Retrieved May 11, 2009.
  25. ^ Simms, Brandy L. (August 23, 2018). "Kerr returns to Quince Orchard for football camp". Montgomery County Sentinel.
  26. ^ Giambalvo, Emily (December 24, 2019). "Maryland special teams coordinator John Papuchis joins Florida State staff". The Washington Post.
  27. ^ Quince Orchard Star Demeioun Robinson Commits to Maryland
  28. ^ Everett, John Burgess (August 12, 2009). "The DMV (District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia) finds its voice". The Gazette. Archived from the original on August 21, 2009.

External links[edit]

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