Lake Clifton Eastern High School

Lake Clifton Eastern High School (LCEHS) was a public high school, now closed, located in the Clifton Park area of northeast Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Originally called Lake Clifton High School (LCHS), although it was commonly known as Lake High School or Lake Clifton, it is now officially named the Lake Clifton Campus (LCC).

Lake Clifton Eastern High School
Address
2801 Saint Lo Drive

Baltimore
,
Maryland
21213

United States
Information
School typePublic, Defunct, Comprehensive
Motto"We Learn from Today, We Experience Yesterday, We Hope for Tomorrow!"
Founded1970
Closed2003
Sister schoolEastern High School
School districtBaltimore City Public Schools
School number40
Grades9–12
Enrollment2,400 (appx.) (2003)
AreaUrban
Color(s)Blue, Gold, Green[1]
Slogan"Home of the Lakers"
MascotDolphin
Team nameLakers

Along with Walbrook and Southwestern High Schools, LCHS was constructed in the early 1970s, and opened in September 1971, named after the Lake Clifton Reservoir and the Clifton Park neighborhood where it was located. Designed during the post-World War II "Baby Boom" years of the 1960s to relieve overcrowding in the city's public high schools, particularly nearby Baltimore City College (City HS), the third oldest public high school in America (founded 1839), and Eastern High School (EHS). Both had about 4,000 students each, twice their maximum capacity.

In 1986, with the closure of EHS, the two schools merged, and LCHS was officially renamed Lake Clifton Eastern High School, however after the 2002–03 school year, LCEHS was also closed due to declining school enrollment in the city.[2] Two smaller secondary schools, Heritage High School and the REACH! Partnership School subsequently used the campus. In August, 2020, the city announced that it planned to sell the property for potential redevelopment, possibly to Morgan State University.[2]

History

Early years

A reservoir named "Lake Clifton Reservoir" occupied the site and was in use until the late 1960s. The reservoir was drained and became the site for the high school's construction in 1970–71. Originally known as "Lake Clifton High School". At the time it was constructed, the school's property area of 441.11 acres (178.51 ha)[3] made it the largest physical plant high school on the East Coast of the United States.[3] In Lake Clifton's 2002 yearbook, it states that LCEHS "was [in the early 70s], and perhaps remains, the largest physical plant high school in the nation."[4][5] The cost of constructing and equipping LCHS was approximately $17 million in 1970, which adjusting for inflation, would be approximately $99,258,764.27 in 2010.[6] The school was designed to hold 4,800 students.

In the 1985–86 school year, Eastern High School merged with Lake Clifton High School, and the Baltimore City School Board changed the school's name to reflect this. In 1995, the school became a pilot high school for the Sylvan Learning Center, reconfiguring its curriculum as a result. From 1995 to 2003, Lake Clifton Eastern consisted of six smaller learning communities: the School of the Academy of Finance and Law (formerly known as "The Academy of Finance and Law"); the School of Business and Commerce; the School of Human Services; the School of Communications and Technology; the School of Humanities and Fine and Cultural Arts; and the Ninth Grade Achievement School. The goal and mission of Lake Clifton Eastern High School was "to provide an educational program relevant to the needs of all students to prepare them for college/post secondary education, or the world of work."

Discipline problems, high dropout rates, violence, low test scores and low attendance had plagued the school for decades.[5][7][8] A shooting resulting in the death of a high school student occurred on January 17, 2001.[7][8] On Sunday, January 30, 1995, an electrical fire caused by faulty wiring destroyed the school's original two story library, cafeteria, and administrative offices.[6][9][10][11][12] In 1998, a one-story state-of-the-art media center and library was built to replace the fire-damaged section, at the cost of $4 million, which would be $5,344,512.24 adjusted for inflation in 2010.[6][9][10][11][12] An arson fire occurred on May 23, 2003 damaging room B208. In the 2002–2003 school year the student population fell to 2,400.

Recent years

Following an ill-timed attempt to close the school during the middle of the 2001–2002 academic year, the city school board decided to downsize LCEHS into a smaller school after the graduation of the Class of 2003.[5][13][14][15][16] With support from the Small Schools Workshop,[17] school faculty members and administrators met and planned new, small, learning communities to open within Lake Clifton. However, the board changed plans and decided on new uses for the campus, dividing the school population to other schools. As a result, in 2003, Lake Clifton Eastern High School ceased to exist, its campus converting into two separate, smaller schools: Heritage High School and Doris M. Johnson High School. A third school, City Springs Elementary/Middle Alternative Charter School was temporarily on the campus before moving to the Belair-Edison neighborhood. The Lake Clifton Campus was then occupied by the Heritage High School and the REACH! Partnership School, which moved onto the campus in 2007, and expanded after the closure of the Doris M. Johnson High School in 2011.[18][19] Faced with continuing population decline and shrinking school enrollment, the city announced plans in August, 2020, to sell the property for potential redevelopment, possibly to Morgan State University.[2]

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

From 1971 through the early 1990s, there were several sports such as tennis, badminton and swimming & diving, all of which were terminated. During the 2002–03 school year, the last year of the school's existence, Lake Clifton only had 7 athletic activities. The athletic teams won several state and/or city championships:

  • Swimming — State championship: 1993
  • Tennis — State championship: 1991, 1992
  • Football — State championship: 1990, 1999
  • Boys' basketball — Baltimore City (District 9): 1993, 2003; State championship: 1995, 2003

Layout and site

Building layout

The building has a central core containing main offices, a 1,000-seat auditorium, two cafeterias, two gymnasiums, a swimming pool, main library & media center, and other administrative offices. This core is connected by bridges and passageways to two buildings, each containing a common area radiating to two distinct smaller units housing classrooms on four levels. The units are referred to as A, B, C, and D units; A and B units are connected on the left side of the central core and C and D units on the right side. After the closure of LCEHS, as of 2010, Heritage High School utilizes the A & B unit side, and the REACH! Partnership School utilizes the C & D side of the campus (formerly used by Doris M. Johnson High School).

Outside area
For more information about the outside area of the school, see Clifton Park, Baltimore.

The Lake Clifton Campus includes an athletic sports field, a track and field area, and a tennis area which can also be used for badminton. Additionally, there is a 6-acre (2.4 ha) sustainable agriculture urban farm, "Real Food Farm", which is managed by Civic Works, Inc. The farm has several "hoop houses", tunnel-greenhouses, that were created in 2009 in order to increase food access in local neighborhoods, as well as demonstrating the economic potential of agriculture and environmental urban farming and providing educational opportunities.[20]

Notable alumni

See also

Notes
  1. Blue and gold are still used as the official colors to represent campus athletics. Green was a part of the official Lake Clifton-Eastern colors prior to the existence of the school until the early 1990s taken from the traditional green and gold colors of Eastern High School.
  2. Richman, Talia (August 17, 2020). "Baltimore planning to sell former Lake Clifton High School; Morgan State Universitgy is hopeful buyer". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved August 17, 2020.(subscription required)
  3. "Real Property Data Search — Baltimore City — Lake Clifton Eastern High School". Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. Archived from the original on February 6, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  4. The Dolphin - Lake Clifton Yearbook 2002. Lake Clifton-Eastern High School. 2002. p. 2.
  5. Bowie, Liz (March 16, 2003). "Board weighs closing school". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
  6. Lightner, James K. (1964). "A area view of Clifton Park and Lake Clifton Reservoir" (Photograph). Baltimore County Public Library. Retrieved April 10, 2012. Lake Clifton in Baltimore City, with the Hebrew Cemetery immediately below it. WFBR Radios helicopter hovers in the center middle distance.
  7. Nelson, Mike (January 17, 2001). "Baltimore teen shot and killed outside high school". Keys to Safer Schools. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  8. "Baltimore teen shot outside high school". CNN News. January 17, 2001. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
  9. Shane, Scott; Thompson, Jean (February 6, 1995). "Lake Clifton-Eastern High reopens". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 6, 2011.
  10. Shane, Scott (February 6, 1995). "Crews clean fire-damaged Lake Clifton". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
  11. Matthew, Tias (February 6, 1995). "Library destroyed by fire gets gift of 1,000 books". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 30, 2012.
  12. Snyder, Brad (January 2, 1995). "Damage at Lake Clifton-Eastern could reach up to $1 million". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  13. Bowie, Liz (September 3, 2003). "Principals' welcomes include call for learning". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  14. Bowie, Liz (May 14, 2003). "City school board votes to split off part of Lake Clifton/Eastern High". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 5, 2012.
  15. Bowie, Liz (April 28, 2002). "Ambitious plans for city high schools". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  16. Bowie, Liz (June 23, 2003). "Big steps in small schools". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  17. "Small Schools Workshop homepage". Wordpress.com. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
  18. Bowie, Liz (March 26, 2010). "Alonso Would Expand School Choice". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 12, 2011.
  19. "Expanding Great Options 2010-11 (Final Report)" (PDF). Baltimore City Public Schools. Winter 2010. pp. 52–59. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2012. Retrieved February 19, 2010.
  20. Tropea, Joe (October 21, 2009). "Hoop Dreams". The Baltimore City Paper. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  21. "Boys Athletic of the week -- Will Barton, Lake Clifton basketball". The Baltimore Sun. March 14, 2009. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  22. "Thomas Jordan NBA stats". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 12, 2014.
  23. "Kansas Men's Basketball Signs Standout Guard Josh Selby to National Letter of Intent". Kansas: University of Kansas Athletics Department. April 18, 2010. Archived from the original on April 22, 2010. Retrieved April 29, 2010.
  24. "Former Lake Clifton star Josh Selby faces marijuana charge". The Baltimore Sun. January 8, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  25. Slovin, Matt (July 8, 2012). "In second NBA season, Josh Selby hoping for expanded role with Grizzlies". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved July 9, 2012.

References
  • The Dolphin - Lake Clifton Yearbook 2002. Baltimore: Lake Clifton Eastern High School. 2002.

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