JC loses 108 students. Bel Air High School gains 194 students.
But, despite JC’s previously shrinking enrollment, the numbers for the class of 2015 are looking up.
In a recent report by the Maryland State Department of Education, Bel Air High School’s enrollment increased by 194 students since the opening of the school’s new facilities in 2009. In that same time frame, JC’s enrollment dropped by 108 students.
“There are kids that would have traditionally come to JC had [the other choice] been the old Bel Air High School. The old Bel Air High School was a dump. The new high school is beautiful,” Principal Paul Barker said.
“Harford County has made a very strong investment in their education infrastructure, and I think that they are seeing some of the rewards of that,” Director of Admissions Jesse Roberts said.
Junior Patrick Kenney believes JC offers more than Bel Air High School. “The sports are better. The education is better, and I think Bel Air is too overcrowded,” Kenney said.
After the Jan. 7 enrollment application deadline, the Admissions Department expects to enroll more students in the incoming freshman class than are in the current freshman class, despite pressures from new public school facilities.
“I think putting a number on what the class is going to look like right now is still premature, but my guess is that we are going to be above this year’s freshman class,” Roberts said.
”We appear to be running ahead of last year,” Barker said.
The Admissions Department expected to interview approximately 250 potential students during the week of Jan. 17.
Also, with 45 more female students than males in the current freshman class, the Admissions Department is focusing on narrowing any gender gap in the incoming class.
According to Barker, there have only been four graduating classes with more male students than female students since the school’s opening in 1964.
“We’re trying to pay attention to the overall number but also get the gender ratio in the freshman class as close to fifty-fifty as possible. That has been a historic trend here at JC,” Roberts said.
“It’s a good idea to have an equal ratio of boys to girls so that they can learn to work and interact with each other,” junior Taylor Kline said.
Still, Barker sees the economic times as a challenge for increasing enrollment. “The schools like JC that have the greatest range of economic diversity seem to be hardest hit by the downswing,” Barker said.
To counteract the economic downturn and to increase enrollment beyond Harford County, the Admissions Department has increased advertising initiatives in Baltimore County to draw students from Perry Hall, Towson and other areas in northern Baltimore.
“We have to do and are doing a good job of being a regional opportunity for those students who are looking for a coeducational high school experience. With the closing of Towson Catholic, there really is no private coed school in the north section of Baltimore like ours,” Roberts said.
Joey Hoff can be reached for comment at [email protected].