LANSDOWNE, Md. — The new Lansdowne High School is open after nearly a decade of community advocacy and a $166 million construction project that replaced a 60-year-old building plagued by aging infrastructure.
As Principal Allison Seymour described, the (formal) push for a new school began in 2016, when a teacher brought the case to the school board. From there, the effort grew.
"Soon that voice was joined by others," said Seymour during prepared remarks to a Wednesday crowd, "teachers, students, parents, alumni, community members, elected leaders and advocates who refused to stop believing that the Lansdowne community deserved a school that reflected the brilliance, potential and promise of its young people."
Ground broke on the new building in October 2022, nearly four years to the day the new school celebrated its opening.
READ MORE: Conditions at Lansdowne High School illustrate need for a new school
"Facilities do make an incredible difference in education," said Jane Lichter, chair of the county's Board of Education, "And when we build new school buildings such as this, we create learning environments better suited to the needs of our students and educators now and in the future," Lichter said.
The new building can hold more than 300 additional students (1,759) compared to the old school and is more than 100,000 square feet larger. Highlights include a two-story physical education and fine arts wing, and a commons area.
Student Lộc Huynh captured the excitement many felt stepping into the new building.
"We have a big staircase leading us to the possible and the big future ahead of us and all across the school," said Loc Huynh, a junior at the school, in a speech to the crowd. "There are new classes to learn in and explore, new teachers to meet and bond with, new friends to connect with, and forge friendship that will last a lifetime."
Work on the site is not entirely finished. A new track and field are being built where the old Lansdowne High once stood and are expected to be ready for next year's fall athletics season.
The Lansdowne opening is part of a broader wave of school construction across Baltimore County. Deer Park Elementary School opened in August. A new Dulaney High School is expected in two years, and a new Towson High School is expected in four years. Each project is designed to expand capacity by several hundred students.
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