Chopticon High School is a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

located in Morganza, Maryland,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The school serves students in grades 9–12. It offers

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

preparatory programs and programs that prepare students for

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for ...

and

technical Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical area, an area which a manager, other coaching personnel, and substitutes are allowed to occupy during a football match * Technical advisor, a person who ...

occupations. It serves the community in the northern portion of

St. Mary's County, Maryland St. Mary's County, established in 1637, is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 113,777. Its county seat is Leonardtown. The name is in honor of Mary, the mother of Jesus. St. Mary's Count ...

, between the

Potomac River The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...

and

Patuxent River The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeas ...

. The area is mainly

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

communities, with a recent rise in

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

development. Many of the families are employed by

NAS Patuxent River Naval Air Station Patuxent River , also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station in St. Mary’s County, Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to Headquarters, Naval Air Systems Comma ...

, government contractors,

St. Mary's College of Maryland St. Mary's College of Maryland (SMCM) is a Public college, public Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in St. Mary's City, Maryland.Maryland State Archives, Online Manual, "St. Mary's College Of Maryland: Origin & Fun ...

, St Mary's County government, and traditional

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

and water-related businesses. Chopticon High School is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools and the Maryland State Department of Education. Chopticon also offers the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts (AVPA) and the Academy of Finance (AOF). Chopticon High School belongs to the St. Mary's County Public School System (or SMCPS) and is associated with two other county high schools:

Great Mills High School Great Mills High School is a comprehensive public high school in Great Mills, Maryland, United States. It serves students in grades 9–12 in the mixed rural and suburban area at the confluence of the Potomac River, Patuxent River, and Chesapeake ...

and

Leonardtown High School Leonardtown High School is a comprehensive public high school in Leonardtown, Maryland, United States, for students in grades 9–12. It offers college preparatory programs and programs that prepare students for business and technical occupation ...

. Chopticon High School was founded in 1965, as a replacement to Margaret Brent High School (founded in 1921 – now Margaret Brent Middle School).

Notable incidents

On August 3, 1984, custodian Lester B. Broome murdered teacher Beverly Jo Heater. Broome was hired despite being described as having “a known history of criminal battery, sexual violence, dangerous misconduct and theft.” In 1985, Broome pleaded guilty of murder in exchange for the prosecution to not seek the death penalty at a

Prince George's County Prince George's County (often shortened to PG County or PG) is located in the U.S. state of Maryland bordering the eastern portion of Washington, D.C. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the population was 967,201, making it the second-most populous ...

court. The high school made news in 2015 when, on May 20, several students broke in at 3:40 am and released 72,000

ladybugs Coccinellidae () is a widespread family of small beetles. They are commonly known as ladybugs in North America and ladybirds in the United Kingdom; "lady" refers to mother Mary. Entomologists use the names ladybird beetles or lady beetles ...

throughout the school. The four students, who were seniors at the school, were charged with 4th degree burglary, property destruction under $1,000 and disruption of school activities.

Music

The Chopticon marching band, also known as "The Showband of Southern Maryland," won 7 consecutive

USBands USBands, formally United States Scholastic Band Association and sometimes referred to as USSBA, was formed in the Fall 1988 to provide high school marching bands an opportunity to compete in a circuit featuring top judges from across the contin ...

Maryland State Championships from 2009 to 2015, their 8th in 2018, and their 9th in 2024. Under the direction of former director Todd Burroughs, the Chopticon marching band also won the USBands 2A National Championships in 2012.

Sports

Chopticon High School Athletics belongs to the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference, and competes in Maryland Division 4A in state competitions. On March 24, 2014 the Chopticon varsity softball team ended the

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

varsity softball team's state record 77-game winning streak by a score of 5–3. The baseball team won the 2015 3A State Championship by defeating Mt. Hebron High School 1–0 in the championship game. The pitcher in that game, LJay Newsome, ended up being drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the

2015 MLB Draft The 2015 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 8 through June 10, 2015, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2014 MLB season standings. As the Diamondbacks finished the 2014 season ...

. In 2016, the softball program made their first state championship since 1985, however they lost 7–2 to Sherwood High School. On June 12, 2017 Chopticon saw another alumnus get selected in the

MLB Draft The Major League Baseball draft (officially the Rule 4 Draft; also known as the first-year player draft or amateur draft) is the primary mechanism by which Major League Baseball (MLB) assigns amateur baseball players from high schools, colleg ...

. Former Catcher Robby Kidwell was drafted in the 36th round by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

Notable alumni

Jerome Adams Jerome Michael Adams (born September 22, 1974) is an American Anesthesiology, anesthesiologist and a former Vice admiral (United States), vice admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, U.S. Public Health Service Comm ...

, Class of 1992, 20th

Surgeon General of the United States The surgeon general of the United States is the operational head of the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC) and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government of the United States. T ...

. * James Kilpatrick * Elisa Rae Shupe * Ljay Newsome

References

External links

Chopticon High School
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1965 Public high schools in Maryland Schools in St. Mary's County, Maryland 1965 establishments in Maryland