Bladensburg High School

Bladensburg High School is a public high school located in Bladensburg, Maryland, United States. The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the Prince George's County Public Schools district. The school serves: the towns of Bladensburg, Colmar Manor, and Cottage City, as well almost all of the Town of Cheverly, portions of the towns of Edmonston and Riverdale Park, a small section of the City of Hyattsville, and sections of East Riverdale and Landover census-designated places. In addition the school serves students from all across the county that are selected to enroll in its prestigious Biomedical Program. History In 1950 a permanent building was constructed, in phases. Beginning in the 1980s the district made plans to renovate or replace the building, but delays occurred as PGCPS resources were devoted to schools that needed to be built or ones that had more serious problems in their facilities. In 1999 PGCPS decided that Bladensburg High would get a new building instead of a renovation. Prior to 2001 the school building became infested with insects and rats, prompting PGCPS officials to make its replacement a priority. The $45 million project was scheduled to begin in January 2001 and was originally to last until circa 2003. In 2000 officials were looking for a campus to temporarily house the students. The first plan was to send the students to the former Northwestern High School building, but the Hyattsville city council disapproved of this as it felt the Bladensburg students would be too close to the Northwestern students, already occupying the current school building. The second choice was a building in Bowie, but around 100 Bowie residents protested against this plan in a city hall meeting; Several Bowie city council members stated that the controversy gave Bowie a negative image.