Col. Zadok Magruder High School

First thing is that every school has issues but magruder always has security and police so that when dummies fight they don't hurt other people and themselves! Magruder prepares you for college but you got to make an effort to want info! Sum teachers need re-evaluation, but 99% of my teachers have been amazing! Not all the blacks are trouble.
--Submitted by a student

Graduation at last! I've had lots of great teachers and made the best friends of my life at Magruder. At Magruder, you'll find rich and poor, highly-motivated and ultra-lazy, college-bound and work-bound. If you make a reasonable effort here, there is endless opportunity. Large selection of AP classes, ample opportunity to participate in athletics, and mostly wonderful teachers. Yes, there are some troublemakers at Magruder, but you'll rarely find them in honors and AP classes and they have largely been eliminated from even the on-level classes. A final point is that the SAT stats at Magruder don't tell the real story. Magruder tries to get as many students as possible to take the SAT test, including many students who are very unlikely to go to college. The work-bound students drag the SAT average downward a LOT, but the college-bound students do very well on the SAT at Magruder.
--Submitted by a student

As with any school, this school has great teachers and mediocre and every level in-between. Being one of the largest schools in the county, it has its share of problems but also, because of the large student body, it also has a large selection of course to choose from. Required courses have many levels such as AP, Honors, on-level, remedial, and there's a nice variety of electives. AP classes are almost all college level, which makes it difficult for students; college students have at least a day between classes to do the homework and prepare for the next class where these students have to get it by the next morning. Some teachers who teach AP aren't doing a good job because few of their students pass the AP exams, while others have a high rate of student success. Overall, though, a great academic environment for AP/Honors. Wide selection of after-school activities.
--Submitted by a parent

I accidentally came across this site and felt that the rating does not truly represent the heart of this school. I believe Magruder is a unique, free-spirited school that helps students to discover their interest and plan for future. I see students energy and creativity through the float and hallway competition in the fall. I still see Magruder generating a crop of excellent students making into top colleges and universities. In 2008, Magruder sent two kids to Yale along with many prestigious institutions. I also saw Magruder producing many unique talents even at the national level. Being a large high school, it has many faces some good and some not so good. Magruder has a heterogeneous student body that brings out much diversity. Magruder doesn t claim to be the most academically competitive school, but it definitely produces one of the most talented kids. Continues below.
--Submitted by a parent

I think that most of the people who read this site probably have children that qualify for honors or AP classes, and those children will end up being very well-prepared for college by the time they graduate from Magruder. Unfortunately, a few small areas of Montgomery County that have extremely difficult-to-educate students also feed into Magruder, which skews the school's overall scores downward. In the honors and AP classes, your child will be treated almost like a college student, and will be rewarded for their performance. Also, the principal is a very straight-shooter (figuratively, of course) and is honest with the community about the behavior issues of the relatively few troublemakers.
--Submitted by a parent

I have 2 children in honors classes that have excelled here. Much better than the feeding middle school Redland. Activities after school are very good. Dicepline and safety remain a concern.
--Submitted by a parent

Magruder is almost like two schools in one. The honors and on level classes are so different from each other. Honor classes are the best to sign your kids up for, on level classes are chaotic. Our 'Acting principle' dispite many attempts has not been able to reach the student body. There are many fights and discipline problem and although it can be luring there are many resources there to help you stay away. There is a lot of great parent involvment due to the guidice office being over worked. The teachers there are almost all new and probably will have a new set of teachers next year which makes learning difficult. Magruder wouldn't be my first choice of schools but it's not horrendous
--Submitted by a student

An assistant principal has been appointed as the 'interim principal' for 2006 to 2007 and the school has seen a major turnaround. A major overhaul of the the culinary skills lab has been completed and it is now state-of-the-art. Many other areas of the school have also been refurbished. Teacher's attitudes have markedly improved and test scores are up signficantly in the first quarter. The interim principal established a new 'student support center' where disruptive students are sent to discuss their actions and given the opportunity to improve their behavior. Athletics, which were already ranked high at Magruder, have improved even further, with several of the teams holding nearly undefeated records. (The Athletic Director, Mr. Karl Heimbach, received the 2006 Maryland State Athletic Director of Year Award'.) PTSA meetings, which used to be attended by 20 to 30 parents, are now being attended by 60 to 100 parents.
--Submitted by a parent

Academic quality is shaky at best, along with teacher qualifications. On-level classes can tend to be wild, noisy, and out of the teacher's control. Current 'culinary skills' classes do nothing but worksheets, since there are still no ovens or stoves available. (It's October now!) Many kids and parents are being repeatedly amazed at very poorly written information sent home by teachers. Security? It's a (sad) joke! Kids walk right by Security people and leave the building whenever they chose. Major lack of morals here too, as school chooses to hold extra graduation tickets right up until the last minute and finds it okay to say that it's just the chance out-of-town relatives have to take (of getting a ticket or not). Leadership? Our Principal left last Spring; somehow we still haven't managed to get a new one. Perhaps no one wants to take on this mess?
--Submitted by a parent

I graduated from MHS in 2001. My 3 siblings did as well. I took advantage of the many opportunities MHS and Montgomery County had to offer. I still keep in touch with some of my teachers, most of whom are still teaching there. I had a great experience there. If you and your children are willing to get involved, you will too. =)
--Submitted by Debra Smith, a former student