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2022 Best Private High Schools in Maryland
Private High Schools are a great option for many families and a necessity for some. They offer a safer environment for your children while allowing them to focus more on their education rather than the usual distractions of High School. Maryland offers some of the best schools in the country, ranking 14 overall for education K-12. Even with Maryland’s stellar rating in education, some families opt into private school but finding private schools in Maryland can be difficult if you aren’t sure what to look for.
All the schools on this list have an average graduation rate of 100% meaning they all have near-perfect academics. Here is your guide to the 10 best private schools in Maryland.
Before we get into the schools themselves let’s define a few things in order to decide what type of school is best for your child.
The first thing is deciding between a day school or a boarding school. A day school is typical to your average high school where the children come in the morning and leave in the afternoon
when school and extracurricular activities are finished. A boarding school is the opposite where students live on campus, similar to a college experience.
A lot of schools on this list are college preparatory schools. What this means is that the school is especially designed to get students ready for college and ready to further their education.
Another program that is mentioned in a few of these schools is STEM. This stands for Science Technology, Engineering and Math. These schools focus on these four subjects and how they intertwine creating an interdisciplinary and applied approach.
The next thing that is important to keep in mind is the teacher-student ratio. These numbers indicated how many full time staff members there are for each student. The national average is 17 students for every one teacher.
Schools on this list are either all girls/boys or Co-ed. This is an important factor when deciding on a school as both have positives and negatives. Choosing a school only accepting a single gender
could alienate your child if they identify as non-binary. This also limits the experience your child will have with other types of people. Co-ed schools can be a great choice but for some teenagers, it can be a distraction. Boys and girls mature and learn differently so these schools could also be a great opportunity for specialized learning.
Holton-Arms School, College Preparatory School In Bethesda, MD
Holton Arms School is an all girls college preparatory day school in Bethesda. They offer classes for girls in grades 3-12 divided into Lower, Middle and Upper schools.
On top of being the best private school in Maryland, Holton- Arms School offers the best STEM program in the state across all high schools in Maryland, private and public. It is also the 10th best all-girls school in the country.
The teacher-student ratio is 8:1 and some notable alumnae include Shelley Moore Capito, senator from West Virginia, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, actress and comedian from Seinfeld, and Susan Ford, daughter of former president Gerald Ford.
Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, MD
Bryn Mawr School is the first college preparatory day school for girls in the United States and the second-best private high school in Maryland. Bryn Mawr School offers classes for students K-12.
Bryn Mawr is rated 1st in private college preparatory schools in Maryland and the best STEM high school in Baltimore, while being ranked second statewide.
This school also offers personalized pathways for students which create out of classroom experiences that better prepare them for the working world. These pathways range from Arts, Global Studies, or STEM/Entrepreneurship, allowing the student to get experience in the field of their choice.
The student-teacher ratio is 6:1 and some notable alumnae include Kisha Ford, WNBA basketball player, Margo Lion, known for her work in producing hairspray, and Frances Scott Fitzgerald, the daughter of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Landon School in Bethesda, MD
Landon School is the first all boys private high school on this list and the best all boys day school in the state. They offer classes for boys in grades 3-12.
Landon School is rated 10th in all boy high schools in the country, while being the 5th best college preparatory school in the state. Landon School also offers a great stem program being ranked 9th overall in Maryland.
The student-teacher ratio is 5:1 and in a poll 100 precent of the students agreed that the teachers gave engaging lessons and cared about the students. Notable alumni include Rush Holt, a former US House of Representative from New Jersey, Rufus G. King III former chief judge of the Washington DC District court and Maury Povich, a television personality.
Gilman School in Baltimore MD
Gilman school is an all boys college preparatory day school offering an educational experience to children grades pre-k through 12.
Gilman is ranked the 2nd best all boys high school in Maryland, while being ranked 12th overall in the country. The school is the 3rd best private college preparatory school in Maryland. Offering a STEM program as well, Gilman ranks 6tth in the state.
The teacher-student ratio is 7:1 and multiple congress members attended the Gilman school including Bob Erchilch, former United States Senator from Maryland, Fife Symington, former governor of Arizona, John Sarbanes, a US House of Representative from Maryland and Daneil Brewster, former US Senator of Maryland.
The school also has many athletes as alumni such as Victor Abiamiri, defensive end of the Philadelphia Eagles, Brandon Copeland, Linebacker for the Atlanta Falcons and even a few owners like John P. Angelos, VP of the Baltimore Orioles and Mark Shaprio, CEO and President of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Georgetown Preparatory School in North Bethesda, MD
Georgetown Preparatory School is an all boys catholic boarding school offering classes for students grades 9-12.
Georgetown is ranked as the best catholic school in Maryland and the 10th best in the nation. It is also ranked as the top boarding school in the state while ranking 6th in college prep in the state.
The teacher-student ratio is 8:1 and some notable alumni in the sports world include, Bill Bidwill, owner of the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals, Micheal Bidwill, President of the Arizona Cardinals, and Olympic gold medalist.
In the political sphere, some notable graduates include Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, both supreme court justices, and both sons of Robert Kennedy, Douglas Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy.
Key School in Annapolis, MD
Key School is a Co-ed day school offering courses for students in grades Pre-k through
It is ranked as the top private school in Anne Arundel County and the best private school in Annapolis.
There are no notable alumni from the Key School but the teacher-student ratio is only 6:1 allowing for a personalized teaching experience without so much pressure to succeed from the previous graduates of the school.
The Park School of Baltimore in Baltimore, MD
The Park School of Baltimore is a Co-ed day school in Baltimore County. This school offers classes for grades Pre-k through 12.
The Park School is rated the best private high school in Baltimore County and the 4th best college preparatory school in Maryland.
The teacher-student ratio is 8:1 and there are multiple alumni from this school. Robert Austrian, the developer of the pneumonia vaccine, Lydia Kay Griggsby, Judge of the United States Federal Claims and former Chief Counsel for Private and Information policy for the Senate Judiciary Committee are some notable alumni in the federal and academic fields.
Some entertainment alumni include Josh Tyrangiel, Executive Vice President at Vice Media and HBO, Matthew Weiner, Creator of MAd Men on AMC, and Amanda Lipitz, a Tony award-winning Broadway producer.
McDonogh School in Owings Mills, MD
McDonogh School is a Co-ed boarding school. They offer classes for grades Pre-k through 12.
McDonogh is the second-best boarding school in the state and the best private high school for athletes in MD. They are the 5th most diverse school in Baltimore County.
Some notable alumni from this school include John Bolton, Former National Security Advisor for the United States, Joseph D. Tydings, a former US Senator from Maryland, Henry G. Chiles Jr, a former commander in chief of the United States Strategic Command and Ben Queen screenwriter who wrote Disney Pixar’s Cars 2 and Cars 3.
Bullis School in Potomac, MD
The Bullis School is a Co-ed college preparatory day school offering classes for students K through 12.
The Bullis School is ranked 8th in the Best K-12 Private school in Maryland and the 10th best in College Prep. They are also ranked the 15th most diverse school in Maryland.
There are many professional athletes that graduated from Bullis School including Steve Armas, Professional Soccer Player and Coach, Cam Brown, NFL linebacker for the New York Giants, Tom Brown NFL defensive back for the Green Bay Packers and the Washington Football team, Monique Currie, Professional Basketball player for the Washington Mystics, and John Diehl, defensive tackle for the Colt and the Cowboys.
Two other notable alumni include the granddaughter and second granddaughter of the last Emperor of Iran. Their names are Princess Noor Pahlavi and Princess Farah Pahlavi.
Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart in Bethesda, MD
Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart is a Catholic all girls day school offering grades
They are ranked the 2nd best Catholic school in Maryland and ranked 25th in the nation.
They are the 3rd best all girls school in Maryland.
There are many notable alumni from the Stone Ridge School like Andrea Koppel,
American communications strategist, and a former TV journalist as a Congressional
correspondent for CNN, Cokie Roberts, a journalist and author., Maria Shriver, niece of the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy and former First Lady of California, Frederica von Stade, a retired
American opera singer, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, eldest of Robert F. Kennedy and former American attorney who was the sixth Lieutenant Governor of Maryland and Katie Ledecky is an American competitive swimmer, winning 7 Olympic gold medals.