U.S. News Ranks Blair High School No. 10 in Maryland

Seven Montgomery County schools included in the Top 10

U.S. News has ranked Silver Spring's Montgomery Blair High School in the Top 10 of public high schools in Maryland in its 2013 report of the best high schools nationwide. Blair was given a national rank of No. 247 and awarded a gold medal.  There are 2,827 students enrolled at Blair, and the Advanced Placement participation rate is 64 percent, U.S. News reported. Seven of the top 10 schools in Maryland are in Montgomery County: Blair, Winston Churchill, Walt Whitman, Poolseville, Wootton, Richard Montgomery and Bethesda-Chevy Chase. Read more about the rankings: A full list of the best high schools in Maryland How U.S. News calculated the 2013 best high schools

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Report: Montgomery Blair High Student Tasered By School Police Officer

A 16-year-old girl was sent to the hospital Thursday after the stun gun left a dart in her skin, The Washington Post reported.

A 16-year-old girl was sent to the hospital Thursday after a Taser dart was left in her skin by a Montgomery County police officer placed at Montgomery Blair High, The Washington Post reported.  The officer, part of the school resource officer (SRO) program that pairs uniformed officers with high schools in Montgomery County, said that he told the girl to go inside after spotting her sitting outside of the school, the newspaper wrote. Police allege that the girl responded by punching the officer, who then used a Taser on her.  The girl had to be hospitalized to remove a Taser dart that was left in her skin, The Post reported. A spokesperson for Montgomery County Public Schools was vague about whether there is a protocol by the system for …

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Reports: Blair High Newspaper Strapped for Cash

The student-run newspaper needs to raise $6,000 to print its last issues of the school year.

Silver Chips, Montgomery Blair High School's monthly student newspaper, is scrambling to find money to publish the last three issues of this school year, Bethesda magazine's Education Matters blog reports.  The paper, which exists on a combination of advertising revenue, donations and a small stipend from the school district, is $6,000 short the money it needs to finish out the school year. That's money that faculty advisor Joseph Fanning is brainstorming how to produce, the magazine reported. He said that he's considering amending the advertising model to give access to both the print and the online version.  Silver Chips isn't the first Montgomery County high school newspaper that has had to get creative to continue printing. Bethesda …

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Blair High's Rapping Teacher Hits National Spotlight

A math teacher in Silver Spring by day, a rapper extolling the virtues of mathematics by night, Jacob Scott's story has traveled across the country.

The story of a high school math teacher in Silver Spring who makes rap videos to help students learn complicated algebra principles, using the alter ego "2 Pi," has spread far past Montgomery County's borders and well into international waters.  Jacob Scott, who teaches at Montgomery Blair High, gained acclaim for his work with students who aren't native English speakers in 2011, winning the NAACP Excellence in Education Teacher of the Year Award and being featured in local media and even on billboards, according to Silver Chips, Blair's student newspaper.  But when The Washington Post took notice of his rap videos on YouTube last November, the inspiring and unconventional teacher's work went worldwide, including features on national media…

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State Champion Coach Will Lead Blair High Football Team

Dr. Andrew Fields was announced as the school's head football coach.

A football coach with 13 years of experience joined Montgomery Blair High's program, a letter to parents announced Jan. 23. Dr. Andrew Fields, most recently of Gaithersburg High, but also a former teacher at Churchill, Poolesville and Northwest High Schools, has taken his teams to the state football championship twice. He's earned one state title and has gone to the state playoffs nine times.  The Gazette newspaper reported that former coach Jeff Seals was fired in early December. 

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Montgomery Blair High Fires Football Coach

The Gazette reports that Jeff Seals is out after nine years.

2 Pi: Montgomery Blair Math Teacher Recognized for Rap Alter Ego

Jake Scott creates math-themed rap videos to inspire high school students.

His boss calls him a "dream." A student said his work is "genius." Donning a baseball cap and an athletic suit, Jake Scott, a math teacher at Montgomery Blair High in Silver Spring, simply refers to himself as "2 Pi" in the rap videos that he creates to teach students complicated theories.  "Triangle Experts," was uploaded to YouTube in December 2011 and has over 9,000 views. It features Scott, aka 2 Pi, rapping a catchy "180 degrees of fun/We solve triangles one-by-one" and a guest appearance by a student who raps in Spanish.  Scott was recently profiled by the Washington Post where everyone from Principal Renay Johnson to the local branch of the NAACP praised his creativity and effort in teaching students. From the Post: The rap videos …

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Whiz Kid: Blair High’s Neil Davey

Davey will compete for the regional title in November.

Montgomery Blair High’s Neil Davey was named a regional finalist in the 2012-13 Siemens Competition in Math, Science, and Technology on Oct. 19. Davey, a Gaithersburg resident and high school junior, was received the prestigious annual award in recognition of his research in the fields of science and technology. His research, conducted over the summer, explored “Deletion of Endonuclease G Disrupts Mitochondrial Homeostasis and Leads to Reduced Virulence in the Human Protozoan Parasite Leishmania Mexicana.” “I am honored to be named a Regional Finalist in the Siemens Competition for my project that was aimed at creating a vaccine candidate for the parasitic disease Leishmaniasis," Davey said. "I am especially grateful to the Blair Magnet …

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Montgomery Blair Student Named Regional Finalist in Siemens Competition

Neil Davey was the only public school student in Maryland who will compete in the regional competition.

Neil Davey of Montgomery Blair High School was named a regional finalist in the Siemens Competition in math, science and technology, Montgomery County Public Schools officials announced Thursday.   He will compete in one of six regional events in November. Davey is the only public school student from Maryland who has been selected to compete in the regionals. Winners advance to the national finals in Washington, DC, in December, with a chance to win one of two grand prize scholarships of $100,000 each.  A total of 12 MCPS students were named as regional finalists or semifinalists, school officials said, including eight semifinalists from Blair High.  Held each year, the Siemens Competition highlights outstanding high school students in the…

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Blair High School Hosting Capitol Steps

The event is Oct. 8 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

In the midst of a presidential election year, there is nothing funnier than seeing the Capitol Steps skewer both political parties. And on Oct. 8 you won't have to travel to D.C. to see them. From 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. they'll be performing at Montgomery Blair High School. Admission is $30 in advance and $40 at the door and proceeds go to support Blair's PTSA-hosted, free after-prom party, where around 750 juniors and senior spend an alcohol free night after prom. Tickets are available on-line or from Ms. Fus in the school’s attendance office.

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