Gilman School


The Gilman School is a private preparatory school for boys located in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1897 as the Country School for Boys, it was the first country day school in the US. It is named for Daniel Coit Gilman, the first president of The Johns Hopkins University and an early supporter of efforts by Anne Galbraith Carey to form an all-boys day school.
Gilman enrolls approximately 1,000 students, ranging from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade, under the instruction of 146 faculty members. It is a member of the Association of Independent Maryland Schools and the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association.
Described by author C. Fraser Smith as "Baltimore's most prestigious preparatory academy," It has strong academic and athletic reputations. In 2002, Worth Magazine rated Gilman among the top 30 feeder schools in the US, signifying the high rate of matriculation by Gilman graduates at top colleges and universities. Its graduates are known to be intensely loyal to the school. Examining the school's 2010 data, it was noted approximately 75% of the Board of Trustees were graduates of the school, one of the highest percentages of any educational institution in the US. Of Gilman's 16 varsity athletic programs, 15 have won conference championships since 2000, and in recent years its football, track & field, and lacrosse teams have appeared at or near the top of national rankings.
Prominent graduates of Gilman include author Walter Lord, sportswriter Frank Deford, Arizona Governor Fife Symington, Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich, US Senator Daniel Brewster, US Congressman John Sarbanes, and composer Christopher Rouse.

History

Gilman was founded as The Country School for Boys by Baltimore resident Anne Galbraith Carey, with assistance from Daniel Coit Gilman. The school opened its doors on September 30, 1897, in the old "Homewood" Mansion, also known as Charles Carroll of Homewood, son of Charles Carroll of Carrollton. By 1910, J.H.U. began moving its campus north from its former downtown location along North Howard Street by Little Ross, West Centre and West Monument Streets, in the neighborhood of Mount Vernon-Belvedere to the newly named "Homewood" campus and constructing its first campus buildings of similar matching Georgian - Federal styles. In 1910, the Country School moved to its current 68-acre campus further north in the city to Roland Park, along Roland Avenue, just south of the Belvedere Avenue. Here was begun one of the first planned suburban developments in America by the new Roland Park Company in 1891. At that time the institution changed its name to "The Gilman Country School for Boys", in honor of the seminal figure in its founding, Dr. Gilman. In 1951, "Country" was dropped from the name.
Gilman has two sister schools: Bryn Mawr School, across Northern Parkway from Gilman to the north and Roland Park Country School, across Roland Ave to the west. All three schools coordinate some Upper School classes to the extent that some classes have students from all three schools.

Academics

The school has three divisions: Lower School, Middle School and Upper School.
At the Upper School level, students are required to take courses in history, mathematics, English, science, and a foreign language each semester; an intramural or interscholastic sport each season; and a minimum of art, music, and religion instruction over four years. Students must also fulfill a community service requirement and may choose to participate in a range of extracurricular activities. Gilman's Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics program was ranked #312 in Newsweek's 2019 nationwide survey of US high schools.
A number of courses permit cross-registration by students from two neighboring girls' schools: Bryn Mawr and Roland Park Country School. In turn, Gilman students, primarily seniors, are able to enroll in equivalent courses at these sister schools. Starting junior year, students are allowed to take necessary classes like English and other subjects at the sister schools. The school offers numerous courses, several through the tri-school collaboration. Cross-registration also allows for a variety of languages to be offered, which currently include French, Spanish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, and German.

Athletics

Gilman enjoys a tradition of athletic success. Since the year 2000, 12 Gilman varsity teams have won at least one conference championship. Overall, the school sponsors 16 sports; most teams have varsity and junior varsity programs, while some have fresh-soph and/or middle school squads.
Gilman is perhaps best known for its success in football and lacrosse. The football team has won 13 Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association "A" Conference championships in the last 20 seasons. The 2002 team finished 10–0 and was ranked 14th in the United States by USA Today's Super 25 high school football poll. That team featured the Associated Press's Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year in quarterback Ambrose Wooden and lineman Victor Abiamiri. Both players went on to star at Notre Dame, and Abiamiri played five seasons for the Philadelphia Eagles. The 2005 team was ranked 12th in the nation in USA Today's Super 25 high school football poll.
The lacrosse team, led by coach, upper school history teacher, and Gilman alumnus Brooks Matthews, was ranked the #1 high school team in the United States by LaxPower at the conclusion of both the 2008 and 2009 seasons. The team has captured 16 MSA & MIAA "A" conference titles. The lacrosse program has produced many stars in college lacrosse.
During the 2005–06 school year, six Gilman varsity squads won conference titles. In 2008–09, the volleyball team won its first MIAA title, while the squash and swimming teams also won conference championships.
Gilman's biggest rival is the McDonogh School, located in suburban Owings Mills. A football game between the two schools has taken place every fall since 1914. Gilman leads this series, 60-35-5, including a win in the 100th game in 2015.

Interscholastic programs

Fall offerings
Winter offerings
Spring offerings
Gilman's varsity athletic teams have won over 120 championships since 1940, including 41 conference titles since the MIAA was formed in 1994. The school currently competes in the association's highest grouping, or "A" conference, in every sport except for ice hockey.
SportMSA titlesMIAA conference titles
Baseball1976, 1990, 19931996, 2010
Basketball1950, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1965, 1965, 1967, 1968, 19802004, 2005, 2012
Cross country19801996, 1997
Football1940, 1941, 1966, 1967, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1986, 1987, 1990,1994, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015
Golf1974, 1977, 1979, 1987, 1990, 19911995, 1998, 2006, 2007, 2008
Ice Hockey2004, 2006, 2013, 2016
Indoor Track2011, 2012, 2015, 2018
Lacrosse1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1956, 1970, 1973, 1976, 1978, 1981, 19941995, 1998, 2000, 2009, 2011
Soccer1971, 19721995, 2001, 2010
Squash2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
SwimmingB conference: 1979, 1981, 1984B conference: 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011
Tennis1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1986, 19911998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
Track and field1978, 19851995, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019
Volleyball2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018
Water polo2000, 2007, 2019
Wrestling1953, 1955, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1984, 1990

Awards

Gilman confers over 50 awards at the upper school level for achievement in academics, athletics, student leadership, and extracurricular activities. Most prizes are bestowed on seniors; a smaller number are granted to underclassmen by design or as circumstances warrant. The majority are given on Awards Day, held each year in late May, while a handful of the highest honors are withheld until Founders Day, the day of Gilman's commencement ceremonies.

Notable alumni

Living