Liberty High School was established in 1980 in Eldersburg, Maryland as part of the Carroll County Public Schools system. The school's first graduation ceremony was held in 1982. Since that time, 32 classes have graduated from Liberty High School. As of June 2014, Liberty High School is ranked 59th in Maryland in administering Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate tests to students. Liberty High School's mascot is a lion. It is represented as an African lion; in comparison, Penn State College’s mascot, the Nittany Lions, is shown as a mountain lion, a species native to the United States. The school’s colors are the complementary colors blue and gold, or more accurately blue and yellow. The school motto is "Strive for Excellence". As of 2019, Liberty has been ranked 19th in the state, and 598 in the Nation for Education. In addition, LHS has five pillars of excellence, which consist of: Academics, Arts, Athletics, Community, and Service.
Students
Liberty High School enrolls 1,095 students as of the 2015-2016 school year.
Faculty
Liberty High School currently has a faculty of 132 teachers and staff. Liberty's staff includes teachers that have worked at the school since its founding in 1980, and several teachers and staff that are graduates of the school.
Administration
Kenneth Goncz, Principal
Meghan Brown, Assistant Principal
Todd Hicks, Assistant Principal
Brian Tombs, Academic Facilitator
Ed DeVincent, Athletic Administrator
Departments
Agriculture
Business
Child Development
English
Family and Consumer Sciences
Fine Arts
World Languages
Counseling
Health
Mathematics
Physical Education
Science
Social Studies
Special Education
Technology Education
Extracurricular activities
Liberty High School has a very wide range of extracurricular activities and sports. Students are allowed to join as many clubs and sports as they wish, however are only permitted to be President of a single club. Each club is sponsored by a member of the faculty who advises the club and helps direct its activities. Liberty High School is no longer the only school in Carroll County to host a robotics team, but has had the longest running robotics team in the county, since 2007.
As of 2017 there are 37 clubs offered at Liberty High School.
Robotics
Team 2199, the Robo-Lions, is a student run team that was founded as a Liberty High School sports team in the fall of 2006 following the collapse of the county wide team, 1464. However, the current relationship between the school and the team is a loose affiliation, with no legal ties, and the team is now open for membership from anyone living in Carroll County, Maryland.
Affiliations
In 2011, parents and teachers formed the non-profit PIE3 to fund robotics programs throughout Carroll County. In 2012, the Robo-Lions became a member of the Freedom Area Recreation Council. Currently, the team is working with Carroll County Public Schools to create a legal partnership with the school district.
Public Outreach
The team focuses not only on the robot, but also on public outreach to promote the growth of STEM in Carroll County. Currently, the team is mentoring 6 elementary and middle school age robotics teams, and the Robo-Lions have run the regional FLL Regional Competition, the Roar of the Robots, for the past 4 years. Additionally, team members also volunteer at competitions for FLL, FTC, and FRC. In 2012, the Robot-Lions started a summer Lego Fun Camp; students age 7-11 learn to work with the FLL technology to complete basic tasks, as well as engaging in other engineering related activities and crafts. Initially the team only offered one session, however in 2013 the team expanded the sessions offered to 3 due to popular demand. The team also offers a mentor training session for parents and teachers interested in mentoring FLL teams. Public outreach also extends to community events, such as elementary and middle school science fairs, public library events, craft fairs, the American Cancer Society's Freedom Area Relay for Life, and events coordinated through the Freedom Area Recreation Council. Additionally, the team works with Liberty High School clubs and organizations, including the drama club and the special education classroom, Learning for Independence. In 2010 the team built a robotic lamp post for the drama club's production of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe; in 2011, the team constructed a robotic crocodile for the drama club's production of Peter Pan. The Robo-Lions have also been featured on Fox 45 News, twice.
