Lansdowne High School celebrates new building with ribbon cutting in Baltimore County

Students, alumni and staff are celebrating a new Lansdowne High School in Baltimore County.

The new building is 100,000 square feet larger than the previous one, and it can now hold 1,759 students.

It was revealed in a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday morning, accompanied by performances from student dancers and musicians.

"Today's ribbon-cutting ceremony is so much more than a ribbon. It's about a community who believed its children deserved more," said Principal Allison Seymour.

Decade in the making

The project was a decade in the making after one teacher stood before the Board of Education to advocate for a new school in January 2016. That voice was joined by many others dedicated to the future of the students.

In October 2022, ground broke on the new building.

Seymour said the new school is evidence of what can happen when a community advocates for its children, and it will be a place for new passions to grow.

"But as proud as we are of this building, today simply cannot be about what has been built," said Seymour.  "It must also be about what we build here. Because a new building gives us new opportunities, but it's what happens inside these walls, that will ultimately define its legacy."

The $166 million project includes a two-story physical education and fine arts wing, a multi-use common area, and new athletic fields.

"Facilities do make an incredible difference in education, and when we build new school buildings such as this, we create learning environments better suited to the needs of our students and educators now and in the future," announced Jane Lichter, the Baltimore County Board of Education Chair.

"Big future ahead of us"

One Class of 2028 student, Loc Huynh, shared his excitement for the new construction with the crowd.  

"With this new school, we have an auditorium where we can gather and work together as we continue to grow and be the students that we are," he said. "We have a cooking class where we learn new skills and beautiful opportunities ahead of us. We have a big staircase, leading us to the possible and big future ahead of us and all across the school."

Baltimore County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. William Heiser, Baltimore County Executive Kathy Klausmeier, and Rep. Johnny Olszewski were among those in attendance Wednesday. Olszewski, who helped secure funding for the new school when he was county executive, handed the principal a certificate on behalf of the entire federal delegation.

The original Lansdowne High School was constructed in 1963.

Additional Baltimore County schools are also set to undergo upgrades. Towson High, which is facing overcrowding, will get a renovation and an addition in four years. A completely new building is expected to replace Dulaney High School in two years, and Scotts Branch Elementary could see a new school in just a year.