In 1839, the Board of School Commissioners of Baltimore City established the first public high school in Baltimore, City College. While public schools for white students of both sexes had been in operation since 1829, girls were not given the opportunity to advance beyond a "Primary" education until 1844. The Baltimore Board of Education wrote in 1843 that "[girls] who may have manifested superior abilities and attained suitable acquirements[sic] in the Primary Schools" should be given the same chance at a higher level of education as the male students, though girls were not given opportunities to study languages or advanced science and mathematics for several decades. (African-American children in Baltimore were not able to attend a public school until 1867, when the Baltimore City Council opened 13 primary schools for "Colored" students.) Believing female students too delicate to be able to assemble from across the city at one central school like boys did for City College, two schools for girls were established: Eastern and Western High Schools, named for their location in the city relative to the
Jones Falls. In order for a young lady to attend Eastern, she had to meet certain requirements: She had to be twelve or older, had to have spent at least one year in a female primary school, have good moral character, and pass an entrance examination. Additionally, there was a tuition of $1.00 a quarter unless a student could obtain a tuition waver from the Board of Education. Originally, girls could attend Eastern for three years; in 1867, this was changed to four years. During World War II, the students of Eastern were actively raising money through the sale of bonds and stamps. According to records kept by the War Stamp and Bond Project committee at the school, over $200,000 (1943 value) was raised from between December 8, 1941 to June 1943. In September 1954, following the decision in
Brown v. Board of Education, Baltimore city schools were integrated and African-American girls were eligible to attend E.H.S for the first time in its history. On February 20, 1970, the school dismissed students early in response to a student protest over a white teacher using an ethnic slur on a black student in class. The police were called and allegedly began beating students and using
mace (spray) and
tear gas to get them to go back to class or to get them out of the school. Another incident of police beating black students allegedly occurred at neighboring City College the same day. By 1984, the school was predominately African-American. In 1979, Eastern High School became coeducational and added on a business
magnet program to the regular curriculum. Additionally, after some years of serving the entire neighborhoods of
Ednor Gardens-Lakeside and
Waverly, it once again limited admission to those who met a series of criteria. Despite this, Eastern's time was coming to an end. In 1984, hoping to shrink a school system that had over-expanded in the 1970's, the Baltimore City Public Schools system included Eastern on a list of schools to be closed, citing low test scores, low admission, and cost of repairs for the building. Allegations flew that the real reason behind the closure was to provide more parking space for neighboring
Memorial Stadium, located at 900 East 33rd St. Already by this point, a large strip of lawn had been taken by the city from Eastern for the purpose of creating 1,200 new parking spaces at the stadium. An appeal was filed by supporters of the school but rejected. In June 1986, following the end of the school year, Eastern High School was closed for good. Many students, and the business magnet program ended up at nearby
Lake Clifton, at one point the largest public high school in America. Lake Clifton-Eastern, as it came to be known, was dismantled in 2003, though the building is still in use by the Reach! Partnership School. ==Locations==