Only Available to Students at Joppatowne High School
According to Harford County Public Schools website, “Joppatowne High School was the first school in the nation to offer a high school curriculum program for Homeland Security. The Homeland Security Emergency Preparedness Program is a signature curriculum that is affiliated with internships and instruction from area colleges and civil defense agencies.”
This is a great program for students, however, it’s only available to students that go to Joppatowne High School, and that’s because Joppatowne High School is not a Magnet School. That means that the students in other area s of the County don’t have the ability to go through this course, which in today’s world, does not make sense.
For several years residents, alumni and students of Joppatowne have been wanting to have Joppatowne High School become a Magnet School because of the Homeland Security Emergency Preparedness Program, but they’ve been told “No” because Harford County Public Schools can’t afford to bus students from other areas of the county to Joppatowne. However, students do get bused from Joppatowne to other Magnet Schools throughout the county.
Maybe one day Joppatowne High School will become a Magnet School once Harford County Public Schools understand that this is a great program and should be offered to other students in the county that may be interested instead of robbing them of the opportunity.
