Bowie High School

15200 Annapolis Road

Bowie, MD 20715

School District

Prince George's County Public Schools
Grade

9-12
Teacher/Student Ratio

1:16
Type

public

School Map for Prince George's County Public Schools

GreatSchools Rating

The school rating calculation is based on four ratings: the Student Progress Rating or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, Equity Rating, and Test Score Rating each designed to show different facets of school success. Learn more about GreatSchools Ratings

Reviews

Submitted by parent on March 09, 2024

My child is a current student here and the experience has been great. The teachers, administrators, coaches, and resource officers are all supportive. My child is in the homeland security/criminal justice program and is planning to take college courses at Bowie State University through the dual enrollment program. The marching band is the best in the County, if not the State. The athletic department is well managed and well coached with several of the sports teams competing in playoffs/championships.
Submitted by parent on February 07, 2024

Great School it is very safe and your child is in good hands at this school. The education was top teir and your child will really learn and thrive at this school.
Submitted by student on February 01, 2024

In my 3+ yrs as a student at BHS, I have had many great teachers. Overall, they have been very caring and supportive. Because of them, I am getting into the college of my choice! My biggest complaint about the school is the building itself. The school building is old. It needs new bathrooms and stuff like that. But when I compare my stories to my friends at other schools, I am very happy with my experience at Bowie.
Submitted by parent on January 24, 2024

We came to this school from another nearby district, and I have been very impressed. The teachers have high expectations for the students, and the principal / administrators have been very responsive & communicative. The athletics programs are well-organized and well-supported, and their are many creative and performing arts options for students as well. My child and I are very happy at Bowie High School.
Submitted by parent on November 18, 2023

While no school is perfect, overall both of my kids have found their niches academically and socially at Bowie High School. The Marching Band is excellent and has a very strong support for the kids and the Summit Program provides a challenging and academically enriching learning environment. While we have had some frustration with slow response from teachers and administrators, the principal has been very responsive.
Submitted by parent on February 15, 2023

This school is not managed effectively. The special education program does not function as intended and the program leadership lacks follow-through.. For a student transitioning into/ back into the public setting the appropriate supports are not in place. It is too easy for kids to be able to come and go from the main building as there is very limited to no security provided outside of the building. With this school my suggestion is to not believe the hype of its location. While not the worst school in PG County it is also certainly not the best. And the principal is of no support and does not seem to understand the majorty demographic of the students that attend his school.
Submitted by parent on May 11, 2021

I can’t give more than 2 stars because my child’s academic advisor was absolutely awful. No words can express my level of disappoint in her apathy, unprofessionalism and rudeness. My child missed so many opportunities, especially scholarships, because this advisor refused to do her job. The school has not done anything about this person the last I checked. Thank goodness my child graduated and can move on with her life.
Submitted by parent on January 08, 2019

It wasn't great when my daughter attended back 2012 and now have a middle child getting ready to enter this fall, totally considering moving out the county just because of the school system. The community is great, it's the kids at the school, surprised that it is even scoring a 5 out of 10.
Submitted by student on August 17, 2018

(Remember, this review is from the perscpeitve of a Summit student, Bowie’s program for those who are generally considered their best students coming in)Overall my experience at Bowie so far (I’m going to be a senior in September) hasn’t been stellar. Setting aside personal stuff, it’s just not that great of a school. The Teachers in generally are pretty meh. There are some really good one (like the Summit English 10 teacher), but most of them are just ok. The bad teachers are REALLY bad. Even some of the AP teachers are pretty bad (AP World and AP Art History). From my experience, the French teacher, Algebra II teacher, and chemistry teachers are all quite bad. (If you’re thinking about going here, PLEASE get as many language credits as possible in Middle school). The Technology department is a complete joke, there whole weeks in Tech Design class where we did precisely nothing at all. The building isn’t great, and the bathrooms often lack basics like soap and paper towels. However, in my opinion the WORST part of Bowie is the students. Most of them are obnoxious jerks who don’t take the opportunity they were given seriously at all. Even the so called “smart” kid use their phones in class and regularly fail to do basic instructions. I’ve had so many classes with decent teachers made terrible by an awful class. They just do not care, and it unfortunately holds back the kids who really do. And the teachers usually just let it slide. They show up late to class with a chick fil a bag in hand and face no consequences. Or turn in assignments three months late and it’s still accepted. They can’t even get quiet at a freakin assembly for god sakes. Yet they still complain and whine about how they can’t to this and this teacher sucks (even though they don’t even try to listen during their class) and blah blah blah. Hey, maybe we don’t have open lunch because you guys clearly wouldn’t be able to handle it. The dumbest incident I’ve ever seen in school was when some geniuses decided to bring FIREWORKS and SMOKE BOMBS to our school and had the entire school sitting outside for over a hour, wasting time. Not to mention the fights. They honestly take what is an average, meh school and make it worse.So yeah, overall not a great school. (Also, the Summit program is essentially meaningless after 9th grade, just adds more graduation requirements
Submitted by student on February 22, 2018

Bowie High School is not the worst school in the area, that’s true. Doesn’t change the fact that it’s an overcrowded, underfunded mess. There are no resources, the heat doesn’t work, most teachers are downright awful and the students are out of control.
Submitted by student on January 30, 2018

My experience as a student at Bowie High has been awful. The building is disgusting, full of roaches and rats, and crumbling in some places. There are never enough resources like soap, paper, tissues, etc. Security does little to nothing to control rowdy students and fights are a constant. The cafeteria is disgusting and not kids eat out of the vending machines. Administration spends all the funds on sports- like a brand new football field- and ignores academics entirely, despite the fact that the football team hasn’t won a homecoming game in over a decade. There are a few amazing teachers but most others have either given up or contribute to the chaos actively. The school is HUGELY overcrowded, despite there being an entire separate building for the freshmen, and there is never enough to go around. Attempts at school spirit are openly mocked and every student counts down until graduation, when they can get the hell out of here.
Submitted by parent on May 17, 2017

My child has homework everyday. The new Principal is great. They are moving in the right direction. May God bless the students and staff!
Submitted by student on May 03, 2017

In all honestly i hate Bowie, little is done toward education( no homework or reviews) half of the students can barely pass in my class. The admins suspend children for no reason when there are bigger problems in the school . From jumping kids, lighting fires in the bathroom, and many teachers only teach from the book which many kids can not follow. Bowie is more concerned with looking good then helping students understanding the work. Please do not send your kids here unless you want them to sit around for 8 hours and learn nothing. Another thing teachers at Bowie do a terrible job at teaching so after school there is tutoring for upwards of $40 dollars a hour for learning that should be taught in class and free.
Submitted by other on February 03, 2017

Summit Scholars program is amazing and very recommended. Overall a solid school with a lot to offer to all demographics. Good teachers and a great new principle moving the school forward.
Submitted by student on January 24, 2015

If you are nervous about sending you r child to Bowie here's everything you need to know. Urge your child to try for the SUMMIT program, this is program gives your child higher classes from the very first day of 9th grade. Also there are at the max 65 kids in the program for your grade. These are the kids that your child will be around for the next 4 years. To get into the program you have to have at-least a 3.0 all throughout their 7th grade year and the 1st quarter of their 8th year, with no behavior problems. If they don't make SUMMIT then try to get them into honors classes.But make sure that they are involved in extracurricular activities, they definitely help seperate the people that you should steer away from and the people you should start getting close to and be around with. This will keep your child out of trouble AND have good high school years . ~CLASS OF 2015 WE OUT!!!!!!!!!!
Submitted by parent on November 29, 2014

excellent teachers, cooperative administration, great resources for parents to participate and contributing to the school.
Submitted by parent on June 27, 2014

The Honors and AP classes are great and most of those students work hard. I have heard that it is different in many of the regular classes.
Submitted by student on April 29, 2014

its alright unorganized at times and underfunded but its still alright, could do better with the math teachers and their inability to speak fluent english; A lot of the other reviews are bad and bashing the teachers but its not completely their fault, We still have the highest test scores in the county so to call us stupid is asinine -current bowie high student class of 2015
Submitted by parent on April 25, 2014

This school is not up to par academically. I have met with counselors and administrators about disruptive behavior during my child's class. In September 2013 I repeatedly made them aware of my concerns because I am a parent who truly cares about my child's education. As of April 2014 nothing has improved. The teachers do not give students feedback. They fail to give tests or homework back to the students in order to allow them an opportunity to improve and enhance their performance. Teachers spend more of their time out of the classroom instead of teaching the class and insuring those students that want to learn actually can. Seriously the teachers need to stop getting paid to do nothing and get some teachers who really care about educating our children.
Submitted by parent on February 19, 2014

From the first day of registration, my experience with this school has been poor. The students are out of control. They don't listen to the teachers. The staff is unprofessional. Everything that the school secretary, Mrs. Lee told us was false. As far as their "No Bullying policy", that's a joke. There are fights there almost daily according to my child. I would definitely consider another school if you're able. I wish I had looked at the reviews before I enrolled my child, which took almost 2 weeks because they would not accept my proofs of residency. I've never had such a traumatic experience with a school. It's an awful school. This is my opinion, and I am very much into my child's education. I am sure some others may not agree, but this is my honest opinion from what I've experienced at Bowie High School. Also if you saw other reviews on this school, you would definitely see that there is definitely a cause for concern at this High School.