The First Student Enrolled
In the official school registry (see story No. 36) John Lee Baker, son of Mrs. Catherine B. Baker of 161 St. Paul Street is listed as student No. 1. Like the other 20 boys, he enrolled on November 21, 1873. Little is known about John besides his age (9 years, 10 months, and 9 days); height (4’ 4.5”); weight (74 pounds); hair color (light brown); and eye color (blue). It was noted that his father “kept store,” his mother was a dressmaker, and he had completed some grammar school. John did not stay long at McDonogh. On February 6, 1875, the records show that McDonogh’s first student “ran off.”
The First Black Student
In September 1959, John Milton Belcher III entered the first grade as the School’s first and only Black student. Eleven years later, due to the School’s gradual integration process (see story No. 66), in June 1971, he became McDonogh’s first Black alumnus.
According to the 150th Anniversary commemorative book, Becoming McDonogh School, Belcher’s parents, both educators in Howard County, firmly believed in rising above the many issues of discrimination and segregation they faced as African Americans. They also believed in the uplifting power of education and considered McDonogh the best college preparatory school in the region for their “extremely well-prepared son.” The authors noted, “Milton characterized his time at McDonogh as multi-layered and transformative, ‘a dynamic of academic and extracurricular opportunity and of social emotional challenge.’ Being the only Black student among some 800 white kids was indeed challenging. Still trying to process his days at McDonogh today, Belcher identifies as a ‘race pioneer’ like his parents and grandparents, a ‘boundary crosser,’ and a lifelong learner.”
Milton Belcher earned a B.S. in math from Brown University, an Ed.M. from Harvard University, and a master’s in mathematics from Boston University. He became an educator.
The First Female Graduate
H. Stacey Boyer was McDonogh’s first female applicant, first female acceptance, and due to the fact that her last name began with the letter “B,” she was also the first female graduate. Stacey was one of eight girls who started at McDonogh in 1975 in their senior year. She first applied to McDonogh two years earlier when it was an all-boys school. Her brothers were already enrolled, so there wasn’t much thought given to the gender of the applicant. But Helen Stacey Boyer’s application was rejected once it became apparent that Stacey was a girl.
After receiving her McDonogh School diploma, Boyer went on to Duke University and then the University of Baltimore School of Law. A devoted McDonogh alumna, she is the longest-standing member of the Board of Trustees, has chaired and served on many committees, and held the role of secretary for almost 10 years. She has also been a McDonogh Fund volunteer and served as Alumni Association President. In October 2020, Boyer received the Distinguished Service Award. In accepting the Award, she noted that McDonogh gave her so many amazing life experiences and opportunities and that she wants today’s students to experience the same. She said she gives back so that McDonogh can continue to thrive for future generations, adding that her work on behalf of McDonogh is not done and that she plans to “be around for a long, long time.”
While Boyer was the first female accepted when McDonogh became coeducational, she was not the first girl to attend the School. In the early days, McDonogh was too far in the country for the daughters of faculty and farmworkers to get to public schools, so they attended classes with the boys. Col. William Allan’s daughters, Janet and Margaret, established the practice in the early 1880s.
