 Rev. Dr. Francis G. Waters , who had been the president of the Washington College , on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in Chestertown , succeeded Brooks . The following year the city council renamed the school " The Central High School of Baltimore " and granted the commissioners of the public schools the right to confer certificates to the high school 's graduates , a practice still in place today . By 1850 , growing enrollment necessitated a reorganization of the school . Under the direction of Waters , the school day was divided into eight periods lasting forty @-@ five minutes : four sessions were held in the morning and four in the afternoon . In addition to reorganizing the schedule , he divided the courses into seven different departments : Belles @-@ letters and history , mathematics , natural sciences , moral , mental , and political science , ancient languages , modern languages and music . Each of the seven instructors was assigned to a distinct department and received the title of " professor " . 
