 The creation of a male high school " in which the higher branches of English and classical literature should be taught exclusively " was authorized unanimously by the Baltimore City Council on March 7 , 1839 . The school opened its doors October 20 , 1839 with 46 students . Those enrolled were offered two academic tracks , a classical literature track and an English literature track . The sole instructor for both tracks was the educator and poet , Nathan C. Brooks , who also served as principal . To accommodate the two tracks , Brooks split the school day into two sections : one in the morning from 9 am to 12 am , and another in the afternoon from 2 pm to 5 pm . During the morning session , students studied either classics or English ; however , the afternoon was devoted to English . In 1849 , after a decade of service , Prof. Brooks resigned as principal of the school , which had now grown to include 232 students and 7 teachers , excluding Brooks . 
