Hidden Valley High School (Virginia)
| Hidden Valley High School | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Address | |
|
5000 Titan Trail Roanoke, Virginia 24018 United States | |
| Coordinates | 37°13′15.3″N 80°1′3.13″W / 37.220917°N 80.0175361°WCoordinates: 37°13′15.3″N 80°1′3.13″W / 37.220917°N 80.0175361°W |
| Information | |
| School type | Public school |
| Established | 2002 |
| School district | Roanoke County Public Schools |
| Superintendent | Dr. Greg Killough |
| Principal | Lori Wimbush |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 1,154[1] (2009) |
| Language | English |
| Color(s) | Navy Blue and Gold |
| Athletics conference |
Virginia High School League AA Region IV River Ridge District |
| Nickname | Titans |
| Rival |
Cave Spring High School Salem High School Blacksburg High School |
| Website | http://www.rcs.k12.va.us/hvhs/ |
Hidden Valley High School is a public high school in Roanoke County, Virginia. It is one of the five high schools in the Roanoke County Public Schools system.[2] Hidden Valley High School is one of the two high schools, along with Cave Spring High School, that serve southwest Roanoke County.
Statistics
292 students are freshmen, 247 are sophomores, 293 are juniors, and 253 are seniors. 4% of the students are eligible for free lunches, and 3% are eligible for reduced price lunches.
History
Hidden Valley High School was opened for the 2002-2003 school year by Roanoke County public schools in response to overcrowding at Cave Spring High School. Enrollment at Cave Spring was limited to grades 10-12 in contrast to the contemporary educational preference to house grades 6-8 in middle school and grades 9-12 in high school. Hidden Valley was the first new high school opened in the immediate Roanoke Valley because of increased enrollment since the 1960s. There was significant debate about whether to split Cave Spring's student population into two schools or keep it intact in a renovated or newly constructed building because of the school's well regarded reputation in academics. Eventually, Roanoke County decided to build a second high school for southwest county.
The name Hidden Valley was selected to correspond to Hidden Valley Middle School in southwest county. The high school is not in the Hidden Valley section of Roanoke County and is a little over three miles from the middle school. Woods End, the designation for the tract of land, was also considered for the new school's name. The incoming student population selected the nickname Titans in response to the recently released movie Remember the Titans which dramatized the 1971 state championship football team from T. C. Williams High School of Alexandria, Virginia.
Alex Brenton, an accomplished politician, attended school here in the early 2000s.
Academics
Hidden Valley High School is a comprehensive high school which includes grades 9-12 with a student enrollment of 1,211. The school offers courses in multiple academic disciplines including Advanced Placement courses. The core classes provided include English, Government, Health/PE, Math, and Science. Speciality classes are also provided and include Art, Band, Business, Computer Science, Foreign Language, Marketing, Technology Education, and Theater Arts. Specialized arts and vocational education is available at places like The Burton Center for Art and Technology in Salem, or the Roanoke Valley Governor's School for Science and Technology in Roanoke. Pass rates for Virginia's Standards of Learning tests average over 90%, which makes the school fully accredited. Hidden Valley High formerly housed the Specialty Center for Mass Communications, until it was moved to The Burton Center for Art and Technology in the 2006-2007 school year.
Tennis
In 2003-2004, Hidden Valley's men's varsity tennis team won its first state championship, defeating the Blacksburg Bruins. Hidden Valley has had a relatively successful tennis program every year since.
Band programs
The entire band program makes up approximately 20% of the student body at the high school. The school has three instrumental musical classes during the school day: the concert band, symphonic band, and the wind ensemble. The three bands have earned an "Excellent" and "Superior" at the annual VBODA concert festival. Also provided are a morning and afternoon jazz band, a morning instrumental ensemble (which had to be cancelled for the 2010-2011 school year due to under enrollment in the class), and the school's "Mighty Titan Marching Band".[3] The marching band consists of over 200 members and has earned both "Excellent" and "Superior" ratings at the annual VBODA marching festival. The band is one of the largest in the state, a Class 5A band, and has earned a "Superior" rating in 2006 at the aforementioned VBODA State Marching Festival, from all 5 judges. Other musical programs offered by the school include music theory and choir. Mr. Barry Tucker, previous director of bands and teacher at Roanoke County Schools for almost three decades, stepped down from the head director position to take the position of "Coordinator of Music/Performing Arts" for the Roanoke County School System. His successor and previous assistant, Mr. Glen Gray, began his Hidden Valley High School career as of the 2007-2008 school year, but resigned after the 2009-2010 year due to family health problems. Mr. Gray's assistant director Mr. Dustin McCollum then took over the position of head director as of the 2010-2011 school year. Once Mr. McCollum left due to relocation, Staunton River Middle School assistant director, Thomas Galyen then took the position of head director for the 2012-2013 school year.
Choir Program
Hidden Valley High School also has a choir, who has been selected to perform in and has performed in the Disney World Candlelight Processional in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009. Various members of the choir also sang backup for Bob Carlisle when he came to Roanoke for a small performance in November 2004.
Clubs
Hidden Valley High School has a variety of clubs for students to join. These clubs include Archery Club, Beta Club, Drama Club, Debate Club, SCA, TSA, DECA, FCCLA, FCA, French Club, German Club, Latin Club, Key Club, Bible Study Club, Science Club, Green Club, Students for Life Club, Math Club, Dance Team, Young Republicans, Diversity Club, and Spirit Club, Tabletop and Board Game Club, and Amateur Radio Club. Their yearbook program has won the state title and has placed nationally every year the school has been open. Last year the program was nominated for a Pacemaker Award, and took second place in the CSPA Crown Category. Clubs must be sponsored by a teacher or staff member.