South Lakes High School
| South Lakes High School | |
|---|---|
| File:Southlakeshs.jpg | |
| Address | |
 | |
11400 South Lakes Drive , 20191 | |
| Information | |
| School type | Public high school |
| Founded | 1979 |
| School district | Fairfax County Public Schools |
| Principal | Bruce Butler |
| Staff | approximately 200 |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 1,430 (2006) |
| Language | English |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Royal blue and Kelly green ██ |
| Mascot | Seahawks |
| Feeder schools | Hughes Middle School |
| Rival schools | Herndon High School Fairfax High School |
| Athletic conferences | Liberty District Northern Region |
| Website | http://www.fcps.edu/SouthLakesHS |
South Lakes High School is the primary high school for the community of Reston in Fairfax County, Virginia. The school, part of Fairfax County Public Schools, has about 1,500 students (2,000 after redistricting and current renovations are completed), in grades 9 through 12. The school was opened in 1979.
The school's curriculum offers special education courses, remedial coursework, standard courses, and college-level advanced courses. Advanced coursework is offered in the form of the International Baccalaureate program. The Advanced Placement program was phased out at the end of the 2002-2003 school year, with the cancellation of AP American Government. South Lakes also has an Army JROTC program.
The principal is Bruce Butler. The school also has 16 other administrators, including assistant administrators for each grade. Its feeder middle school is Langston Hughes Middle School, which is located just next door.
The school's mascot is the Seahawk. The colors are royal blue, kelly green, and white. South Lakes' cross-town rival is Herndon High School. The school newspaper is named the Sentinel.
South Lakes is currently in the process of a $48.2 million renovation plan, which is estimated to take three to five years to complete.
Demographics
South Lakes High School's student body is 50% White; 20% Black; 15% Hispanic; 10% Asian; and 5% Other.
Test Scores
South Lakes High School is a fully accredited high school based on the Standards of Learning tests in Virginia. The average SAT score in 2006 for South Lakes was 1550 (520 in Critical Reading, 528 in Math, and 502 in Writing)[1].
School Design
Reflecting an educational philosophy popular in the 1970s when it was built, South Lakes High School has an "open classroom" design, laid out in a quadrant (one quadrant area for each grade level) with an upper level and a lower level. Each quadrant is referred to as a "sub-school", labeled by colors: green for freshman, blue for sophomores, yellow for juniors, and orange for seniors. Within the open area of each quadrant, classrooms are created via temporary dividers. The original design was meant for each "sub-school" to be a classroom by itself; when it was found that it was difficult for people to learn in such a way, the dividers were put up.
Another unique characteristic of the school is that over 90 percent of the classrooms have no exterior windows. Although the school was designed by a builder who had previously designed a prison, the school was never meant to be anything but a school. Once renovation is completed, the temporary dividers will no longer be present.
Athletics
The mascot is a seahawk and the sports teams play in the AAA Liberty District and Northern Region of the Virginia High School League. It is best known for their boys basketball team which has been consistently one of the best teams in the Washington area. Former Duke guard and current Phoenix Suns forward Grant Hill also attended South Lakes. Additionally, Alan Webb, high school mile record holder and Olympian attended.
Band
South Lakes' band is led by Grayson Fore. The Marching Seahawks won First Place, Group IIA, at the USSBA, Northern Virginia Regional on Saturday, September 30, 2006. They also earned the distinction of Best Percussion and Best Music in their group. In addition to being ranked first in Virginia, they are 20th ranked in the nation. In March, 2007 the South Lakes Band traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana to participate in the prestigious Bands of America festival.
Political Science Program
South Lakes was a pioneer in the FCPS Political Science Program. A 1.5 credit class reserved for seniors, Political Science involves a one semester introduction to the discipline followed by a semester-long internship with a local government agency or organization. The class is taught by Wynndolynn Thompson, MPA who makes internship placement decisions based on student performance during the first semester classroom session. In the past, notable offices such as those of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. John Kerry have hosted interns.
Notable alumni
- Alan Webb - Olympian runner, high school mile record holder (3:53.43), and American mile record holder
- Grant Hill, NBA basketball player - Duke University
- Avail (except for Ed Trask)
- Spookey Ruben, pop musician - York University
- Michael Jackson, NBA basketball player - Georgetown University - Starting point guard on 1984 NCAA championship team
- Christy Winters-Scott, University of Maryland women's basketball star (and former assistant coach) and a former local broadcaster for WNBA Washington Mystics home games (led 1982 South Lakes women's varsity basketball team to Virginia state title). She is now the head girls basketball coach at South Lakes.
- Andrew Siciliano, broadcaster Fox Sports Radio, Fox Sports Net television, DirecTV Red Zone Channel, Arena Football
- Michael Hersch, composer