Gar-Field Senior High School
38°38′44.95″N 77°18′19.07″W / 38.6458194°N 77.3052972°W
| Gar-Field Senior High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
14000 Smoketown Road Woodbridge , Virginia 22192 | |
| Information | |
| School type | Public high school |
| Motto | School of Champions |
| Founded | 1951 |
| School district | Prince William County Schools |
| School number | (703) 730-7000 |
| Principal | Brenda L. Aiken |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 2,602 |
| Color(s) | Red, Dark Blue |
| Mascot | Indian |
| Website | www.gar-field.org |
for schools of the same name
Gar-Field Senior High School is a Senior High School in Woodbridge in unincorporated Prince William County, Virginia, USA, with students in grades 9 through 12.
Gar-Field, established in 1951, originally was located at 15941 Cardinal Drive in until the current school opened in 1976 at 14000 Smoketown Road.
For the past several years, it has been one of the largest high schools in Virginia, with enrollment having peaked at over 3,000. Gar-Field graduates around 600 or 700 students every June, and since 2002 all graduations have taken place at the Patriot Center at nearby George Mason University in order to accommodate the large crowds. The high school's motto is "The School of Champions."
The name Gar-Field is derived from two prominent local families, the Garbers and the Manderfields, who donated the land for the original school just off of U.S. Highway #1. The comic strip "Ber-Mander", which appears on the back page of the school newspaper, utilizes the unused portions of these names. Ber-Mander was created by artist Chris Sprouse (a 1984 graduate of Gar-Field) in the early 1980s, and featured a "hippie" title character.
In the 1950s, Gar-Field was segregated, as were Virginia's other schools. However, in 1960, African-American students were enrolled without incident or acrimony.
Gar-Field is one of two high schools in Prince William County that offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program and the IB Middle Years Program ([1]). It also has the only accredited day care system of any high school in the state, with a program that allows student-parents to finish their education while learning about how to take care of their children.
In May 2007, Newsweek Magazine ranked Gar-Field 564th in the nation on its annual list of "Best High Schools in America."
In June 2007, former principal Roger Dallek announced his retirement, after over 20 years with Gar-Field. He was be succeeded by current principal Brenda L. Aiken in the 2007-2008 school year. Mrs. Aiken is a former resident of New York state, and has served for over 20 years with the Fairfax County school system
Demographics
In 2007-2008, Gar-Field's student body was 31.8% Black;, 23.3% White, 33.4% Hispanic, 8.3% Asian/Pacific Isaldner, 2.8% Other, and 0.4% N/A
Test Scores
SAT average: 971 (verbal - 489, math - 482)
ACT average: 20.8 composite
PSAT average: 138
IB Diploma Pass Rate: 86% (exceeds Va., US, and World average)
Notable alumni
- Glenn F. Ivey (State's Attorney for Prince George's County, Maryland)
- Emmylou Harris (Country Western Singer)
- Jeff Nixon (Professional Football Player)
- Rossi Alston (Judge)
- Paula Girven ('76 and '80 olympian)
- John Goding (Choreographer)
- Andrew York (Grammy Winning Recording Artist)
- Dr. Larry Loomis (Researcher in Tropical Disease)
- Benita Fitzgerald ('84 gold medal Olympian)
- Susan Walvius (women's college basketball coach)
- Jeff Baker (Colorado Rockies Professional MLB player)
- Bob Malloy (Texas Rangers/Montreal Expos Professional MLB player 87' and 90')
- Sheena Tosta (nee Johnson) (Olympic Hurdler; won silver in '08, did not medal in '04)
- Chris Sprouse (Comic book artist)
- Othell Wilson (American basketball player)
- Damon Lane Smuzynski (Chief Meteorologist/KTXS-TV Texas)
- Mario Reynoso (Prince consort of The Catalan Countries)
External links
- Official Gar-Field High School website
- Gar-Field IB Program Website
- Prince William County Schools website
