Gar-Field Senior High School

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Gar-Field Senior High School was established in 1951 and the students went to school at 15941 Cardinal Drive in Woodbridge Virginia until the current school was opened up in 1971 at 14000 Smoketown Road in Woodbridge Virginia. It is a high school in Woodbridge, Virginia, with students in grades 9 through 12. For the past several years, it has been one of the largest high schools in Virginia, with enrollment having peaked at over 3000. Gar-Field graduates around 500 or 600 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.

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.

Contents 1 Demographics 2 Test Scores 3 Notable alumni 4 External links

[edit] Demographics

In 2006-2007, Gar-Field's student body was 36.6% Black; 33.9% White; 20.5% Hispanic; 6.4% Asian, and 2.6% Other.

[edit] Test Scores

Gar-Field Senior High School is a fully accredited high school based on its performance on the Virginia SOL tests. Its SAT average in 2005 was a 971 (489 in Verbal; 482 in Math).

[edit] Notable alumni

• Emmy Lou Harris (country western singer)
• Jeff Nixon (pro-football player)
• Rossi Alston (judge)
• Paula Girven ('76 and '80 olympian)
• John Goding (choreographer)
• Gina Dawes (first woman test pilot)
• Andy York (recording artist)
• Dr. Larry Loomis (researcher in tropical disease)
• Benita Fitzgerald ('84 gold medal olympian)
• Susan Walvius (women's college basketball coach)

[edit] External links

• Official Gar-Field High School website
• Gar-Field IB Program Website
• Prince William County Schools website