Loudoun County Public Schools

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Loudoun County Public Schools
"A Climate for Success"
School type	Public
Established	1870
Grades	K-12
Faculty	4,300
Staff	3,200
Students	50,039
Superintendent	Dr. Edgar B. Hatrick
School Board Chairman	Robert F. DuPree Jr.
Location	21000 Education Court Ashburn, VA 20148  United States
Information	571-252-1000
Website	www.loudoun.k12.va.us

Loudoun County Public Schools (abbreviated LCPS) is a branch of the Loudoun County, Virginia government, and administers public schools in the county. LCPS's headquarters is located in Ashburn, an unincorporated section of the county.

Due to the rapid growth in the region, LCPS is the fastest growing school district in Virginia and one of the fastest growing public school districts in the United States, serving over 50,000 students in the 2006-2007 school year.^[1] LCPS is the fifth largest school district in Virginia, surpassing the enrollment of Henrico County Public Schools in the 2006-2007 school year.^{[citation needed]} The superintendent of schools is Dr. Edgar B. Hatrick.

Contents 1 History 2 Management 3 Demographics 4 Schools 4.1 High schools 4.2 Middle schools 4.3 Intermediate schools 4.4 Elementary schools 4.5 Instructional centers 4.6 Future Schools 5 Curriculum 5.1 High Schools 5.2 Specialized Programs 5.2.1 ESL 5.2.2 Special Education 6 See also 7 External links 8 References 8.1 Citations 8.2 Sources

[edit] History

The public school system in Loudoun County was established in 1870 to fulfill the needs for free education after the Civil War and in an era of Reconstruction. For most of its history, LCPS has served a rural county, known for its dairy farms. Since the 1960s, Loudoun County's population skyrocketed, accompanied by that of the school system. Numerous planned subdivisions have opened since the 1980s and most of the county's eastern half is suburban or currently under development. Most of the western half remains rural; however, there remain numerous housing subdivisions countywide that are expected to be built within the next 10 years.^{[citations needed]}

[edit] Management

The LCPS system, while operated on a day-to-day basis by the Superintendent, is managed under the direction and authority of the Loudoun County School Board, a nine member panel elected by citizens in the county. Eight of the nine board positions are divided among voting districts that represent communities throughout the county, while the ninth seat is elected at-large by the entire county. The voting districts correspond to those used for Loudoun County Board of Supervisor elections. Unlike the Board of Supervisors, the chairmanship of the School Board operates on a rotating basis between members, while the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors is always the at-large seat. While the School Board makes decisions relating to school policy and curriculum, it receives funding through the Board of Supervisors.

[edit] Demographics

In the 2006-2007 school year, LCPS was 67.3% White; 8.2% Black; 12.4% Hispanic; 11.8% Asian; and 0.3% Native American.^[2]

[edit] Schools

[edit] High schools

All high schools serve grades 9–12 unless otherwise noted.

• Briar Woods High School, Ashburn
• Broad Run High School, Ashburn
• Dominion High School, Sterling
• Freedom High School, South Riding
• Heritage High School, Leesburg
• Loudoun County High School, Leesburg
• Loudoun Valley High School, Town of Purcellville (due to overcrowding, Loudoun Valley only serves grades 10-12)
• Park View High School, Sterling
• Potomac Falls High School, Potomac Falls
• Stone Bridge High School, Ashburn

[edit] Middle schools

Loudoun County currently has 11 middle schools, all of which typically feed into one high school currently, or in the near future. Older middle schools such as Simpson, Blue Ridge, Sterling, and Seneca Ridge originally were able to carry about 1,000 students, but have all went or are going through expansion projects that will allow them to carry 1,200 students once the projects are complete. Newer middle schools built since 1995 when Farmwell Station opened typically have capacities of 1,200 to 1,350 students depending on the age of the building and how fast growth was around the particular school when the school opened.

Serves grades 6-8 unless noted

• Belmont Ridge Middle School, Leesburg
• Blue Ridge Middle School, Purcellville (carries only grades 6 and 7)
• Eagle Ridge Middle School, Ashburn
• Farmwell Station Middle School, Ashburn
• Harper Park Middle School, Leesburg
• Mercer Middle School, Aldie
• River Bend Middle School, Sterling
• Seneca Ridge Middle School, Sterling
• J. Lupton Simpson Middle School, Leesburg
• Smart's Mill Middle School, Leesburg
• Sterling Middle School, Sterling

[edit] Intermediate schools

LCPS has one intermediate school in the western part of the county which serves 8th and 9th graders. This is only a temporary concept, which will end after a new high school opens in 2008 or 2009.

• Harmony Intermediate School, Hamilton

[edit] Elementary schools

LCPS currently has 44 elementary schools, which are nearly all community based, with over half of them opening in the last 10 years. Newer elementary schools throughout the county can carry approximately 800 to 875 students. Older elementary schools in the eastern part of the county can carry anywhere from 400-600 students. There are some rural elementary schools in Loudoun County as well, nearly all of them in the western part of the county. They are much smaller in size and are much older facilities, typically holding enrollments of about 100-150 students.

Serves grades K-5

Aldie Elementary School, Aldie Algonkian Elementary School, Sterling Ashburn Elementary School, Ashburn Ball's Bluff Elementary School, Leesburg Banneker Elementary School, Middleburg Belmont Station Elementary School, Ashburn Catoctin Elementary School, Leesburg Cedar Lane Elementary School, Ashburn Cool Spring Elementary School, Leesburg Countryside Elementary School, Sterling Dominion Trail Elementary School, Ashburn Emerick Elementary School, Purcellville Evergreen Mill Elementary School, Leesburg Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School, Leesburg Forest Grove Elementary School, Sterling Guilford Elementary School, Sterling Hamilton Elementary School, Hamilton Hillsboro Elementary School, Purcellville Hillside Elementary School, Ashburn Horizon Elementary School, Sterling Hutchison Farm Elementary School, South Riding Leesburg Elementary School, Leesburg

Legacy Elementary School, Ashburn Lincoln Elementary School, Purcellville Little River Elementary School, South Riding Lovettsville Elementary School, Lovettsville Lowes Island Elementary School, Sterling Lucketts Elementary School, Leesburg Meadowland Elementary School, Sterling Middleburg Elementary School, Middleburg Mill Run Elementary School, Ashburn Mountain View Elementary School, Purcellville Newton-Lee Elementary School, Ashburn Pinebrook Elementary School, Aldie Potowmack Elementary School, Sterling Rolling Ridge Elementary School, Sterling Round Hill Elementary School, Round Hill Sanders Corner Elementary School, Ashburn Seldens Landing Elementary School, Leesburg Sterling Elementary School, Sterling Sugarland Elementary School, Sterling Sully Elementary School, Sterling John W. Tolbert Jr. Elementary School, Leesburg Waterford Elementary School, Waterford

[edit] Instructional centers

• C.S. Monroe Technology Center, Leesburg (technical school for high school students and graduates)
• Douglass School, Leesburg (alternative education center)
• Loudoun Academy of Science, Sterling (specialized science and mathematics center similar to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Virginia)

[edit] Future Schools

• HS-3, tentatively scheduled to open in Purcellville in 2008-2009.
• Stone Hill MS scheduled to open in Ashburn in 2007-2008.
• MS-5 scheduled to open near South Riding in 2008-2009.
• Arcola Elementary School scheduled to open in Aldie in 2007-2008.
• Creightons Corner ES scheduled to open in Ashburn in 2008-2009.
• Kenneth Culbert ES scheduled to open near Purcellville in 2008-2009
• Rosa Lee Carter ES scheduled to open in Ashburn in 2007-2008.
• Sycolin Creek ES scheduled to open in Leesburg in 2007-2008.

[edit] Curriculum

[edit] High Schools

Students primarily attend classes on their home campus, but have opportunities to take additional, specialized courses at LCPS's magnet and alternative schools, such as science and math at Loudoun Academy of Science and vocational education classes at C.S. Monroe Technology Center.

Each school's instructional curriculum is set primarily by the LCPS district office based on Virginia Department of Education requirements. There are generally eleven academic departments, each supervised by a department head (usually a teacher):^[3]

English Mathematics Science Social Science

Band Fine Arts Health & P.E. Technology Education

World Languages ESL Career & Technical

The "core" courses of English, mathematics, science and social science typically have tracks or sequences that are determined by grade level (e.g. English 9, English 10, English 11, etc.; and earth science, biology, chemistry, etc.). This is true for some of the other course groups as well, such as world languages, physical education and fine arts. Additionally, many of the core courses are further arranged into basic/general, academic, honors and Advanced Placement (AP) classifications. Each classification generally denotes a progressively more challenging level of instruction, although the distinction between honors and AP is often blurred.

• English: Includes basic/general, academic, honors levels for all grades (with honors replaced by AP in 12^th grade. Electives, including composition, journalism, etymology, public speaking, and world literature are also offered.
• Mathematics: Includes algebra 1 & 2, geometry, as well as trigonometry, pre-calculus and calculus*, computer science*, probability and statistics, and discrete math (* AP level offered).
• Science: Includes earth science, biology, chemistry, physics. AP level courses are offered in biology, physics and chemistry.
• Social Science: Includes world history, Virginia and US history, and government. Electives are offered in comparative religions, economics, contributions of ethnic groups in America, philosophy, psychology and sociology. AP classes are provided for government, US history and world history.
• Fine Arts: Includes four progressive levels of art studies.
• World Languages: Includes American Sign Language, French, German, Latin, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.
• Career and Technical: Includes desktop/multimedia presentations, computer information systems, accounting, business management and business law.

Students attending Loudoun Academy of Science at Dominion High School in Sterling and C.S. Monroe Technology Center in Leesburg do so every other class day, taking their non-magnet classes (typically core courses, such as English, social sciences and electives) at their home campuses on the alternate days.

[edit] Specialized Programs

[edit] ESL

Nearly all LCPS schools offer a full English as a Second Language program for students whose native language is not English and who do not speak and/or read English well.

[edit] Special Education

LCPS offers a wide range of Special Education programs for students who have minor learning disabilities to those with mild to moderate mental retardation in most schools. If a student is severely mentally impaired, he or she attends a special county wide program at Loudoun County High School.

[edit] See also

• List of school districts in Virginia

[edit] External links

• Loudoun County Public Schools Homepage
• [1]Loudon County Public Schools Web page at Great Schools Web site

[edit] References

[edit] Citations

[edit] Sources