South Lakes High School

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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, roughly a quarter mile away.

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.

Contents 1 Demographics 2 Test Scores 3 School Design 4 Athletics 5 Band 6 Political Science Program 7 Notable alumni 8 External links

[edit] Demographics

South Lakes High School's student body is 45% White; 30% Black; 20% Hispanic; and 5% Asian.

[edit] 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 910(300 in Critical Reading 320 in Math, and 290 in Writing).

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 Orlando Magic forward Grant Hill also attended South Lakes.

[edit] 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. Percussionist Kyle Brightwell, currently attending The Juilliard School, was a notable member of the band from 2002-2006. In March, 2007 the South Lakes Band traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana to participate in the prestigious Bands of America festival.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Notable alumni

• Alan Webb, Olympian and high school mile record holder (3:53.43)
• Grant Hill, NBA basketball player - Duke University
• 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.
• Brian Royal, NFL prospect
• Andrew Siciliano, broadcaster Fox Sports Radio, Fox Sports Net television, DirecTV Red Zone Channel, Arena Football
• Chris Royal, football player - Marshall University
• Marvin Wooten Jr., Howard University Football player, 2007 NFL prospect
• Michael Hersch, composer
• Robert Barrow, Basketball coach,Yulee High School

[edit] External links

• South Lakes High School website
• South Lakes Band homepage[1]
• South Lakes High School on GreatSchools.net
• South Lakes rivalry with Herndon High School
• Description of South Lakes High School renovation

• Maps and aerial photos Coordinates: 38.932400° -77.339500°
  • Satellite image from WikiMapia, Google Maps or Windows Live Local
  • Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
  • Topographic map from TopoZone
  • Aerial image from TerraServer-USA

Erik Lund- Professional Weightlifter