Centreville High School (Fairfax County, Virginia)

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Centreville High School
"Excellence in All Endeavors"[1]
Address
6001 Union Mill Road
Clifton, Virginia 20124
Information
School district Fairfax County Public Schools
Principal Michael Campbell
Staff approximately 230
Enrollment

2,331 (2007)

School type Public high school
Grades 9–12
Language English
Campus Suburban
Mascot Wildcats
Color(s) Light blue, black, and silver
Founded 1988
Feeder schools Liberty Middle School
Rival schools Chantilly High School
Westfield High School
Athletic conferences Concorde District
Northern Region
Homepage

Centreville High School is a public high school located in unincorporated western Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of Clifton.

Centreville High School is administered by Fairfax County Public Schools and currently enrolls 2,332 students in grades 9-12. The school colors are black, blue, and silver. The school also offers the AP program to its students. Although the school has a Clifton address, the school is located outside of Clifton and closer to the unincorporated place of Centreville. The town of Clifton is not served by Centreville High School.

Contents

[edit] History

Construction of what was then Braddock Park Secondary School, seen from the northeast, which is the closest to Braddock Park
Construction of what was then Braddock Park Secondary School, seen from the northeast, which is the closest to Braddock Park

The school originally opened as a secondary school in 1988 with grades 7-10 and an enrollment of 990 students, part of the "Superschool" idea. Superschools are no longer built in Virginia. The school was to be called Braddock Park Secondary School, due to its close proximity to Braddock Park. However, to avoid confusion with Lake Braddock Secondary School, the name was changed to Centreville Secondary School.

In 1990, county officials decided that a secondary/middle school was not needed in the area (due to the low enrollment) and Centreville became a high school. The first senior class graduated in 1991.

The school used to be called the "Trailer Park" because of all the trailers, a result of overcrowding. Beginning in the mid-1990s, the enrollment began to increase drastically and fill the school to capacity. At one point (circa 1999-2000 school year) there were 50+ trailer classrooms. This problem was fixed when Westfield was built and opened in Fall 2000. A few trailers are still present at Centreville, along with a modular addition called the Mod. The Modular addition should not be confused with the few trailers Centreville still has, as it fits several classrooms into one building, along with bathrooms and four entrances. For many years, FCPS had been installing external trailer classrooms when the interior capacity of the school building was not sufficient. Now, FCPS is installing more modular buildings at schools instead of trailers.

The drastic population increase in the Centreville/Chantilly area was an unforeseeable problem which was corrected by building neighboring rival Westfield High School in 2000. However, the Centreville/Clifton area no longer had a middle school due to the changing of Centreville from a secondary/middle school to a high school in 1990, and students were bused to Rocky Run Middle School, nearly six miles away. Liberty Middle School, built in 2002, corrected this problem. Unfortunately, Westfield is currently extremely overcrowded and has more than 40 trailer classrooms.

[edit] Demographics

In 2006-2007, Centreville's student body was 49% White, 28% Asian or Pacific Islander, 10% Hispanic, 9% Black, and 4% Other.

[edit] Test scores

Centreville High School is a fully accredited high school based on the Standards of Learning tests in Virginia. The average SAT score in 2006 for Centreville was a 1,568 (518 in Critical Reading, 541 in Math, and 509 in Writing).

[edit] Technology

Centreville is one of the most technologically advanced schools in the county[2] . Although some of the computers are 5+ years old, Centreville has six computer labs. Each academic department also has its own wireless computer lab (laptops with wireless Internet access) as well as three wireless labs that the media center allows teachers to sign up for. There is wired and wireless network and Internet access in every room of the school, including the cafeteria. Centreville currently has 992 computers and 83 wireless access points.

[edit] Theatre

Centreville's theatre program, currently directed by J. Mark Rogers, has won many awards, including Cappies in several categories[3]. The awards held by Centreville Theatre:

  • Best Song, Confrontation, Jekyll and Hyde, 2007
  • Nate Rossini, Lead Actor in a Musical, Jekyll and Hyde, 2007
  • Sarah Villyard, Lead Actress in a Musical, Fame, 2004
  • Eric St. Peter, Lead Actor In a Play, "Rumors", 2003
  • Best Play, Rumors, 2003
  • Tony Moreno, Cameo Actor in a Musical, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", 2001
  • Ali Miramany, Best Male Vocalist, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", 2001
  • Best Musical, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, 2001
  • Nicole McCarthy, Best Sound, "Macbeth", 2000

Centreville's theatre (the Roy A. "Skip" Maiden Theater, named for the first theatre teacher) has a seating capacity of 601 people. Centreville's program began in 1988 under the direction of Roy A. "Skip" Maiden. This program won the first State Championship for the school in Theater and went on to represent the State of Virginia at the Southeastern Theater Conference and placed First there as well. Two years later, the Centreville Theater again won the top prize in the State of Virginia for an original work entitled, "Alpha and Omega."

[edit] Athletics

Part of the stadium at Centreville
Part of the stadium at Centreville

Centreville plays in the AAA Concorde District of the AAA Northern Region.

In 2000, Centreville won the Virginia AAA Division 6 State Football Championship.

In 2000 and 2001, Centreville won the unofficial Lacrosse State Championship.

In 2001, Centreville won the AAA Concord District Basketball Championship. The team posted a school record 17 game winning streak during the regular season.

Josh Mosser and other football players commiserate after a 1998 defeat.  This photo by Robert Benson, titled Numb After Loss, won second place in the Sports category in the Military Photographer of the Year competition.
Josh Mosser and other football players commiserate after a 1998 defeat. This photo by Robert Benson, titled Numb After Loss, won second place in the Sports category in the Military Photographer of the Year competition.

Centreville's Men's Track team swept the Concorde District winning the Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field AAA Concorde District titles in 2005. The indoor team also won the AAA Concorde District and AAA Northern Region titles in the winter of 2006. In 2007, the Men's team won its third consecutive AAA Concorde District title.

During the Fall 2005 football season, the Wildcats were unable to defeat the Westfield Bulldogs, but they did defeat the then-number-one-ranked-in-the-state school, Robinson Secondary School.

The Women's Soccer team made it to the semi-finals of the VHSL state tournament after beating Lake Braddock Secondary School for the Northern Region title.

Centreville has one of the largest high school football stadiums in the county, surpassed only by a few larger schools such as Robinson Secondary School. Centreville's stadium, named after William E. Trussell, Jr., has a capacity of about 7,000.

[edit] Notable alumni

[edit] References

[edit] External links