| L. C. Bird High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
| 10301 Courthouse Road Chesterfield, Virginia 23832-6616 |
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| Information | |
| School type | Public high school |
| Founded | 1978 |
| School district | Chesterfield County Public Schools |
| Superintendent | Dr. Marcus Newsome |
| Principal | Dr. Laura B. Hebert |
| Assistant principals | Dr. Jim Glass Adrienne Blanton Terri Hathaway Quincy Waller |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 1,876 (2006-2007) |
| Language | English |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Navy Blue, Skyhawk Blue, White |
| Athletics conference | Virginia High School League AAA Central Region AAA Dominion District |
| Mascot | Skyhawk |
| Rival | Thomas Dale High School |
| Website | Official Site |
Lloyd C. Bird High School is a public high school in Chesterfield, an unincorporated community in Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States. It is part of Chesterfield County Public Schools and is located at 10301 Courthouse Road.
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L.C. Bird High School has consistently reached AYP according to the standards of No Child Left Behind each year since the inception of the program. L.C. Bird High School also is the home of the Governor's Career and Technical Academy for Engineering Studies unique to Chesterfield County. The performing arts programs puts on plays, concerts, and displays.
The mascot is a skyhawk and the sports teams play in the AAA Dominion District and Central Region. The Skyhawks' most notable team sport is varsity football, being ranked 42nd nationally (through 2009) by winning percentage of all the high schools in the United States with over 300 games played. They have also won 21 district championships in 33 years of play and have won the Dominion District football championship for the past 10 consecutive years.
The L. C. Bird High School Band, which has 130 members, is one of the larger high school bands in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The L.C. Bird Band is well known for its 21 year consecutive achievement of obtaining a "superior" rating at the VBODA State Concert Festival. The L.C. Bird Band also has held its spring concert in Richmond's Landmark Theater, the only high school band to ever hold a solo concert there. The band is also a 14-time Commonwealth of Virginia Honor band, which makes them one of only 25 bands in the state of Virginia to achieve 10 Honor Band Awards. Also part of the L. C. Bird High School Band is the Skyhawk Marching Band. The Skyhawk Marching Band is known as "The Band With The Sound." They compete in the AAAA group at competitions and have achieved 14 "superior" ratings at the VBODA State Marching Festival. The Skyhawk Marching Band has traveled to many places including Disney World, Atlanta, Georgia, Myrtle Beach, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Chicago, Illinois, and Ontario, Canada.
The first major director change in the band was when Earl E. Shaffer, Jr. took over the program in 1989 from Director Steven Blackstock. During his time, the band also experienced great growth. The band's size was 30-50 members large when the program was taken over by Earl Shaffer. After 17 years, the band had nearly 200 members. Many other directors came and taught with Earl Shaffer at L.C. Bird, many of whom went on to take over other prestigious music programs such as Daryl W. Kinney of Ohio State University, W. Christopher McCarney of Manchester High School, Richard Huggins of Salem Church Middle School and Steven A. Barton of Thomas Dale High School.
For 17 years, Earl Shaffer stayed at Bird. In 2006 however, Earl Shaffer announced he would be leaving for newly opened Cosby High School. In 2006, Emily (Marek) Oyan took over the program along with Marshall Jones (who had been a Director alongside Earl Shaffer the year before). Despite the obvious difficulties of any major director change, the band managed to maintain their excellence, and earned a Superior in Marching and Concert Band that same year (2006–2007). In 2007-2008, the Skyhawk Marching Band received an excellent rating at the marching band contest. The band was disappointed with their score, but felt that they performed extremely well under the circumstances. The Skyhawk Concert groups fought hard to maintain their level of excellence, receiving superior ratings in the Wind Symphony (under the direction of Emily Oyan) and Symphonic Band B under the direction of Emily Marek Oyan and Marshall Jones. The smaller Symphonic Band A received Excellent ratings under the direction of Marshall Jones. In August, 2008 Brian Morton became assistant director while Marshall Jones moved on to pursue a master's degree in conducting at George Mason. Both of these years the Skyhawk Band received the prestigious "Honor Band" title through their hard work and dedication to maintaining a level of excellence. This band is one of tradition and reputation. They are known throughout Chesterfield as THE BAND WITH THE SOUND.
| School Year | Marching Show | VBODA Marching Rating | VBODA Concert Rating | Ranked | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-10 | Romeo and Juliet | Superior | Superior | Virginia State Honor Band | |
| 2008-09 | Egypt: Of Sand and Sun | Superior | Superior | Virginia State Honor Band | |
| 2007-08 | Second Star to the Right | Excellent | Superior | ||
| 2006-07 | Music for a Darkened Theatre (The Music of Danny Elfman) | Superior | Superior | Virginia State Honor Band | |
| 2005-06 | Beach Week | Superior | Superior | Virginia State Honor Band | |
| 2004-05 | Taking Action, (Music from Action Movies) | Superior | Superior | Virginia State Honor Band | |
| 2003-04 | R&B, Pop, and Rock Music of the 60s | Excellent | Superior | ||
| 2002-03 | The Music of Andrew Lloyd Weber | Superior | Superior | Virginia State Honor Band | |
| 2001-02 | Magical Mystery Tour II | Superior | Superior | Virginia State Honor Band | |
| 2000-01 | Made in the USA II | Superior | Superior | Virginia State Honor Band | |
| 1999–2000 | Skyhawk Cafe | Superior | Superior | Virginia State Honor Band | |
| 1998-99 | A Night At the Movies | Superior | Superior | Virginia State Honor Band | |
| 1997-98 | Magical Mystery Tour | Superior | Superior | Virginia State Honor Band | |
| 1996-97 | Made in The USA | Superior | Superior | Virginia State Honor Band | |
| 1995-96 | Back to the Future | Superior | Superior | Virginia State Honor Band | |
| 1994-95 | Tribute to John Williams | Excellent | Superior | ||
| 1993-94 | Andrew Lloyd Weber : Phantom of the Opera and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves | Superior | Superior | Virginia State Honor Band | |
| 1992-93 | 70's Show | ||||
| 1991-92 | James Bond |
L. C. Bird was host of the Pre-Engineering Specialty Center for Chesterfield County, a specific application of the Specialty Center System in Chesterfield County high schools which allows students to attend High Schools outside of their districts to get an education concentrating in an area they are interested in along with earning their High School diploma. In 2009, the center was awarded the prestigious title of the Governor's Academy for Engineering Studies.
The Governor's Academy for Engineering Studies at L.C. Bird is led by Dr. Nancy Hoover, recipient of the 2005 Virginia Physics Teacher of the Year Award, and Physics teacher at L. C. Bird. She also obtained her PhD. in December 2009 from Virginia Commonwealth University.
The Governor's Academy for Engineering Studies is designed to give enrolled students a taste of engineering through Engineering classes throughout a student's four years in high school. These students are also held to a higher academic standard, and risk being placed on academic probation if their grades fall below a certain level. Because of this, and to boost the outward statistical appearance of the school, enrolled students are not ranked with the rest of the student body and cannot become Valedictorian or Salutorian.
The classes these students participate in include Foundations of Engineering (9th grade) taught by Dr. Nancy Hoover, Engineering Design (10th grade) taught by Mr. Ryan Westcott, Junior Seminar (11th grade, extracurricular after-school class) taught by Dr. Nancy Hoover, and Senior Seminar (12th grade) taught by Mr. Helmut Thielsch, all of which are honors-level courses.
The classes start out by educating students about the Engineering concentrations, engaging them in the thought process behind design processes, and teaching them to work well and efficiently in a team. As the student is promoted to each consecutive grade-level, the classes begin to concentrate more on the specific ways engineers go about designing and proposing their ideas. Senior Seminar, though, is quite different. Instead of focusing on the design aspect of Engineering, it focuses more on the mathematical side. The class exposes students to circuit theory, statics, and dynamics (among other side-topics), three very elementary courses in most upper-level Engineering curricula in college. Alongside these courses, students are also required to take Engineering-concentrated versions of the mandatory courses required by the high school of each graduate, like Biology or Chemistry. The Engineering English and Technical Writing course was discontinued in 2004 due to poor preparation of the students for 11th and 12th grade English courses.
They are also trying a new method for students who didn't enter into the academy as a freshman. They have a new 3 year program for students who are interested in engineering. They start as sophomores taking physics, and engineering design; in their junior year they split into different branches of engineering which are Aerospace, Architectural, Manufacturing and Bio Medical. They started this program in 2008.
The Governor's Academy continually places students at top Universities, including the University of Virginia, The College of William and Mary, Virginia Tech, and other top-tier Universities.