Spring Valley High School (South Carolina)

Spring Valley High School is located in unincorporated Northeast Columbia, South Carolina, USA, and is operated by the Richland County School District Two. Opened in the fall of 1970, it was for a long time the sole high school operating in Richland School District Two, replacing Dentsville High School.

History

The school had an unusual design. The main building was divided into octagonal 'pods', each containing eight chevron-shaped classrooms. This design was borne out of the open classroom concept that was popular during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the school's early days, classrooms within each pod had no walls, allowing students to participate in any one of several classes occurring at one time. This did not prove successful, and walls were later added to the classroom pods by the early 1980s.

In 2008, a new three story building replaced the pods as the new school building, integrating the original gymnasium and fine arts buildings as the only remaining pieces of the original campus.

Spring Valley Viking Band

The Spring Valley Viking Band is the marching band for Spring Valley High School. The first band took the field in 1971, a year after the school's opening. The band has won six South Carolina Band Directors Association 4-A State Marching Championships. They won five straight from 1974 to 1978 and won their sixth in 1983. The band also won three national titles, the De Soto National Title in 1974 and Cherry Blossom National Title in both 1975 and 1978.

In 1984 a festival form state competition was adapted so there was no state champion. This form was abandoned the next year when the band took second place. The band won the lower state championship in 1988. In 2007, the band took the best music score in class 4-A at the Lowcountry Invitational at Wando High School and received a superior at every competition. In 2012, the Viking Band entered class 5-A where they entered the finals in 8th place during the first year of the new classification.

Discovery Program

The Discovery magnet program is designed for talented students and focuses on science and math, first founded in 1995. These courses are honors level and required for all members of the Discovery program. All Discovery members are required to complete two college-level research projects during their sophomore and junior year. The completion of at least four AP courses (one math, one science, two others) is required for graduation from the Discovery program.^[1]

Athletics

State championships

• Football: 1973, 1974, 1975, 1988
• Boy's cross country: 2003
• Boy's track: 1988, 1989, 1991, 2003, 2013
• Girl's track: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2005, 2011
• Boy's golf: 1972, 1979, 1981, 1988, 1989, 1990
• Boy's tennis: 1974, 1982, 2010
• Girl's basketball: 1978, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2015
• Girl's cross country: 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
• Girl's tennis: 1988, 1989
• Softball: 1991, 1993, 1994
• Boy's soccer: 2007^[2]

Notable alumni

• Peter Boulware - former NFL linebacker for Baltimore Ravens
• Michael Boulware - NFL defensive back for Minnesota Vikings
• Ainsley Earhardt - Fox News Channel anchor
• Terrance Hayes - National Book Award winning poet
• Monique Hennagan - two-time Olympic 4×400 m gold medalist (2004, 2000)
• Danielle Howle - folk-rock songwriter
• Tyrone Leggette - former NFL defensive back for New Orleans Saints
• Lethon Flowers – former NFL defensive back for Pittsburgh Steelers
• Graham Spencer - co-founder of the Excite search engine
• Andre Roberts – NFL wide receiver for Arizona Cardinals
• Willie Williams - former NFL defensive back for Pittsburgh Steelers

References

Coordinates: 34°06′41″N 80°52′56″W / 34.1112627°N 80.8823099°W / 34.1112627; -80.8823099