Albemarle High School (Virginia)

Albemarle High School is a public high school serving grades 9 through 12. It is a part of Albemarle County Public Schools and is located just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. The principal is Damean Barfield, appointed in 2024.^[2]

Albemarle High School
Address
2775 Hydraulic Road Charlottesville , Virginia 22901 United States
Information
School type	Public high school
Motto	"Pursuing Victory With Honor"
Founded	1953
School district	Albemarle County Public Schools
Superintendent	Matthew Haas
Principal	Damean Barfield
Teaching staff	133.75 (on an FTE basis)[1]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,987[1] (2022–23)
Student to teacher ratio	14.86[1]
Color(s)	Red and Navy Blue
Athletics conference	Jefferson District
Team name	Patriots
Feeder schools	Journey Middle School Lakeside Middle School Burley Middle School
Website	Official Site

Albemarle High School offers Advanced Placement and dual enrollment classes through nearby Piedmont Virginia Community College.^[3] High school students can also study at CATEC, a program where classes are focused on technical education. CATEC was jointly administered by Albemarle County Public Schools and Charlottesville City Public Schools until 2023, where sole ownership of the program moved to Charlottesville City Schools.^[4]

Adult Education and English for Speakers of Other Languages programs are offered in the evening.^[5]

About the school

As one of four high schools in the Albemarle County public school district, Albemarle High School serves students primarily from northern Charlottesville.^[6] It is the largest school in the district.^[7] Its feeder middle schools include Burley Middle School, Journey Middle School, and Lakeside Middle School.^[8]

Albemarle formerly served as the host school for the county's four-year STEM magnet program, the Math, Science, and Engineering Academy (MESA).^[9] Following the district-wide cancellation of selective high school magnet programs in the 2021-2022 school year,^[10] MESA was replaced with the Solve Studio, a non-selective three-year pathway program also at Albemarle.^[11]

The school is currently ranked 147th within Virginia, and 7,295th in the United States.^[12]

Notable alumni

• R. J. Archer, Arena Football League quarterback; quarterback for the Georgia Force
• Steve Carter, Former MLB outfielder; played for the Pittsburgh Pirates
• Edward H. Deets, Rear Admiral in the United States Navy^{[citation needed]}
• David Dillehunt, film director, television producer, and composer^[13]
• Mark Linkous, singer, songwriter, and musician; leader of the band Sparklehorse
• Brandon London, CFL wide receiver; signed by Montreal Alouettes;^[14] former NFL wide receiver; attended Albemarle before transferring to Fork Union Military Academy
• James McNew, bass player; member of the band Yo La Tengo^[15]
• Nick Novak, scored 802 points in a 10-year NFL place-kicking career;^[16] attended the University of Maryland; finished career as the ACC's all-time leading scorer and 5th all-time in NCAA with 393 points; 13 seasons of professional football; 6th leading scorer in Chargers history; AHS Hall of Fame.
• Tommy Toms, former MLB relief pitcher; played for the San Francisco Giants
• Walter White, former NFL tight end; played for the Kansas City Chiefs; recorded 808 receiving yards and 7 touchdowns in 1976
• Jason F. Wright, New York Times bestselling author, speaker and columnist.

Notable faculty

• Frankie Allen, current Maryland-Eastern Shore head basketball coach; former Varsity Basketball coach^[17]
• Al Groh, former University of Virginia head football coach; began coaching career as an assistant at Albemarle^[18]
• Susan Paxman, editor of progressive magazine Exponent II 1984–1997, winner of constitutional action over maternity rights in the 1970s
• Steve Robinson, former Florida State head basketball coach; coached at Albemarle during the 1982–1983 season^[19]
• Eric Wilson, former NFL linebacker; head coach of the JV Boys' Basketball team^[20]

38°4′32.5″N 78°30′1.9″W