Staunton High School

Staunton High School is a public high school in Staunton, Virginia, United States. It is a part of Staunton City Schools, a public school district that also includes three elementary schools, a middle school, and an alternative education program.

Staunton High School
Staunton High School
Address
1200 North Coalter St. Staunton , Virginia 24401 United States
Coordinates	38°9′53.6″N 79°3′11.5″W
Information
Funding type	Public school
Motto	"Fate whispered to the warrior, 'you cannot withstand the storm.' The warrior replied, 'I am the storm.'"
School board	Staunton City Public Schools
Principal	Tammy Lightner [1]
Teaching staff	64.36 (FTE)[2]
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	755 (2017–18)[2]
Student to teacher ratio	11.73[2]
Language	English (Language Classes include Spanish, French, Latin, and American Sign Language)
Color(s)	Blue and silver
Athletics conference	AA Valley District
Mascot	Storm
Rivals	Waynesboro High School, Fort Defiance High School
Newspaper	The News Flash
Website	shs.staunton.k12.va.us
Staunton High School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Virginia Landmarks Register
Original complex
Show map of Virginia Show map of the United States
Location	274 Churchville Ave., Staunton, Virginia
Coordinates	38°9′53.6″N 79°3′11.5″W
Area	5.3 acres (2.1 ha)
Built	1926 (1926)
Architect	T.J. Collins & Son
Architectural style	Colonial Revival
NRHP reference No.	09000122[3]
VLR No.	132-0037
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	March 10, 2009
Designated VLR	December 18, 2008[4]

History

Staunton High School was originally opened in the early 1900s and renamed Robert E. Lee High School in 1914 during the monthly school board meeting held on April 30, 1914 at the urging of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.^[5]

In 1983, the school moved to what had been John Lewis Junior High School, on North Coalter Street. The original building subsequently housed a summer ESL school and a parochial school operated by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Richmond, and was later renovated into senior apartments.^[6] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.^[3]

In July 2014 The News Leader received a letter to the editor that suggested renaming Robert E. Lee High School;^[7] The majority of the newspaper's editorial board and key employees agreed and suggested possible names.^[8] In August 2017, in the wake of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the editorial board stated that it may be "tougher" to keep the school named after Lee.^[9] In October 2018, after months of debate, as well as "focus groups and community listening sessions" conducted by the Virginia Center For Inclusive Communities, the Staunton School Board voted 4–2 in favor of renaming the school.^[10] The next month, following a public survey with over 4,000 submissions, it was decided the school would return to its original name, Staunton High School. The change took effect on July 1, 2019.^[11]

Notable alumni

• Francis Collins – geneticist with the Human Genome Project^[12][13]
• John C. Reed – cell biologist with Roche Pharmaceuticals^[13]
• Larry Sheets – former MLB player (Baltimore Orioles, Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners)^[14]
• Frederick Swann – composer and concert organist^[15]

References

1. "Administration / Administrative Team". Archived from the original on 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2018-07-11.
2. "Robert E. Lee High". National Center for Education Statistics. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
4. "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
5. "Our high school's name is rooted in the Lost Cause". The News Leader. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
6. Mark McConnel (August 2008). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Robert E. Lee High School" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2014-01-25. and Accompanying four photos Archived 2012-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
7. Driver, David (Staunton, Virginia) (2014-07-29). "Let's rename Lee High". The News Leader (letter to the editor).{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
8. "Time for a renamed high school?". The News Leader. 2014-07-29. Retrieved 2017-08-21. – Statement by the majority opinion of the newspaper editorial board as well as three key employees: the publisher and president, the executive editor, and the editor of community conversations; the latter three were, respectively, Roger Watson, David Fritz, and Deona Landes Huff.
9. Editorial Board (2017-08-19). "Keeping R.E. Lee school name gets tougher with each racist clash". The News Leader. Retrieved 2017-08-21. – Statement by the majority opinion of the newspaper editorial board as well as three key employees: the president, the executive editor, and the news director; the latter three were, respectively, Roger Watson, David Fritz, and William Ramsey.
10. "STAUNTON CITY SCHOOLS FINAL REPORT" (PDF). September 2018. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
11. Stewart, Caleb. "Staunton School Board votes on new name for R.E. Lee High School". Archived from the original on 2018-11-13. Retrieved 2018-11-13.
12. Collins, Francis (1 July 2020). "Congratulations Class of 2020". NIH Director's Blog. National Institutes of Health. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020. Congratulations to the 200 members of the Staunton (VA) High School Class of 2020. As a proud Staunton High alumnus, class of 1966, it was my honor to offer a video commencement statement for this year's graduates.
13. Reed, John C. (February 15, 2012). "Francis Collins: 3 Scientific Breakthroughs Changing Medicine". MedScape. Archived from the original on July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020. My interest in science, which started with the usual chemistry set and asking myself "What can I blow up?" really was sparked as a 10th-grader by a chemistry class taught by a very gifted teacher, Mr. John House. I later discovered that was also the way your interest in science was triggered – by that same teacher in that little public school.
14. Wolff, Alexander (June 15, 1981). "He's safe at home". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.
15. Egler, Steven (November 3, 2014). "A conversation with Frederick Swann | The Diapason". The Diapason. Archived from the original on July 8, 2020. Retrieved July 8, 2020.

External links

• Staunton High School