Western Albemarle High School
Encyclopedia
Western Albemarle High School is a public high school located in Crozet
, Virginia
and is part of the Albemarle County Public School System, serving the western and central areas of Albemarle County
. Its approximate enrollment is over 1000 students. The high school is often simply referred to as Western or WAHS by students and locals.
on a seventy-five acre site adjacent to Highway
250
and Interstate
64
. The school serves the western portion of Albemarle County, and is fed into by J. T. Henley Middle School. Recently, Jack Jouett Middle School was redistricted so that its students attend Albemarle High School exclusively.
Western Albemarle High School also hosts the Destination ImagiNation
tournament for the Jefferson District
.
In January 2008, it was announced that Western was one of two schools (along with Murray Elementary) in the County that received the Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence. This was the highest honor in the new incentive program for schools and school divisions created by the Board of Education to advance Governor Kaine’s “competence to excellence” agenda.
Western Albemarle belongs to the Jefferson District of Region II
of the Virginia High School League
and has had success in multiple sports such as cross country running
, baseball
, swimming and diving, tennis
, and lacrosse
. The WAHS track team is a perennial contender for states, and in 2011, even sent several relay teams to the national track competition. In 2004-2005, the school won 21 district, regional, and state tournament championships. The school offers the following programs:
The WAHS Rowing Team is also a fast-growing program.
Western's Scholastic Bowl team has competed in the state championships from 2008-2010.
In 2006, a 16-year-old Western Albemarle High School student and a 15-year-old Albemarle High School student were arrested after it was discovered that they were plotting to detonate explosives at their schools. The students were both found guilty of conspiracy
to commit murder and conspiracy to use explosives to destroy a school house, and have been committed to the juvenile justice system.
In 2008, the school was ranked 417 of 1358 of the top 5% of U.S. high schools by Newsweek
, placing it in the 98th percentile of school quality. It is also ranked in the top 10 of the state of Virginia.
Crozet, Virginia
Crozet is a census-designated place in Albemarle County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is situated along the I-64 corridor approximately west of Charlottesville and east of Staunton. Originally called "Wayland's Crossing", it was renamed in 1870 in honor of Colonel Claudius Crozet, the...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and is part of the Albemarle County Public School System, serving the western and central areas of Albemarle County
Albemarle County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 79,236 people, 31,876 households, and 21,070 families residing in the county. The population density was 110 people per square mile . There were 33,720 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile...
. Its approximate enrollment is over 1000 students. The high school is often simply referred to as Western or WAHS by students and locals.
About the school
Western Albemarle High School opened in September 1977. It is situated at the foot of the Blue Ridge MountainsBlue Ridge Mountains
The Blue Ridge Mountains are a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian Mountains range. This province consists of northern and southern physiographic regions, which divide near the Roanoke River gap. The mountain range is located in the eastern United States, starting at its southern-most...
on a seventy-five acre site adjacent to Highway
United States Numbered Highways
The system of United States Numbered Highways is an integrated system of roads and highways in the United States numbered within a nationwide grid...
250
U.S. Route 250
U.S. Route 250 is a route of the United States Numbered Highway System, and is a spur of U.S. Route 50. It currently runs for from Sandusky, Ohio to Richmond, Virginia. It passes through the states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio. It goes through the cities of Richmond, Virginia,...
and Interstate
Interstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
64
Interstate 64
Interstate 64 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. 40, and U.S. 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at an interchange with I-264 and I-664 at Bowers Hill in Chesapeake, Virginia. As I-64 is concurrent with...
. The school serves the western portion of Albemarle County, and is fed into by J. T. Henley Middle School. Recently, Jack Jouett Middle School was redistricted so that its students attend Albemarle High School exclusively.
Destination ImagiNation
Destination ImagiNation Inc. or DI is a creative problem solving organization for youth and adults. Destination ImagiNation's educational goals are to foster creative and critical thinking, to develop teamwork, collaboration and leadership skills, and to nurture research and inquiry skills...
tournament for the Jefferson District
AA Jefferson District
The AA Jefferson District is a district in the Region II of the Virginia High School League. There are eight member schools. The District is named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, and as might be guessed, member schools are clustered around Charlottesville...
.
In January 2008, it was announced that Western was one of two schools (along with Murray Elementary) in the County that received the Governor’s Award for Educational Excellence. This was the highest honor in the new incentive program for schools and school divisions created by the Board of Education to advance Governor Kaine’s “competence to excellence” agenda.
Sports
AA Region II
Region II is one of the four AA regions in the Virginia High School League. It is made up of four districts: the AA Dulles District, the AA Evergreen District, the AA Jefferson District and the AA Northwestern District....
of the Virginia High School League
Virginia High School League
The Virginia High School League is the arbiter of interscholastic competition among public high schools in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Unlike similar organizations in many other states, private or religious schools are prohibited from joining. Non-public schools belong to other organizations,...
and has had success in multiple sports such as cross country running
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, swimming and diving, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, and lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
. The WAHS track team is a perennial contender for states, and in 2011, even sent several relay teams to the national track competition. In 2004-2005, the school won 21 district, regional, and state tournament championships. The school offers the following programs:
- Boys' Football
- Girls' Volleyball
- Girls' Field Hockey
- Boys' and Girls' Golf
- Boys' and Girls' Basketball
- Boys' and Girls' Swimming and Diving
- Boys' and Girls' Lacrosse
- Boys' and Girls' Indoor Track
- Boys' and Girls' Outdoor Track
- Boys' and Girls' Cross Country
- Boys' and Girls' Tennis
- Boys' and Girls' Soccer
The WAHS Rowing Team is also a fast-growing program.
Western's Scholastic Bowl team has competed in the state championships from 2008-2010.
In the news
Conspiracy (crime)
In the criminal law, a conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to break the law at some time in the future, and, in some cases, with at least one overt act in furtherance of that agreement...
to commit murder and conspiracy to use explosives to destroy a school house, and have been committed to the juvenile justice system.
In 2008, the school was ranked 417 of 1358 of the top 5% of U.S. high schools by Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
, placing it in the 98th percentile of school quality. It is also ranked in the top 10 of the state of Virginia.