Battlefield High School is a public secondary school in Haymarket, Virginia, located within the Gainesville District of Prince William County, and is part of Prince William County Public Schools. It is one of two Centers for Information Technology in the school division. The Prince William County School Division is the third largest school district in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the fifty-eighth largest school district in the United States.
Battlefield High School
| Established | 2004 |
|---|---|
| School type | Public School |
| Principal | Amy Ethridge-Conti |
| Location | 15000 Graduation Drive Haymarket, Virginia 20169 |
| Enrollment | 2,276 |
| Athletic Conference | Cedar Run District Northwest Region |
| Colors | Purple, Black, Silver |
| Nickname | Bobcats |
| Rival Schools | Stonewall Jackson High School Osbourn High School Brentsville District High School |
| Homepage | Official Site |
The communities served by Battlefield include Bridlewood, Bristow, Bull Run Mountain Estates, Catharpin, Coverstone, Dominion Valley, Evergreen, Gainesville, Glenkirk, Heritage Hunt, Lake Manassas, Piedmont, Rocky Run, Somerset, Town of Haymarket, and West Market.
School Overview
Battlefield High School was opened in September 2004 as the ninth high school in Prince William County.
Its first principal was Mr. Jack W. Parker, who retired in 2005. The current principal is Mrs. Amy Ethridge-Conti. Assistant Principals include Natalie K. Bonshire, Major R. Warner, Jr., and L. Edward Stephenson. Jane Sumner is the Specialty Program Coordinator and Lisa Zdravecky is currently the Teacher on Administrative Assignment. Mr. Ben Stutler serves as Director of Activities, and Ms. Danielle Gately serves as Head of Security along with the School Resource Officer, Officer John Tillman.
Battlefield offers a county wide IT-specialized program for qualified students. The program offers courses in computer science and programming, as well as advanced certification programs including A+, Oracle, Cisco, and Microsoft Certified Systems.
In both the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 school years, Battlefield High School was named a "School of Excellence" by Prince William County. According to PWCS, "a School of Excellence must be fully accredited by the state and ... must ensure that ninety-five percent of students beginning the year on or above grade level pass the SOL tests. They must also ensure that fifty percent of students beginning the year below grade level pass the SOL tests."
Accreditation
Battlefield High School is a fully accredited high school based on its performance on the Standards of Learning tests in Virginia since its opening in 2004.
Demographics
As of 30 September 2006, using the terms from the reporting instrument, the student body was 64.3% White, 11.9% Asian / Pacific Islander, 11.4% Black, 9.7% Hispanic, 2.6% unspecified, and less than 1% Indian/Alaskan. English is the predominantly-spoken first language of the population, followed by Korean. Over twenty countries of origin are represented in the student body.
Enrollment
Upon its opening for the 04-05 school year, the student population was approximately 1,100 students. With the addition of the senior class for 05-06, that number was approximately 1,750. The enrollment for 06-07 at of 30 September was approximately 2,257 students, with 724 students in 9th, 601 in 10th, 517 in 11th, and 415 in 12th grades respectively. The ancitipated enrollment for 07-08 is upwards of 2,600 students.
The on-paper capacity of the school is approximately 2,050, though the school's current enrollment seems to be fully contained within the existing facility. However, it is anticipated that the population may outgrow the facility starting in 2007, demonstrative of the rapid pace of growth in the region.
In 2004-2005, 5.57% of the student body was enrolled in Advanced Placement courses. In 2005-2006, that figure increased to 11.51% of the student body. In 2005-2006, 42% of graduating students received a Standard Diploma, and 50.4% of graduating students received an Advanced Diploma. Dropout rates have been less than 2% since the school opened in 2004.
For 06-07, the school began hosting its Air Force JROTC program, which is currently comprised of 135 students. The program is led by Lt. Col. R. Cartee and Chief Master Sergeant D. Woodiel, and instructs both aerospace history and engineering as well as leadership and community skills.
The IT Specialty Program at BHS stood at 415 students for 06-07.
Average daily attendance for 04-05 was 94.7%, and for 05-06 was 94.18%, with any duration departure from the instructional setting constituting an absence for purposes of reporting this statistic.
In the 2005-2006 school year, 90% of graduating students matriculated to a college or university, 49% to a four year program and 41% to a two year program.
Test Scores
As reported by the school division to the Virginia Department of Education, English Performance pass rates were 91% of 99% tested in 2004-2005, and 92% of 100% tested in 2005-2006. Mathematics Performance pass rates were 93% of 99% tested in 2004-2005, and 90% of 99% tested in 2005-2006. Science Performance pass rates were 89% throughout 2004-2006. Social Studies Performance pass rates were 95% for 2004-2005 and 92% for 2005-2006.
Athletics
The mascot is a bobcat and the sports teams currently play in the AAA Cedar Run District and Northwest Region. Active teams include Baseball, Basketball, Cheerleading, Crew, Cross Country Cross, Dance Team, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Indoor Track, Lacrosse, Outdoor Track, Soccer, Softball, Swim Team, Step Team, Tennis, Volleyball, and Wrestling. Battlefield also has a competitive corps-style field band.
Staff
Battlefield High School employs 223 total staff members, 143 of whom are members of the instructional faculty. 42 of the teachers are new for 06-07, including 28 newly-created positions. This includes a full security staff, and a full custodial staff. PWCS facilities were recently ranked the cleanest and best maintained on the eastern seaboard by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. As reported to the Virginia Department of Education, in 2005-2006, only four teachers in the building did not meet Federal standards for the definition of "Highly Qualified," less than the Commonwealth average of five teachers per school. As of 2005-2006, 48% of the staff had completed at least one graduate degree beyond the Bachelor level. Many teachers at Battlefield hold multiple graduate degrees and/or professional certifications, and several are actively involved in doctoral studies.
Facility Design
The floors of the school feature black tile borders along wall edges and school-colored purple lockers, configured "over-under" to provide two lockers per bay. The walls are white and power-efficient fluorescent lighting is used throughout, supplemented by natural light that enters through windows both in classrooms and in stairwells, as well as through the courtyard and large atrium in the center of the school. As is common practice with many modern schools, corridors are labeled with "road signs," helping students to navigate the large structure. At Battlefield, "east-west" roads are numbered strefjkdghfjkl;dghjkl;fdsund level beginning closest to the front of the school. On the upper level, Fourth and Fifth streets follow the same pattern. "North-south" corridors are "avenues," each beginning with an ascending letter of the alphabet and each named for something relevant to Battlefield's community. "Antioch Avenue" is the first on the ground floor, followed by "Bristow," "Catharpin," and "Dominion Valley" Avenues. On the upper floor, "Evergreen, "Freedom," "Gainesville," and "Haymarket" Avenues complete the grid.
Accomplishments
The Battlefield Robocats robotics team received the "Rookie All Star" award during both the FIRST 2006 Richmond, Virginia preliminary competition and the FIRST 2006 Columbia, North Carolina preliminary competition, qualifying the Robocats for the FIRST Robotics World Championship held in Atlanta, Georgia. The Robocats took the "Rookie All Star" award a third time during the Atlanta World Championships, making them the 2006 Rookie Team of the Year. The team is led by teachers Gail Drake and Michael Piccione.
The girls tennis team won the 2006 Cedar Run District and the Northwestern Regional title.
The Battlefield Band is a Virginia Honor Band, and is affiliated with the Virginia Band and Orchestra Director's Association, or VBODA. The band is under the direction of Matthew Brodt.