Gar-Field Senior High School is a Senior High School in Woodbridge in unincorporated Prince William County, Virginia, USA, with students in grades 9 through 12.
Gar-Field, established in 1951, originally was located at 15941 Cardinal Drive until the current school opened in 1972 at 14000 Smoketown Road.
For the past several years, it has been one of the largest high schools in Virginia, with enrollment having peaked at over 3,000. Gar-Field graduates between 500 and 700 students every June, and since 2002 all graduations have taken place at the Patriot Center at nearby George Mason University in order to accommodate the large crowds. The class of 2000 was the first graduating class to have the ceremony at George Mason University. The high school's motto is "The School of Champions."
The name Gar-Field is derived from two prominent local families, the Garbers and the Manderfields, who donated the land for the original school just off of U.S. Highway #1. The comic strip "Ber-Mander", which appears on the back page of the school newspaper, utilizes the unused portions of these names. Ber-Mander was created by artist Chris Sprouse (a 1984 graduate of Gar-Field) in the early 1980s, and featured a "hippie" title character.
In the 1950s, Gar-Field was segregated, as were Virginia's other schools. However, in 1960, African-American students were enrolled without incident or acrimony.
Gar-Field is one of two high schools in Prince William County that offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program and the IB Middle Years Program . It also has the only accredited day care system of any high school in the state, with a program that allows student-parents to finish their education while learning about how to take care of their children. Gar-Field H. S. is of similar design as nearby Woodbridge High School, which was also built in the mid-1970s.
In May 2007, Newsweek Magazine ranked Gar-Field 564th in the nation on its annual list of "Best High Schools in America."
In June 2007, former principal Roger Dallek announced his retirement after over 20 years at Gar-Field. He was succeeded by Dr. Brenda L. Aiken in the 2007-2008 school year. Dr. Aiken is a former resident of New York state and served for over 20 years with the Fairfax County school system. Dr. Brenda L. Aiken died of cancer at 53 years old on Saturday May 16, 2009. Former principal Roger Dallek returned to fill the position for the remainder of the 2008-2009 school year. Upon the start of the 2009-2010 school year, William Bixby took the position of principal and is currently holding that position.
Read more about Gar-Field Senior High School: Robotics Team, Demographics, Test Scores, Notable Alumni
Famous quotes containing the words senior, high and/or school:
“Never burn bridges. Today’s junior prick, tomorrow’s senior partner.”
—Kevin Wade, U.S. screenwriter, and Mike Nichols. Katharine Parker (Sigourney Weaver)
“Sleep is when all the unsorted stuff comes flying out as from a dustbin upset in a high wind.”
—William Golding (b. 1911)
“And so they have left us feeling tired and old.
They never cared for school anyway.
And they have left us with the things pinned on the bulletin board.
And the night, the endless, muggy night that is invading our school.”
—John Ashbery (b. 1927)