Magna Vista High School is a comprehensive public high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 in Henry County, Virginia

Henry County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 57,930 people, 23,910 households, and 16,952 families residing in the county. The population density was 152 people per square mile . There were 25,921 housing units at an average density of 68 per square mile...

. Named for the Magna Vista plantation which previously occupied the land on which it is situated, it is located approximately three miles west of the town of Ridgeway, Virginia

Ridgeway, Virginia

Ridgeway is a town in Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 775 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Martinsville Micropolitan Statistical Area. Ridgeway is also home to Martinsville Speedway.-HIstory:...

 and ten miles (16 km) south of the city of Martinsville, Virginia

Martinsville, Virginia

Martinsville is an independent city which is surrounded by Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 13,821 in 2010. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Martinsville with Henry County for statistical purposes...

. Magna Vista currently enrolls approximately 900 students in grades 9-12. It is one of two comprehensive high schools

Comprehensive high school

Comprehensive high schools are the most common form of public high schools in the United States and are meant to serve the needs of all students, as compared to the common practice in other nations in which examinations are used to sort students into different high schools for different populations...

 operated by Henry County Public Schools

Henry County Public Schools

Henry County Schools operates 14 schools - two high schools, two middle schools, and ten elementary schools - a community learning center, a regional alternative program, and a parent resource center in the local mall. HCPS operates preschool programs at ten elementary schools.-History:According...

.

Opened in 1988, the campus consists of a 179969 square feet (16,719.7 m²) building, a state-of-the-art greenhouse, livestock barn, and extensive athletic facilities. The school is situated on a wooded 110 acre (0.4451546 km²) tract of land in close proximity to Chestnut Knob, the highest point in Henry County.

History

Magna Vista High School replaced the former Drewry Mason High School and George Washington Carver High School, both of which became middle schools. Declining enrollment in the 1990s

1990s

File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...

 left each of the four Henry County high schools operating at less than 50% capacity, and long-term deferred maintenance left many schools in a state of disrepair. In 2004, the county implemented a reorganization plan that closed five schools and consolidated four high schools and four middle schools to create two high schools and two middle schools.

Laurel Park High School and Magna Vista High School were consolidated at the Magna Vista site. The school name and mascot

Mascot

The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...

 remained the same but red, one of the Laurel Park school colors, was added to the Magna Vista navy blue, silver, and white. Following its closure as a high school, Laurel Park became a middle school serving students in the Magna Vista attendance zone.

Demographics

Magna Vista High School's student body is 59% White

White people

White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

; 34% Black

Black people

The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...

; and 5% Hispanic. 49% of Magna Vista students receive free or reduced lunch.

The school serves a large, mostly rural geographic area which encompasses the communities of Axton, Chatmoss

Chatmoss, Virginia

Chatmoss is a census-designated place in Henry County, Virginia, USA. The population was 1,742 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Martinsville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, Chestnut Knob, Horsepasture

Horse Pasture, Virginia

Horsepasture is a census-designated place in Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 2,255 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Martinsville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

, Irisburg, Laurel Park

Laurel Park, Virginia

Laurel Park is a census-designated place in Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 781 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Martinsville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Laurel Park is located at ....

, Leatherwood, Preston, Rich Acres, Ridgeway

Ridgeway, Virginia

Ridgeway is a town in Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 775 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Martinsville Micropolitan Statistical Area. Ridgeway is also home to Martinsville Speedway.-HIstory:...

, Sandy Level

Sandy Level, Virginia

Sandy Level is a census-designated place in Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 689 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Martinsville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Sandy Level is located at ....

, Spencer

Spencer, Virginia

Spencer is an unincorporated community in Henry County, Virginia, United States. It takes its name from its earliest settler, James Spencer Sr., who moved from Loudoun County to Henry County with his sons in the eighteenth century. Spencer's son ensign James Spencer, Jr. died of wounds suffered...

, Mountain Valley and the eastern, southern, and western suburbs of Martinsville

Martinsville, Virginia

Martinsville is an independent city which is surrounded by Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 13,821 in 2010. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Martinsville with Henry County for statistical purposes...

.http://henryva.schoolwires.com/magnavista/lib/magnavista/Attendance%20Zone.pdf?3442_60119111832Nav=|&NodeID=282

Axton Elementary, Carver Elementary, Drewry Mason Elementary, Mt. Olivet Elementary, and Rich Acres Elementary feed into Laurel Park Middle School which feeds into Magna Vista High School.

Reflecting the long-term enrollment decline in Henry County Public Schools, Magna Vista's student population has decreased by almost 300 students since 2004.

Academics

The school operates on a 4x4 block schedule

Block scheduling

Block scheduling is a type of academic scheduling in which each student has fewer classes per day but each class is scheduled for a longer period of time . A student might be taking 7 different classes, but only 4 per day, and the specific daily classes would rotate through a changing daily cycle...

. The school year is divided into two semesters and six six-week grading periods. Students may earn eight course credits during one school year.

Magna Vista offers students a program of studies that includes an extensive selection of Advanced Placement (AP) courses, as well as a wide variety of career and technical

Vocational education

Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...

 course offerings. The school provides opportunities for highly motivated and intellectually gifted

Gifted education

Gifted education is a broad term for special practices, procedures and theories used in the education of children who have been identified as gifted or talented...

 students to attend the Piedmont Governor's School for Mathematics, Science, and Technology

Piedmont Governor's School for Mathematics, Science, and Technology

The Piedmont Governor's School for Mathematics, Science, and Technology is one of Virginia's 18 state-initiated magnet Governor's Schools. It is a half-day school program where 11th and 12th grade students take advanced classes in the morning Four classes are to be taken at the gov...

, which is located on the campus of New College Institute. The ACE (Accelerated College Education) Program was introduced during the 2008-2009 school year. Students enrolled in ACE are dually enrolled

Dual enrollment

In education, dual enrollment involved students being enrolled in two separate, academically related institutions. It may also refer to any individual who is participating in two related programs, but such a general form of usage is uncommon....

 in high school and community college

Community college

A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries.-Australia:Community colleges carry on the tradition of adult education, which was established in Australia around mid 19th century when evening classes were held to help adults...

 courses and earn an associate degree

Associate's degree

An associate degree is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges, technical colleges, and bachelor's degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years...

 from Patrick Henry Community College

Patrick Henry Community College

Patrick Henry Community College is a community college located at 645 Patriot Avenue in unincorporated Henry County, Virginia, United States, north of the City of Martinsville....

 upon graduation. Students not opting to complete the full ACE program can take individual dual enrollment classes and earn community college credit that in many cases can be transferred to a four-year college

College

A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...

 or university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

.
Magna Vista High School is fully accredited by the Commonwealth of 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...

 based on the 2010-2011 results of the Virginia Standards of Learning

Standards of Learning

Standards of Learning ' is a public school standardized testing program in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It sets forth learning and achievement expectations for core subjects for grades K-12 in Virginia's Public Schools...

 tests. The school has met federal standards for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

Adequate Yearly Progress

Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, is a measurement defined by the United States federal No Child Left Behind Act that allows the U.S. Department of Education to determine how every public school and school district in the country is performing academically according to results on standardized...

 as required by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

Athletics

Magna Vista teams play in the AA Piedmont District

AA Piedmont District

The AA Piedmont District is a high school conference of the Virginia High School League that includes schools from Southwest and Southside Virginia mostly in the Martinsville and the Danville areas. The schools of the Piedmont District compete in AA Region IV with the schools in the AA River Ridge...

 of AA Region IV

AA Region IV

AA Region IV is one of the four AA regions in the Virginia High School League. It is made up of three districts: the AA Piedmont District, the AA River Ridge District, and the AA Southwest District....

. The mascot is the Warrior. Magna Vista made history by becoming the first high school to win a state title during its first year of operation with its victory in the 1989 AA boys basketball championship. The school won the state AA boys basketball title in 1998, the AA girls basketball championship in 2004, and the AA golf title in 2005.

External links

• Official website
• Virtual tour
• Aerial view
• Street view
• Henry County Public Schools
• Virginia School Report Cards