Martinsville High School | |
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Address | |
351 Commonwealth Boulevard , 24112 United States | |
Information | |
Other names | Martinsville High, MHS, Mavahi |
Former name | The Ruffner Institute (1871–1904) |
School type | Public high school secondary school |
Opened | 1968; 51 years ago |
Status | Open |
School district | Martinsville City Public Schools |
NCES District ID | 5102400 [1] |
Authority | Virginia Department of Education |
Authorizer | United States Department of Education |
Superintendent | Zeb Talley |
NCES School ID | 510240000988 [2] |
Dean | Gerald Kidd |
Principal | Ajamu Dixon |
Grades | 9–12 |
Gender | Co-educational |
Enrollment | 593 (2016-17) [3] |
Student to teacher ratio | 11:1 |
Hours in school day | 8:25AM-3:30PM |
Campus type | Suburban |
Color(s) | Red and White |
Athletics conference | Virginia High School League (VHSL) Class 2 Region C Piedmont District |
Sports | baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross country, football, Golf, softball, swimming, soccer, scholastic bowl, tennis, track, volleyball, wrestling |
Mascot | Lugnut the Bulldog [4] |
Nickname | Bulldogs |
Rival | Bassett High School Magna Vista High School [5] |
Accreditation | Commonwealth of Virginia |
Yearbook | Martinsville |
Feeder schools | Martinsville Middle School |
Website | Official Site |
Martinsville High School is a four-year public secondary high school located in Martinsville, Virginia, United States. It is the only high school in the Martinsville City Public Schools system.
The second Martinsville High School building was completed in 1939 on Cleveland Avenue, and it was used until the newer building was completed in the late 1960s. The last graduating class at the older building was in 1968.
Margaret Shumate Hadden, class of 1941, often spoke about her days there at the older building. [6] "In high school I took the regular courses, English, history, math, Latin, home economics, chemistry and many other subjects." [7]
One notable feature of the second high school building was a large tube-shaped fire escape, that had an enclosed circular and spiral slide inside. During fire drills, students in the upper floors would climb in and then slide down to the bottom exit. The fire escape was also used in numerous student challenges and pranks.
The original high school building in Martinsville was started in 1871. Dr. Ruffner was the first superintendent of schools in Henry County, and the first high school was named in his honor as "The Ruffner Institute", until 1904, when the school was re-named "Martinsville High School". [8] The 1900 graduating class were called "Mavahi", short for "Martinsville High School". [9]
Rev. Albert Harris, a Methodist minister, was influential in establishing a segregated high school for black students in Martinsville in 1917. The high school, known as the Martinsville Training School, became a Rosenwald School in 1920 when a philanthropic grant from Julius Rosenwald was matched by local property taxes and donations from the African Americans community. In 1945 the school was renamed in honor of the Rev. Albert Harris. "In 1958 the original building was demolished and replaced by the Albert Harris High School. When the Martinsville schools integrated in 1968, the former high school building became an elementary school. [10]
"My teaching career began in August of 1948 at Albert Harris High School in the City of Martinsville teaching Health and Physical Education to both boys and girls, believe it or not, during that first year. Also, I headed teams in coaching football, basketball for boys and girls for two years, baseball during the entire period, and teaching driver education to students and adults. In 1959 I received a Master's Degree in Administration from Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. From 1964 to 1968 I was the assistant principal at Albert Harris High School. 1968 to 1974 I was assistant principal at Martinsville Junior High School. 1974 through 1980 I was principal at Martinsville High School, retired with 16 years in the classroom and 16 years in high school administration." [11]
In 2013, Martinsville high completed a $9 million renovation to build TV studios, 21st century science labs, a mock hospital room, and a remodeled cafeteria. [12]
In September 2017, the school was involved in a $9 million dollar lawsuit and sued by its former school principal. [13]
Martinsville offers programs such as International Baccalaureate, Piedmont Governor's School for Mathematics, Science, and Technology, Advanced Placement, and Dual Enrollment classes. During the 2006–2007 school year, a joint program, with the assistance of Patrick & Henry Community College, allowed a select group of juniors and seniors an opportunity to earn their associate degrees (64 college hours) before graduation. [14]
In order to graduate, Martinsville High school students are required to complete at least a hundred hours of community service by the end of their senior year.
Martinsville offers a comprehensive athletic program and participates in the Virginia High School League's interscholastic sports competing in the Piedmont District. Sports offered include basketball, baseball, cross country, football, golf, softball, scholastic bowl, swimming, tennis, track, volleyball, and wrestling. Other extracurricular activities include robotics, interact club, chess club, marching band, gospel choir, health occupations students of america (HOSA), and future business leaders of america (FBLA). [15] The MHS Boys' Basketball won back to back VHSL State Championships in 2015 and 2016. [16] [17] Competing in the Piedmont District, Martinsville men's basketball has won more Virginia High School League State championships than any other school in Virginia. [18]
The students are 55% African-American, 20% White, 16% Hispanic and 6% two or more races. As of 2024, the student-teacher ratio is 14:1. [19]
Roanoke is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is located in Southwest Virginia along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanoke is approximately 50 miles (80 km) north of the Virginia–North Carolina border and 250 miles (400 km) southwest of Washington, D.C., along Interstate 81. At the 2020 census, Roanoke's population was 100,011, making it the most-populous city in Virginia west of the state capital Richmond. It is the primary population center of the Roanoke metropolitan area, which had a population of 315,251 in 2020.
Martinsville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,485. A community of both Southside and Southwest Virginia, it is the county seat of Henry County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Martinsville with Henry County for statistical purposes.
Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 50,948. The county seat is usually identified as Martinsville; however, the administration building, county courthouse, and Henry County Sheriff's Office are located on Kings Mountain Road in Collinsville.The Henry County Adult Detention Center is located on DuPont Road in Martinsville.
Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The city is located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity during the American Civil War, due to its strategic location on the Richmond and Danville Railroad. In April 1865 it briefly served as the third and final capital of the Confederacy before its surrender later that year.
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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 District and the AA Southwest District. Until the 1990s, the AA Piedmont District was a member of AA Region III but was moved to balance the number of schools in the VHSL's AA regions. Due to declining school enrollment, Dan River High School became a member of the A Dogwood District beginning in the 2007–08 school year.
Bassett High School is a comprehensive public high school in Bassett, Virginia, USA. The school currently enrolls about 1,100 students in grades 9–12. It is one of two public high schools operated by Henry County Schools.
William Fleming High School is a public school, one of the only two public high schools in the Roanoke City area school division, the other being the Patrick Henry High School. The edifice itself is located at 3649 Ferncliff Ave. Roanoke, Virginia 24017 and is positioned within the Miller/Arrowood neighborhood of the city. William Fleming along with the other public elementary, middle, and high schools comprise the Roanoke City Public School System that is regulated by the representatives that serve on the Roanoke City School Board.
Magna Vista High School is a comprehensive public high school in Henry County, Virginia. Named for the Magna Vista plantation which occupied the land where it sits, it is approximately three miles west of the town of Ridgeway, Virginia and ten miles (16 km) south of the city of Martinsville, Virginia. Magna Vista currently enrolls approximately 1000 students in grades 9-12. It is one of two comprehensive high schools operated by Henry County Public Schools.
Franklin County High School(FCHS) is located in Rocky Mount, Virginia. Approximately 2000 students attend Franklin County High School, which was founded in 1950. Since its founding, Franklin County High School, commonly known as FCHS, has grown to the largest school in the state west of Richmond.
Glenvar High School is a public high school in Roanoke County, Virginia, United States. It is one of the five high schools for the Roanoke County public school systemArchived 2006-06-11 at the Wayback Machine. Glenvar High School serves the western end of Roanoke County and is located in the community of Glenvar, which is immediately west of Salem, Virginia.
Patrick County High School is a comprehensive public high school in Stuart, Virginia, USA. The school currently enrolls over 1,000 students in grades 8–12. It is the only public high school operated by the Patrick County Public Schools. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools along with the Virginia Department of Education.
WROV-TV was a television station on ultra high frequency (UHF) channel 27 in Roanoke, Virginia, United States. It broadcast from March 2 to July 18, 1953, becoming the first UHF station in the United States to cease broadcasting. Its failure was the first of many in the early days of UHF television, which was hindered by signal issues in mountainous areas and the lack of UHF tuning on all television sets—a problem not resolved until the All-Channel Receiver Act took effect in 1964.
Ada Jessamine Shumate was an American artist, historian and cartographer, winner of the "Award of Distinction" in 1955 from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
George Hairston was a Virginia planter, patriot and politician in Virginia who served one term in the Virginia House of Delegates representing Henry County after serving as a Colonel in the American Revolutionary War and later served as a Brigadier General in the War of 1812. The first of three men of the same name to serve in the Virginia General Assembly, unlike the two other men, he did not serve in the Virginia Senate, although this Hairston may be better known for building Beaver Creek Plantation, which remained his home and which he farmed using enslaved labor, or for helping to found Martinsburg.
Whitney Shumate was a businessman and civic leader in Henry County, Virginia, and especially in Martinsville, Virginia.
Christopher Laird Hurst is an American journalist, former news anchor and former member of the Virginia House of Delegates for the state's 12th district.