Heritage High School (Lynchburg, Virginia)

Heritage High School is a public high school located in Lynchburg, Virginia.
The school is a part of Lynchburg City Public Schools District. Timothy Beatty is the head principal . Heritage has enrollment of 1102 as of 2011. Its mascot is the Pioneer and its colors are Navy Blue and Orange.

Because of structural issues, the existing school building was demolished in 2016 and the new Heritage High School campus was completed.

History

In January, 1975, a steering committee, representative of educators,
students, parents, and the community at large, was appointed to begin planning a new high school to accommodate approximately 2,000 students. This committee and twenty-three subcommittees worked under the able direction of Dr. Ernest Martin, Special Assistant to the Superintendent, to draw up the initial specifications for the new school. From this planning merged the architects' design of an ultra-modern structure, beautiful in appearance and functional in use.

The new school had no real identity until the spring of 1976, when a special School Board committee, chaired by Mr. James K. Candler, made the following announcement: "We propose Heritage High School as a fitting name for the city's newest secondary building. The name shall serve to remind this generation and generations to come that the first responsibility in public education is to see that our democratic way of life is preserved through an informed electorate. This name shall call to mind both the pride in achievements in the past and shall hold forth a challenge for greater progress in the future. It shall provide a continuing reminder to Lynchburg educators and citizens of the obligation which is theirs - to mold the future through the education of the youth - to carry on the heritage of free education first established in the city of Lynchburg in 1871 and in the Colony of Virginia in 1634.

The building suffered many structural problems that resulted in the need for higher maintenance costs than comparable schools. In 2007, the Lynchburg School Board hired a firm to suggest ways to either renovate the building, merge the school population to E.C. Glass, or replace it. A task force urged replacement in a September 2011 report.
In March 2014, the Lynchburg City Council approved a $63.4 million bid from Barton Malow to build the new school in time for the beginning of the 2016 school year.

The School

*First Floor- Cafeteria, Auditorium, Band, Chorus, Orchestra, Drama, Art Hall, Clinic, Main Office, Gymnasium, History Hall, Foreign Language Hall, Library (first floor), Driver's Education and Health
*Second Floor- Cosmetology, English Hall, Math Hall, Science Hall, Library (second floor)

Facts

*Heritage High School was built to produce solar energy hence its unique architecture
*Heritage is one of three high schools in Virginia to have an indoor track on their campus (Ralph D. Spencer Memorial Fieldhouse) on the 2nd Floor

Notable alumni

*Leland D. Melvin (NASA engineer and astronaut)
*Paris Lenon (former NFL Linebacker)
* Keith Hamilton (former NFL Lineman)
* Chris Cook (NFL Cornerback-last play with the San Francisco 49ers)
* Chris Parker (former NFL running back)
*Kevin Keatts, head coach for NC State Wolfpack men's basketball, former head coach for UNC Wilmington.

Central Virginia Governor's School

*Heritage High School is home to the Central Virginia Governor's School for Science and Technology. Gifted high school students from Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford, and Campbell counties as well as Lynchburg City attend classes at a separate location within the high school.

Marine Corps JROTC

Heritage High School has a Marine Corps JROTC. In addition to academic subjects, extracurricular activities include Drill team, Rifle team, Cyber team, and Raider Team.

Athletics

Heritage (Lynchburg) has won a number of VHSL Seminole District, Region III, and State Championships at the AAA and AA level.

State Championships

*Recent Champions*

2002
*Virginia State AA Division 4 Football Champions
** Lafayette High School-Williamsburg - 7 vs Heritage High School - 34
*Virginia State AA Indoor Track Champions (Boys)

2003
*Virginia State AA Indoor Track Champions (Boys)
*Virginia State AA Indoor Track Runner-Up (Girls)
*Virginia State AA Outdoor Track Champions (Girls)
*Virginia State AA Outdoor Track Champions (Boys)

2004
*Virginia State AA Basketball Final Four Tournament (Boys)

2005
*Virginia State AA Baseball Final Four

2006
*Virginia State AA Indoor Track Champions (Boys)

2018
*Virginia State Class AAA STATE FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS
Heritage 24, Phoebus 20
Williams Stadium (Lynchburg, VA)

2019
*Virginia State AA Outdoor Track Champions (Girls)

Regionals

1978
*Northwest Region AAA Baseball Champions

1997
*Division 4, Region 3 Football Champions
-Heritage 20, Salem 14

2002
*Division 4,Region 3 Football Champions
- Heritage 28,Blacksburg 10

2003
*Region III Outdoor Track Champions (Girls)
*Region III Outdoor Track Champions (Boys)
*Region III Indoor Track Champions (Girls)
*Region III Indoor Track Champions (Boys)

2004
*Region III Indoor Track Champions (Girls)

2005
*Region III Indoor Track Champions (Boys)
*Region III Baseball Champions (Dream Team)
Scott Stevens, D.W Moore, Terrance Penn, Michael Costa, Aaron Reid, Jeffery Taylor, Cameron Grant, Jared Blakenship, Mike Howell, LA Robertson, Leland Heritige, Josh Owens, Brett Hass, Derick Wathall,

2006
*Region III Indoor Track Champions (Boys)

2007
*ACE Team (The VHSL calls it Scholastic Bowl)

2008
*Region III Indoor Track Champions (Boys)

2012
*Division 4, Region 3 Football Champions
-Heritage 12, Amherst County 7

2017
*Class AAA, Region C Football Champions
— Heritage 62, Brookville 20

2018
*Class AAA, Region C Football Champions
-Heritage 44, Liberty (Bed) 28

2019
*Class AAA, Region C Football Champions
-Heritage 43, Spotswood 20

Theater

Heritage High School is also home to Pioneer Theatre. A student run program with Theatre Director Larry Hart and Associate Director Michelle Velastegui as of Fall 2008. In 2010, the Virginia Theatre Association named Director Larry Hart theatre educator of the year. All sets are built by Applied Technical Theater I & II. The theatre produces around six shows a year. The six plays usually consist of an Acting II Competition Piece, a Theater in the round, a Mainstage Straight Play, a Mainstage Musical, an Acting II Musical or "Straight Play" Dinner Theatre, and the Acting II Original One Acts. While this is the current compilation it does change slightly from year to year.

2006-2007 season

*Urinetown
*Murder of One
*House of Blue Leaves
*Beauty and the Beast
*Snoopy, The Musical
*Acting II presents Original One-Acts

2007-2008 season

*Singin' in the Rain
*When the Angels Cried and the Mountains Fell
*Its a Wonderful Life
*Evita
*Suburb, The Musical
*Acting II presents Original One-Acts

2008-2009 season

*Fahrenheit 451
*Paparazzo,a Morality Play in the Guise of a Musical Fantasy
*Noises Off
*The Producers
*Charlotte's Web
*Acting II presents Original One-Acts

2009-2010 season

*Once on This Island
*You Don't Know Jack
*Running in the Red
*Peter Pan
*The Foreigner
*Acting II presents Original One-Acts

2010-2011 season

*The Wedding Singer
*The Human Condition
*Lend Me a Tenor
*The Wizard of Oz
*Acting II presents Original One-Acts

2011-2012 season

*The Drowsy Chaperone
*Fire
*See How They Run
*Hairspray
*Little Shop of Horrors
*Acting II presents Original One-Acts

2012-2013 season

*The Art of the Bully
*Footloose
*A Raisin in the Sun
*The Dining Room
*The Adding Machine
*Acting II presents Original One-Acts

2013-2014 season

*Chicago
*A Christmas Story
*When the Angels Cried and the Mountains Fell
*Shrek: The Musical
*Mr. Beiderman and the Firebugs
*Acting II presents Original One-Acts

2014-2015 season

* Night of the Living Dead: Live!
* Murder Americana: The Trial of Lizzie Borden
* Wait Until Dark
* The Addams Family
* Black Comedy
* Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Momma's Hung You In the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad
* Acting II presents Original One-Acts

2015-2016 season

* Moon Over Buffalo
* The Lost Boy
* Ragtime: The Musical
* Almost, Maine
* Shakespeare's R&J
* Acting II presents Original One-Acts

2016-2017 season

* To Kill a Mockingbird
* Fire: Prometheus On Trial
* It's A Wonderful Life
* Beauty and The Beast
* All in the Timing
* Talley's Folly
* Acting II Presents Original One-Acts

2017-2018 season

* Noises Off
* Second Samuel
* The Cover of Life
* Les Misérables
* Loving
* The Crucible
* Acting II Presents Original One-Acts

References

External links

Heritage High School

Central Virginia Governor's School for Science and Technology

Lynchburg City Schools

VHSL-Reference website
* Leland D. Melvin

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Public high schools in Virginia
Schools in Lynchburg, Virginia
1976 establishments in Virginia