Magna Vista High School is a comprehensive

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Henry County, Virginia 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 (where county offices are located an ...

. 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 Ridgeway is a town in Henry County, Virginia, United States. The population was 742 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Martinsville Micropolitan Statistical Area. Martinsville Speedway, a NASCAR racetrack, is located between Ridgeway and the ...

and ten miles (16 km) south of the city of

Martinsville, Virginia 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 ...

. Magna Vista currently enrolls approximately 1000 students in grades 9-12. It is one of two

comprehensive high school Comprehensive high schools are the most popular form of state school, public Secondary school, high schools around the world, designed to provide a well-rounded education to its students, as opposed to the practice in some places in which examinati ...

s operated by

Henry County Public Schools Henry County Public Schools operates 14 schools - two high schools, two middle schools, and ten elementary schools - a community learning center, and a regional alternative program. HCPS operates preschool programs at ten elementary schools. His ...

. Opened in 1988, the campus consists of a state-of-the-art greenhouse, livestock barn, and extensive athletic facilities. The school is on a wooded tract of land close 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 A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...

. Declining enrollment in the 1990s 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 A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

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 57%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

; 32%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

; and 7%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

. 52% 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, Chestnut Knob, Horse Pasture, Irisburg, Laurel Park, Leatherwood, Preston, Rich Acres, Ridgeway, Sandy Level, Spencer, Mountain Valley, and the eastern, southern, and western suburbs of Martinsville. 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. The current principal is Charles Byrd. 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. 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 course offerings. The school provides opportunities for highly motivated and intellectually

gifted Intellectual giftedness is an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. It is a characteristic of children, variously defined, that motivates differences in school programming. It is thought to persist as a trait into adult life, wi ...

students to attend the

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 (re ...

, which is on the campus of

Patrick & Henry Community College Patrick & Henry Community College (P&HCC or Patrick & Henry) is a public community college in Henry County, Virginia. It was founded in 1962 as part of the University of Virginia's School of General Studies. The college became an independent tw ...

. The ACE (Accelerated College Education) program was introduced during the 2008-2009 school year. Students enrolled in ACE are dually enrolled in high school and

community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...

courses and earn an

associate degree An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree. The fi ...

from Patrick & Henry Community College 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 A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Magna Vista High School is fully accredited by the

Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United Stat ...

based on the 2010-2011 results of the Virginia Standards of Learning tests. The school has met federal standards for

Adequate Yearly Progress Adequate Yearly Progress (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 ac ...

(AYP) as required by the

No Child Left Behind The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education ...

Act of 2001.

Athletics

Magna Vista teams play in the 3A West classification. 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. The Warriors won the Virginia football 3A state championship in 2014 and 2015.

References

External links

Official websiteVirtual tourAerial viewStreet viewHenry County Public SchoolsVirginia School Report Cards
{{authority control Public high schools in Virginia Schools in Henry County, Virginia Educational institutions established in 1988 1988 establishments in Virginia