John Ira Burton High School is a
high school located in the City of
Norton, Virginia, United States. A part of
Norton City Schools, it has an enrollment of approximately 320 students.
Building
The school was built in 1953 and named in honor of John Ira Burton, who served as principal of the local schools for 38 years. It has a classroom capacity of 615 students.
In 2008, major structural enhancements were made on the Lawson-Fitchko Stadium. They were completed on August 22 for the Raiders' first home football game of the season, against Rye Cove High School.
On September 18, 2008, the school dedicated the Rickie M. Harris Athletic Complex. The facility was named in honor of Rickie M. Harris, a former student and school athlete who died five years prior as a result of an auto accident.
Athletics
The Raider football team competed in the Virginia state finals three times between 2003 and 2006 and won the state title in 1972. In the 2006 state finals the Raiders came close to a second state title, finishing with a score of 21-20 against the
Riverheads Gladiators from
Staunton, Virginia
Staunton ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 25,750. In Virginia, independent cities a ...
.
The school's marching band competes in several regional competitions and the band performed at the halftime performance for the
2017 Sugar Bowl
The 2017 Sugar Bowl is a bowl game that was played on January 2, 2017 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This 83rd Sugar Bowl was played between a team from the Big 12 Conference and the Southeastern Conference. It is one o ...
in
New Orleans, Louisiana.
In March 2011, the school's Lady Raider Basketball team won its first state championship, defeating Sussex Central 65-54 in the VHSL Group A, Division 1 final.
John I. Burton wrestler Colby Dean became a four-time VHSL A State Champion from 2010 to 2013, becoming at the time just the third wrestler in Group A history to win four state championships.
John I. Burton has a Scholastic Bowl team which won the 2023-2024 Virginia state championship. The current coach is Ashley Addison but has a long history at this school. Being one of the best Scholastic Bowl teams in the state has brought a lot of academic recognition to an otherwise small town high school.
John I. Burton has a Robotics program which officially became a school sport in 2023-2024, however the Robotics program has gone on for a couple of years. The current coach is Micheal Brooke.
Academics
In 2018, the school had a dropout percentage of 0.81%. In that same year, 70% of the school's graduating class enrolled in a postsecondary
Institution of Higher Education (IHE) within sixteen months of graduating. In the 2010–2011 school year, John I. Burton was in one of only four school divisions in the state that made AYP (average yearly progress) as set by guidelines in the
No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, a former national education mandate.
References
External links
Official site*
*
Norton City Schools
{{Virginia-school-stub
Public high schools in Virginia
Norton, Virginia
Educational institutions established in 1953
1953 establishments in Virginia