Kempsville High School is a comprehensive public high school for students in grades 9–12 in the Virginia Beach City Public Schools system. In the western section of the city, the Kempsville High School covers approximately 12 sq. miles and draws students from Kempsville Middle School and Larkspur Middle School. It is about one mile south of Interstate 264. The mascot is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Chief and the school colors are red, royal blue, and silver.

History

Kempsville High School opened its doors to students in 1924. The present building, which opened in 1966, is the third building to have the name Kempsville High School. From 1959 until 1966, students living in the Kempsville area attended

Princess Anne High School Princess Anne High School (PAHS) is one of 11 high schools in the Virginia Beach City Public School System. Opened in 1954, it is the oldest remaining high school in Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States. The school is named after the now extinc ...

. In 1966, when the growth of the city required the construction of neighborhood high schools, Kempsville High School reopened at its current location, serving grades eight through twelve. In 1969, grades eight and nine moved to the newly opened Kempsville Junior High School. The ninth grade moved back to the high school in September 1993. Currently, Kempsville High School houses roughly 1,500 students in grades nine through twelve.

Curriculum

Kempsville High School offers an array of academic courses that include standard courses, honors courses and advanced placement courses. These courses include:

AP Studio Art Advanced Placement (AP) Studio Art (also known as AP Art and Design) is a series of Advanced Placement Courses divided into three different categories: AP Studio Art Drawing, AP Studio Art 2D Design, and AP Studio Art 3D Design. Portfolio Unlike ...

AP Art History Advanced Placement (AP) Art History (also known as AP Art, or APAH) is an Advanced Placement art history course and exam offered by the College Board. AP Art History is designed to allow students to examine major forms of artistic expression rele ...

AP English Literature and Composition Advanced Placement (AP) English Literature and Composition (also known as Senior AP English, AP Lit, APENG, or AP English IV) is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program in the United Stat ...

AP English Language and Composition Advanced Placement (AP) English Language and Composition (also known as AP English Language, APENG, or AP Lang) is a course and examination offered by the College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program. When AP exams were first impleme ...

, AP U.S. History,

AP Human Geography Advanced Placement (AP) Human Geography (also known as AP Human Geo, AP Geography, APHG, AP HuGe, AP HuG, AP Human, or HGAP) is an Advanced Placement social studies course in human geography for high school students in the US, culminating in an e ...

, AP U.S. Government and Politics,

AP European History Advanced Placement (AP) European History (also known as AP Euro, or APEH), is a course and examination offered by the College Board through the Advanced Placement Program. This course is for high school students who are interested in a first year ...

AP Psychology Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology (also known as AP Psych) and its corresponding exam are part of College Board's Advanced Placement Program. This course is tailored for students interested in the field of psychology and as an opportunity to ...

AP Biology Advanced Placement (AP) Biology (also known as AP Bio) is an Advanced Placement biology course and exam offered by the College Board in the United States. For the 2012–2013 school year, the College Board unveiled a new curriculum with a greate ...

AP Chemistry Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry (also known as AP Chem) is a course and examination offered by the College Board as a part of the Advanced Placement Program to give American and Canadian high school students the opportunity to demonstrate thei ...

AP Computer Science In the United States, Advanced Placement Computer Science (commonly shortened to AP Comp Sci) is a suite of Advanced Placement courses and examinations covering areas of computer science. They are offered by the College Board to high school studen ...

AP Environmental Science Advanced Placement (AP) Environmental Science (also known as APES, AP Enviro, AP Environmental, AP Environment, or AP EnviroSci) is a course and exam offered by the American College Board as part of the Advanced Placement Program to high school ...

AP Statistics Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics (also known as AP Stats) is a college-level high school statistics course offered in the United States through the College Board's Advanced Placement program. This course is equivalent to a one semester, non-ca ...

, AP Calculus AB,

AP French Language Advanced Placement (AP) French Language and Culture (also known as AP French Lang, AP French Language or AP French) is a course offered by the College Board to high school students in the United States as an opportunity to earn placement credit ...

AP Spanish Language Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Language and Culture (also known as AP Spanish Language, AP Spanish V, or AP Spanish) is a course and examination offered by the College Board in the United States education system as part of the Advanced Placeme ...

AP Spanish Literature Advanced Placement (AP) Spanish Literature and Culture (also known as AP Spanish Literature, AP Spanish Lit or AP SpLit) is a high school course and examination offered by the College Board's Advanced Placement Program. The course This course ...

AP German Language Advanced Placement (AP) German Language and Culture (also known as AP German Language or AP German) is a course and examination provided by the College Board through the Advanced Placement Program. This course is designed to give high school stud ...

, and AP Latin: Vergil.

Entrepreneurship & Business Academy

Kempsville High School offers an additional curriculum focused on business, finance, or technology. The intention of the classes is to encourage local entrepreneurship and the creation of companies within the community. Classes range from Entrepreneurial cooking (a home-economics class with a business spin) to Incubator EDU (a business class in which students start their own companies). The Academy is most notable for its claim of producing

Associate's Degrees 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 f ...

to graduating students who perform a certain course load.

Enrollment

Statistics and demographics

The enrollment during the 2015–2016 school year was 1,456 students. The average class size in the 2015–2016 school year were: *22.1 students in English *21.7 students in Math *23.4 students in Science *24.5 students in Social Studies according to the Virginia Beach City Public Schools Annual School Report Card 2015–2016. The following is the percentage of students by ethnicity according to the 2015–2016 Virginia Beach City Public Schools Annual School Report Card: *African American: 20.7% *American Indian: 0.5% *Asian: 4.1% *Caucasian: 59.0% *Hispanic: 9.8% *Native Hawaiian: 0.3% *Multiracial: 5.6% *Female students: 47.6% *Male students: 52.4% *Economically disadvantaged students: 33.1% *Gifted students: 9.1% *Students with limited English proficiency: 0.1% *Special education students: 24.5%

Notable alumni

* Charles "Chase Chad" Hugo (1992), half of the production duo

The Neptunes The Neptunes are an American songwriting and production duo composed of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, formed in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in 1992. Williams often provides additional vocals on records and appears in the duo's music videos ...

and N*E*R*D band member * Kenna Zemedkun, solo artist (music) * D.J. Dozier (1983), former professional baseball player and NFL running back * J.R. Reid (1986), former NBA player and 5th pick of the 1989 NBA draft * Steve Jolley (1993), MLS Soccer player * Lady Miss Kier (1981), entertainer, former lead singer of

Deee-Lite Deee-Lite was an American house and dance music group formed in New York City. The group's best-known single is "Groove Is in the Heart", which was released in 1990 from their debut studio album ''World Clique'' (1990), and was a top-ten hit i ...

* Jason Winston George (1990), actor * Anton Gunn (1991), American politician * Andy Kubiszewski (1979), drummer, songwriter, and producer * Nancy Naigle (1979), novelist * Mark Phelps (1984), head basketball coach at

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. His ...

* Bruce Ridge (1982) symphonic bassist, arts advocate, labor leader, chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians * Al Gettel (1935), baseball player * Evan Nied (2022), the youngest recipient of the Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission Award and First Neptune Prince.

References

External links

About Kempsville High School

Kempsville band

Virginia Beach City Public Schools

Entrepreneurship and Business Academy at Kempsville High School
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1966 High schools in Virginia Beach, Virginia Public high schools in Virginia 1966 establishments in Virginia