Loudoun County Public Schools

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Loudoun County Public Schools

Location

Ashburn, VA

Phone Number

(571) 252-1000

Superintendent

Edgar B. Hatrick

School Board Chairman

Robert F. DuPree, Jr.

Grades

K-12

Enrollment

50,000 in 2006-2007

Website

Official Site

Loudoun County Public Schools (abbreviated LCPS) is a branch of the Loudoun County, Virginia government, and administers public schools in the county. LCPS' headquarters is located in Ashburn, Virginia.

Due to the rapid growth in the region, LCPS is the fastest growing school district in Virginia and one of the fastest growing public school districts in the United States, serving over 50,000 students in the 2006-2007 school year. LCPS is the fifth largest school district in Virginia, surpassing the enrollment of Henrico County Public Schools in the 2006-2007 school year. The superintendent of schools is Dr. Edgar B. Hatrick.

1 History
2 Management
3 Demographics
4 Schools
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

The public school system in Loudoun County was established in 1870 to fulfill the needs for free education after the Civil War and in an era of Reconstruction. For most of its history, LCPS has served a rural county, known for its dairy farms. Since the 1960's, Loudoun County's population skyrocketed along with LCPS. Numerous planned subdivisions have opened since the 1980's and most of the county's eastern half is suburban or developing currently. Most of the western half remains rural; however, there remain numerous housing subdivisions countywide that are expected to be built within the next 10 years.

[edit] Management

The LCPS system, while operated on a day-to-day basis by the Superintendent, is managed under the direction and authority of the Loudoun County School Board, a 9 member panel elected by citizens in the county. Eight of the nine positions are divided among voting districts that represent communities throughout the county while the ninth seat is elected at-large by the entire county. The voting districts are the same as used for Loudoun County Board of Supervisor elections. Unlike the Board of Supervisors, the chairmanship of the School Board operates on a rotating basis between members, while the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors is always the at-large seat. While the School Board makes decisions relating to school policy and curriculum, it receives funding through the Board of Supervisors.

[edit] Demographics

Contrary to many Northern Virginians' perceptions about Loudoun County, LCPS has a diverse population, and is becoming more diverse ethnically, especially with Hispanic and Asian enrollments increasing significantly since the late 1990's. In fact, since the 1999-2000 school year, Hispanic and Asian enrollment in LCPS have more than tripled, compared with White and Black enrollment, which has grown about 50% in the same time period.

Hispanic American enrollment growth is countywide, but is highest and is most heavily concentrated in Leesburg and Sterling. Most of the Asian enrollment growth is from Indian Americans who comprise the majority of Asian students in Loudoun, in contrast with neighboring Fairfax County Public Schools where Korean Americans comprise the majority of Asian enrollment. Vietnamese American and Filipino American enrollment is second to Indians among Asians; there are also small amounts of Korean American and Chinese Americans in some areas. Asian American growth has been highest in South Riding, Aldie, and Sterling.

In the 2005-2006 school year, LCPS was 69% White; 8.2% Black; 11.5% Hispanic; 10.9% Asian; and 0.3% Native American.

[edit] Schools

[edit] High schools

Loudoun County currently has 10 high schools. Older high schools such as Loudoun Valley, Broad Run, and Park View can carry about 1,300 students without difficulty. Loudoun County High School's expansion and renovation should allow it to carry about 1,600 students once the project is complete in the 2006-2007 school year; before, Loudoun County could only carry about 1,200 students, with six trailers. Potomac Falls is the first of six new high schools built in the last ten years, which has a capacity of 1,600 students. High schools built since 2000 when Stone Bridge opened have capacities of around 1,800 students each.

All high schools serve grades 9-12 unless otherwise noted.

Briar Woods High School, Ashburn
Broad Run High School, Ashburn
Dominion High School, Sterling
Freedom High School, South Riding
Heritage High School, Leesburg
Loudoun County High School, Leesburg
Loudoun Valley High School, Purcellville (due to overcrowding, Loudoun Valley only serves grades 10-12)
Park View High School, Sterling
Potomac Falls High School, Potomac Falls
Stone Bridge High School, Ashburn

[edit] Middle schools

Loudoun County currently has 11 middle schools, all of which typically feed into one high school currently, or in the near future. Older middle schools such as Simpson, Blue Ridge, Sterling, and Seneca Ridge originally were able to carry about 1,000 students, but have all went or are going through expansion projects that will allow them to carry 1,200 students once the projects are complete. Newer middle schools built since 1995 when Farmwell Station opened typically have capacities of 1,200 to 1,350 students depending on the age of the building and how fast growth was around the particular school when the school opened.

Serves grades 6-8 unless noted

Belmont Ridge Middle School, Leesburg
Blue Ridge Middle School, Purcellville (carries only grades 6 and 7)
Eagle Ridge Middle School, Ashburn
Farmwell Station Middle School, Ashburn
Harper Park Middle School, Leesburg
Mercer Middle School, Aldie
River Bend Middle School, Sterling
Seneca Ridge Middle School, Sterling
J. Lupton Simpson Middle School, Leesburg
Smart's Mill Middle School, Leesburg
Sterling Middle School, Sterling

[edit] Intermediate schools

LCPS has one intermediate school in the western part of the county which serves 8th and 9th graders. This is only a temporary concept, which will end after a new high school opens in 2008 or 2009.

Harmony Intermediate School, Hamilton

[edit] Elementary schools

LCPS currently has 44 elementary schools, which are nearly all community based, with over half of them opening in the last 10 years. Newer elementary schools throughout the county can carry approximately 800 to 875 students. Older elementary schools in the eastern part of the county can carry anywhere from 400-600 students. There are some rural elementary schools in Loudoun County as well, nearly all of them in the western part of the county. They are much smaller in size and are much older facilities, typically holding enrollments of about 100-150 students.

Serves grades K-5

Aldie Elementary School, Aldie
Algonkian Elementary School, Sterling
Ashburn Elementary School, Ashburn
Ball's Bluff Elementary School, Leesburg
Banneker Elementary School, Middleburg
Belmont Station Elementary School, Ashburn
Catoctin Elementary School, Leesburg
Cedar Lane Elementary School, Ashburn
Cool Spring Elementary School, Leesburg
Countryside Elementary School, Sterling
Dominion Trail Elementary School, Ashburn
Emerick Elementary School, Purcellville
Evergreen Mill Elementary School, Leesburg
Frances Hazel reid Elementary School, Leesburg
Forest Grove Elementary School, Sterling
Guilford Elementary School, Sterling
Hamilton Elementary School, Hamilton
Hillsboro Elementary School, Purcellville
Hillside Elementary School, Ashburn
Horizon Elementary School, Sterling
Hutchison Farm Elementary School, South Riding
Leesburg Elementary School, Leesburg
Legacy Elementary School, Ashburn
Lincoln Elementary School (Purcellville, Virginia), Purcellville
Little River Elementary School, South Riding
Lovettsville Elementary School, Lovettsville
Lowes Island Elementary School, Sterling
Lucketts Elementary School, Leesburg
Meadowland Elementary School, Sterling
Middleburg Elementary School, Middleburg
Mill Run Elementary School, Ashburn
Mountain view Elementary School, Purcellville
Newton-Lee Elementary School, Ashburn
Pinebrook Elementary School, Aldie
Potowmack Elementary School, Sterling
Rolling Ridge Elementary School, Sterling
Round Hill Elementary School, Round Hill
Sanders Corner Elementary School, Ashburn
Seldens Landing Elementary School, Leesburg
Sterling Elementary School, Sterling
Sugarland Elementary School, Sterling
Sully Elementary School, Sterling
John W. Tolbert Jr. Elementary School, Leesburg
Waterford Elementary School, Waterford

[edit] Instructional centers

C.S. Monroe Technology Center, Leesburg (technical school for high school students and graduates)
Douglass School, Leesburg (alternative education center)
Loudoun Academy of Science, Sterling (specialized science and mathematics center similar to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, Virginia)