Loudoun County Public Schools

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Loudoun County Public Schools
Location
21000 Education Court
Ashburn, VA 20148
United States
Information
Type Public
Established 1870
Staff 604
Faculty 9,035
Grades K-12
Enrollment 76,263
Information 800-273-8255
Superintendent Eric Williams
School Board Chairman Eric Hornberger
Website http://www.lcps.org/

Loudoun County Public Schools is a branch of the Loudoun County, Virginia, United States government, and administers public schools in the county. LCPS's headquarters is located at 21000 Education Court in Ashburn, an unincorporated section of the county.[1]

Due to the rapid growth in the region, LCPS is the fastest growing school division in Virginia and one of the fastest growing public school districts in the United States, serving over 70,000 students in the 2013-2014 school year.[2] LCPS is the third largest school division in Virginia, surpassing the enrollment of Virginia Beach City Public Schools in the 2013–2014 school year.[3]

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 1960s, Loudoun County's population skyrocketed, accompanied by that of the school system. More than thirty schools have been built between 1996 and 2006.[4]

Administration

The LCPS system, while operated on a day-to-day basis by the Superintendent (Dr. Eric Williams) is managed under the direction and authority of the Loudoun County School Board, a nine-member panel elected by citizens in the county. Eight of the nine board 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 correspond to those used for Loudoun County Board of Supervisors elections. Unlike the Board of Supervisors, the chairmanship of the School Board is elected annually by its 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.

Demographics

In the 2015-16 school year, LCPS was 52% White; 7% Black; 17% Hispanic; 20% Asian; and 5% Multi.[5]

Schools

High schools

With the opening of Riverside High School, Loudoun County has 15 high schools. All but two high schools, Loudoun Valley and Broad Run, are two stories. Loudoun County (1954), the oldest high school, can hold around 1,370 students, Loudoun Valley (1962) and Broad Run (1969) can hold around 1390-1410 (Loudoun Valley and Broad Run were built with a similar design), although Broad Run can hold more because it has 9 trailers on site as of 2012, Park View (1976) can hold about 1370 and Potomac Falls (1997) can hold about 1400. Potomac Falls' design has been used with every high school in Loudoun County built after it, with a bigger auditorium and more classrooms. Stone Bridge (2000), Heritage (2002), Briar Woods (2005), Freedom (2005), and Woodgrove (2010) can hold 1600 students. Dominion High School (2003) is an exception to the 1,600 capacity rule, the school is structurally designed for 1,600 students however because it is the site of the Academy of Science the actual student capacity for Dominion High School students is 1,350 and the remaining seats are designated for the Academy of Science students. With the opening of Tuscarora High School (2010), the new high schools still use the Potomac Falls design template but with an 1800 student capacity. When Riverside High School (HS-8) opened in 2015 it had a 1,600 student capacity not the standard 1,800 because of little increase in student population foreseen in the Ashburn area.[6]

All high schools serve grades 9–12.

Middle schools

Loudoun County currently has 14 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 gone 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. Since the opening of J. Michael Lunsford, all middle schools are built with a two-story design that can carry 1,350 students.

Serves grades 6–8.

Future schools

Intermediate schools

LCPS had one intermediate school (Harmony Intermediate School, now Harmony Middle School) in the western part of the county which served 8th and 9th graders. This was only a temporary concept to relieve crowding at Blue Ridge Middle School and Loudoun Valley High School which ended after Woodgrove High School opened in Fall 2010.[10]

Elementary schools

LCPS currently has 51 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. Since the opening of Buffalo Trail Elementary School, all elementary schools are built with a two-story design that can carry 875 students.

Serves grades K-5

  • Aldie Elementary School, Aldie
  • Algonkian Elementary School, Sterling
  • Arcola Elementary School, Aldie
  • Ashburn Elementary School, Ashburn
  • Ball's Bluff Elementary School, Leesburg
  • Banneker Elementary School, Middleburg
  • Belmont Station Elementary School, Ashburn
  • Buffalo Trail Elementary School, Aldie
  • Cardinal Ridge Elementary School, Centreville
  • Catoctin Elementary School, Leesburg
  • Cedar Lane Elementary School, Ashburn
  • Cool Spring Elementary School, Leesburg
  • Countryside Elementary School, Sterling
  • Creighton's Corner Elementary School, Ashburn
  • Discovery Elementary School, Ashburn
  • Dominion Trail Elementary School, Ashburn
  • Emerick Elementary School, Purcellville
  • Evergreen Mill Elementary School, Leesburg
  • Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School, Leesburg
  • Frederick Douglass 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
  • Kenneth Culbert Elementary School, Hamilton
  • Leesburg Elementary School, Leesburg
  • Legacy Elementary School, Ashburn
  • Liberty Elementary School, South Riding
  • Lincoln Elementary School, 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 Community Charter School, Middleburg (formerly Middleburg Elementary School)
  • Mill Run Elementary School, Ashburn
  • Moorefield Station 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
  • Rosa Lee Carter Elementary School, Ashburn
  • Round Hill Elementary School, Round Hill
  • Sanders Corner Elementary School, Ashburn
  • Seldens Landing Elementary School, Leesburg
  • Sterling Elementary School, Sterling
  • Steuart W. Weller Elementary School, Ashburn
  • Sugarland Elementary School, Sterling
  • Sully Elementary School, Sterling
  • Sycolin Creek Elementary School, Leesburg
  • John W. Tolbert Jr. Elementary School, Leesburg
  • Waterford Elementary School, Waterford

Instructional centers

Curriculum

High schools

Students primarily attend classes on their home campus, but have opportunities to take additional, specialized courses at LCPS's magnet and alternative schools, such as science and math at Loudoun Academy of Science and vocational education classes at C.S. Monroe Technology Center.

Each school's instructional curriculum is set primarily by the LCPS district office based on Virginia Department of Education requirements. There are generally eleven academic departments, each supervised by a department head (usually a teacher):[11]

  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Social Science
  • Band
  • Fine Arts
  • Health & P.E.
  • Technology Education
  • World Languages
  • ESL
  • Career & Technical (C.T.E.)

The "core" courses of English, mathematics, science and social science typically have tracks or sequences that are determined by grade level (e.g. English 9, English 10, English 11, etc.; and earth science, biology, chemistry, etc.). This is true for some of the other course groups as well, such as world languages, physical education and fine arts. Additionally, many of the core courses are further arranged into basic/general, academic, honors and Advanced Placement (AP) classifications. Each classification generally denotes a progressively more challenging level of instruction, although the distinction between honors and AP is often blurred.

Students attending Loudoun Academy of Science at Dominion High School in Sterling and C.S. Monroe Technology Center in Leesburg do so every other class day, taking their non-magnet classes (typically core courses, such as English, social sciences and electives) at their home campuses on the alternate days.

Specialized programs

ESL

Nearly all LCPS schools offer a full English as a Second Language program, for students whose native language is not English and who do not speak and/or read English well. For school assessment purposes, these learners are referred to as "Limited English Proficient" or "LEP" students.

Special education

LCPS offers a wide range of Special Education programs for students who have minor learning disabilities to those with mild to moderate mental retardation in most schools. If a student is severely mentally impaired, he or she attends a special county wide program at Loudoun County High School or Heritage High School.

See also

External links

References

Citations

  1. ↑ "Directions." Loudoun County Public Schools. Retrieved on April 4, 2009.
  2. ↑ Jackson, Charlie (September 15, 2006). "LCPS Anticipated More Students". Leesburg Today. Retrieved December 31, 2006.
  3. ↑ http://www.doe.virginia.gov. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ↑ Somashekhar, Sandra (September 7, 2006). "Building a School from the Inside Out". The Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). Retrieved November 21, 2007.
  5. ↑ "Enrollment by Ethnicity/Race". LCPS.
  6. ↑ "School Board Adopted FY13 CIP" (PDF). Loudoun County Public Schools. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  7. ↑ "Academies of Loudoun". lcps.org. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Madison's Trust Elementary School -- Opening Fall 2016". lcps.org. Retrieved January 9, 2016.
  9. ↑ "UPDATE: After controversy, new Dulles middle school up for a new name". Retrieved March 10, 2016.
  10. ↑ Loudoun County Public Schools. "School Board Adopted FY10-FY14 Capital Improvement Program" (PDF). Loudoun County Schools. p. 140. Retrieved 9 September 2012.
  11. ↑ "Broad Run Academics Overview". Loudoun County Public Schools. 2006/7. Retrieved December 27, 2006. Check date values in: |date= (help)

Sources

Coordinates: 39°02′42″N 77°31′08″W / 39.0451°N 77.5188°W / 39.0451; -77.5188

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