McLean High School

McLean High School is a public school in McLean, Virginia known for its academic achievement, student publications, and award-winning band program. It is at 1633 Davidson Road and is part of Fairfax County Public Schools. In its 2020 report on the top high schools in the United States, U.S. News & World Report rated McLean the 236th best high school in the nation and the third-best high school (and second-best non-magnet school) in Virginia, behind Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and rival Langley High School, awarding the school "Gold Medal" status.[3]

McLean High School
Address
McLean High School
McLean High School
McLean High School
1633 Davidson Road

McLean
,
Virginia
22101
Information
School typePublic, high school
Founded1955
School districtFairfax County Public Schools
PrincipalEllen Reilly
Staff204.3 (FTE) (2019-20)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment2,350 (2019-20)[2]
Student to teacher ratio16.53
LanguageEnglish
CampusSuburban
Color(s)Red and silver ██
MascotHighlander
Feeder schoolsLongfellow Middle School
Rival schoolsLangley High School
Madison High School
George C. Marshall High School
Athletic conferencesLiberty District
Northern Region
Websitehttp://www.fcps.edu/McLeanHS

History

Fairfax County Public Schools purchased a 22-acre tract for $32,443 for the future McLean High School on August 6, 1952.[4] McLean High opened its doors September 6, 1955 with an enrollment of 1031 students from grades 8 through 11 with Principal Craighill S. Burks.[5] At the time, McLean was the newest high school in Fairfax County, and the only high school located in McLean since the Franklin Sherman School, originally built in 1914, ceased to function as a high school in the late 1930s.[5]McLean High celebrated its 50th reunion in 2005.[6]

The town of McLean received its name from John Roll McLean, an Ohio native who was the owner and publisher of the Washington Post and one of the founders of the Washington and Old Dominion Railways. A railroad stop named after McLean was once located at the intersection of Old Dominion Drive and Chain Bridge Road, about a mile from the high school's current location.[7] The McLean community combined two existing villages, Lewinsville and Langley.

Demographics

In the 2019–20 school year, McLean High School had 2350 students and its student body was:

  • 53.5% White
  • 25.7% Asian/Pacific Islander
  • 11.5% Hispanic
  • 3.1% Black
  • 6.1% Two or More Races[8]
  • 47.8% Female
  • 52.2% Male[9]

Due to the school's growing enrollment, which has increased by over 550 students since 2006, the Fairfax County School Board has been considering a boundary change to move some of McLean's students to rival Langley High School, which received a significant expansion during the school's recent renovation, even though Langley has not experienced similar enrollment growth. The boundary study has been delayed, however, first when parents realized that FCPS had not included the feeder middle schools for McLean and Langley (Longfellow Middle School and Cooper Middle School) within the scope of the original boundary study, and then by the Covid-19 crisis.[10] As a result, McLean remains one of FCPS's most overcrowded high schools.[11]

Test scores

McLean High School is a fully accredited high school based on the Standards of Learning tests in Virginia. The average SAT score for McLean's Class of 2018 was 1308 (including both Critical Reading and Writing and Math), the third-highest among Fairfax County's 25 high and secondary schools.[12] In addition, the participation and success rates of McLean students on Advanced Placement exams typically are among the highest in Fairfax County Public Schools.[13]

Athletics

The school plays in the Liberty District and the Group 6A North Region. Their mascot is the Highlander, a soldier in a Scottish regiment from the Highlands. Their primary rival school is Langley High School, which is also in McLean. Other rival schools include Marshall High School in Falls Church, Madison High School in Vienna, and Yorktown High School in Arlington.

Baseball

The Highlanders baseball team is one of the most successful programs at the school, capturing numerous district titles and regional playoff berths. From 2006 to 2012, they were coached by John Thomas (MHS '96, Virginia '00) and compiled an impressive 60–31 record as well as district and regional playoff berths every year. In 2009 the Highlanders captured the Liberty District regular season and tournament titles. The Highlanders ended the season with a 1–0 loss to Centreville High School in the first round of the region tournament. In 2010, the Highlanders repeated as regular-season champions and compiled a 17–3 record, 13–1 in the district and finished 19–5. The Highlanders entered the 2010 season ranked #1 by the Northern Region coaches poll and held the rank for the entire season. The Washington Post ranked McLean as the 2nd best team in the Northern Virginia/Southern Maryland/DC metro area the entire season. The Highlanders failed to win the District, falling to James Madison High School in the title game. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the Northern Region Tournament where they lost 13–10 to Oakton High School.

In 2014, under new head coach John Dowling, the Highlanders were the Region 6A North runner-up to Chantilly High School, thereby qualifying for the state tournament for the first time in the school's history. In 2019, Dowling's baseball team won the Liberty District championship by defeating Yorktown High School,[14] and were favored to repeat as district champions in 2020 until the season was canceled due to Covid-19.

Football

McLean's football team finished the 1980 season 10–1, led by future Notre Dame and New York Giants player Eric Dorsey. The Highlanders were also one of the top teams in the Northern Region in the 1990s. In 1995, the Highlanders finished 12-1 and played Virginia powerhouse Hampton High in the state semi-final. They also won numerous district titles and went to the regional playoffs in 1992, 1996, and 1997.

The Highlanders began a slow fall from the top of the hill starting around 2001, and had losing seasons from 2002–08. After an 0–10 campaign in 2008, the 2009 team rebounded to 6–5 and made the Northern Region playoffs, losing in the first round to Robert E. Lee High School. Their six wins broke the VHSL record for the best turnaround by a team. The 2009 season highlight came in beating rival school Langley High School in a 35–34 overtime bout, winning the Rotary Cup, the trophy given to the winner of every sporting match between the two schools, and the Battle of the Scots for the 1st time in 12 years. The Highlanders started the 2010 season 8–0 overall and 5–0 in district play, the best start to the program in 15 years. The Highlanders began their 2010 campaign preseason-ranked last in the district by the Washington Post, with a 1-star rating according to the online preview. After the 8-0 start in 2010, the Highlanders closed the season with an 8-3 record after losses to Stone Bridge and Langley, followed by a loss in the first round of the regional playoffs to Hayfield Secondary School.

McLean's 2011 season was another successful season for the Highlanders. The Highlanders went 6–4 in the regular season, beating archrival Langley High School 21–0 to close the regular season. The Highlanders then went over to Arlington the next week for the playoffs and fell to eventual Division 5 runner-up Yorktown High School 20–6. At the conclusion of the 2011 season, it was announced that Coach Jim Patrick would be promoted to Athletics Director and that McLean had hired Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology Defensive Coordinator Dennis Worek as the new head coach. After a 5–5 season in 2013, Worek retired, and was replaced with Shaun Blair, a former assistant coach from Lake Braddock Secondary School, as McLean's head football coach.

After McLean went 5-5 in 2014, four losing seasons followed. In McLean's 2016 season, the Highlanders' varsity team went 1–11, while their JV team was 2–10, and their freshmen team was 0–8. The varsity team's only win was against Fairfax High School (Fairfax, Virginia), which was the homecoming game. The Highlanders were up by 1 when Fairfax attempted a field goal within the last minute. A McLean player blocked the field goal and another McLean player, Amir McCormick, returned the ball for a touchdown, securing the 28-20 victory and handing McLean their only win of the season.[15] This ending to the game was reported on multiple local news outlets as a miracle for McLean.

After back-to-back 0-10 seasons in 2017 and 2018, the Highlanders rebounded to a 5-5 regular-season record in 2019, surprising the rest of the Liberty District, which did not expect the Highlanders to field such a competitive squad. The team, headed by McLean graduate John Scholla, concluded their season with a 17-7 win over the rival Langley Saxons, the first McLean victory over Langley since 2011. Other season highlights included an opening game win over Osbourn Park and a homecoming win over Wakefield, the first home win since the 2016 homecoming stunner.

Basketball

The Highlanders boys basketball team is currently coached by Mike O'Brien, and previously was coached by Kevin Roller, who compiled an 82-69 record over six seasons.[16] In the 2011–12 season, under Roller, the Highlander boys won the Liberty District in a thrilling double-overtime victory over Fairfax High School.[17] That team finished 24-4, after beating Centreville High School and Lake Braddock Secondary School in the first two rounds of the regional tournament before falling to eventual regional champion Westfield High School in the semifinals.[18] The team enjoyed another successful season under Roller in 2012-13, finishing the year as the district runner-up and again making it to the regional playoffs. In the 2018–19 season, O'Brien's only winning season since taking over in 2013, the boys compiled a 17–10 record and finished tied for second in the Liberty District behind South Lakes High School. While successful, the season also saw controversy, as the Highlanders led the Liberty District at mid-season, but were then forced to forfeit a game to a last-place Herndon squad after it was discovered that McLean's coaching staff had scheduled more games over a holiday break than allowed under VHSL rules.[19] During the regional playoffs, led by Maine commit Matias Prock, the Highlanders defeated Oakton High School, for their first regional win since 2012, before falling to Patriot High School.[20] Despite strong freshmen squads in both 2016-17 and 2017-18, with a combined 28-4 record under coach Rusty Payne, the 2019-20 varsity under O'Brien saw another losing season, although a victory over Langley High School in late January 2020 to retain the Rotary Cup for the third consecutive year was a season highlight.[21]

The Highlanders girls basketball team is coached by Jen Sobota and has enjoyed more success than the boys team in recent years. The girls team defeated South Lakes High School to win the Liberty District championship in 2018–19, compiling an 18–7 record.[22] District and region player-of-the-year Elizabeth Dufrane became McLean's all-time leading scorer in the 2019-20 season, in which the girls team finished 17-10 and defeated Oakton in the regional playoffs before falling to state co-champion Madison High School in the semifinals. The new scoring record by Dufrane now sits at 1,563 points, breaking the school's previous record of 1,306. [23]

Soccer

McLean's soccer program has consistently been among the stronger programs in the Northern Virginia region of the VHSL League. With the competitive travel soccer players of Northern Virginia and other notable foreign students joining the program, both the boys and girls varsity teams have enjoyed success, and the McLean girls team won the 2011 State Championship. The boy's team, coached by Mike Anderson, finished 7-3-1 with a young team in 2011, after having been knocked out of the state tournament in 2010 by state runners-up Battlefield High School in penalties, with a final score of 2–2. The program, currently headed by William Gaitan (boys) and Rob Bouchard (girls), has sent a number of players to competitive D1 colleges, including James Madison, Radford, George Mason, Kentucky and Central Florida.

Ice Hockey

The Highlanders are a founding member of the Northern Virginia Scholastic Hockey League, and have made the playoffs 9 times in the last 12 years. Under the guidance of head coach John Sherlock, The Highlanders advanced to the 2010–2011 NVSHL championship game before falling 7–2 to the Stone Bridge Bulldogs. Many of the Highlanders have gone on to play in collegiate clubs around the United States and Canada.

Crew

As is ice hockey, crew is a club sport at McLean, recognized by the Virginia Scholastic Rowing Association rather than by the Virginia High School League. In recent years, both the boys and girls crew teams have enjoyed considerable success, with the boys varsity eight winning back-to-back VSRA state titles in 2018 and 2019 (one of only five schools in the state to capture more than one VSRA varsity eight championship) and the girls varsity eight finishing as the state runner-up in 2019. [24] Rowers at McLean have been recruited to numerous colleges and universities, including Boston College, Cornell, Fordham, Miami, MIT, the Naval Academy, Princeton, and Tufts since 2012.

State championships and runner-up finishes

State Championships

  • AAA Girls Field Hockey in 1986
  • AAA Softball in 2010
  • AAA Girls Soccer in 2011
  • 6A Girls Gymnastics in 2014
  • 6A Girls Gymnastics in 2015
  • 6A Boys Tennis in 2017
  • VSRA Boys Varsity Crew in 2018
  • VSRA Boys Varsity Crew in 2019
  • 6A Scholastic Bowl in 2020

State Runner-up finishes

  • AAA Wrestling in 1970 and 1971
  • AAA Field Hockey in 1982
  • AAA Boys Soccer in 1995
  • AAA Field Hockey in 2001
  • AAA Girls Tennis in 2010
  • NVSHL Varsity Hockey in 2011

McLean has also finished 1st place in the AAA Wachovia Cup for Academics in the 1999–2000 year.

Music programs

McLean's band program is currently conducted by Chris Weise, who took over the direction of the band at the beginning of the 2008–2009 school year. Jim Kirchenbauer, who had been the conductor since 1982, was forced to step down from his position early because of serious health concerns. Under Mr. Kirchenbauer, the McLean band was awarded many honors, such as the Sudler Flag of Honor, an award granted by the John Phillip Sousa Foundation for consistent superior musical performance, in 2000, and again in 2018 under the direction of Chris Weise. McLean remains one of only seven bands in the country who have earned the award twice. The band also traveled to the Midwest Clinic in 2006, one of the most prestigious performances a high school band can achieve.

Mclean's concert band program is divided into three main ensembles: the Concert Band, the Wind Ensemble, and the Symphonic Band (the school's premiere band). McLean also has two award-winning jazz bands under the direction of Scott Weinhold and a chamber winds program led by Deidra Denson, which performed at Music For All's 2018 Chamber Music National Festival in Indianapolis. McLean High School also has a marching band. Once the annual show is determined and created, the marching band practices for over 250 hours to achieve a final product. In both 2016 and 2017, the McLean Highlander Marching Band won the title of Virginia State Champions.

McLean's Choral program is currently conducted by Linda Martin. Under Martin, the McLean chorus is ranked 9th in the nation as of 2009, the only non-performing arts school in the top 10. Chorus has also received many high-level awards and honors at local and national competitions. The chorus program consists of four separate choruses: Women's, Men's, Armonia, and the Madrigals.

The McLean Orchestra program is currently conducted by McLean High School alumni Starlet Smith. It consists of four separate orchestras: Concert, Symphonic, Sinfonia, and Philharmonic. McLean belongs to District XII of the Virginia Band & Orchestra Directors Association. The McLean High School Philharmonic Orchestra has participated in a musical exchange program with sister school, Grabbe Gymnasium, located in Detmold, Germany for over 20 years. In alternating years, musicians from the Grabbe Gymnasium travel to McLean and collaborate on a joint concert with McLean High School's Philharmonic Orchestra, while McLean Philharmonic musicians travel to Detmold for a similar experience with their German counterparts.

Mascot

The school considered itself "The Eagles" before becoming "The Highlanders". Girls' sports teams were known as "The Bald Eagles". The mascot was changed to its current form today in 1958 after a school-wide vote to instead reference 'the Scottish heritage' of McLean, Virginia, with boys teams being called The Highlanders, and girls The Lady Highlanders. However, the area is not known for having any significant Scottish settlements during its history. It is more likely that the name was inspired by the Union forces of the 79th New York "Highlanders", who fought a minor battle during the Civil War at nearby Lewinsville Park.[25] The Highlander, whose picture appeared at midcourt of the gym until recent years when it was changed to an 'M', was named 'Angus'.

Newspaper

McLean also has an award-winning newspaper, The Highlander. The Highlander has existed since the school opened. In 1956, it was named the Hilltop Highlights, but was changed in 1958 to The Highlander.

In 2006, The Highlander was inducted into the high school newspaper Hall of Fame after ten consecutive years of being an "All American".[26] Since the paper's first publication, it has gone from a newspaper format to a news magazine format. In 2012, the newspaper also launched a website publication, The Highlander Online.[27]

In 2017, The Highlander was one of 49 high school publications nationwide to be named a finalist for the National Scholastic Press Association's "Pacemaker" award.[28] Repeating that honor in 2020, The Highlander was one of 28 high school publications nationwide to be named a finalist for the "Pacemaker" award.[29] In 2019, The Highlander was also a finalist for the Columbia Scholastic Press Association's "Crown Award" for student journalism.[30] Individual articles that have received recognition have addressed topics such as refugees in Northern Virginia, gender identity, and student athletes with concussions.[31]

Yearbook

The Clan was the original name of McLean's award-winning yearbook. In 2004, The Clan was inducted into the National Scholastic Press Association Hall of Fame after ten years of consecutively being "All American".[26] The yearbook's name was changed to Caledonia in 2019.

Committee For Students' Rights

In 2006, seven members of the senior class, calling themselves the Committee For Students' Rights, staged a protest against the plagiarism detection service Turnitin. The committee argued that the use of Turnitin was a violation of their intellectual property rights, put them in a situation where the guilt of all parties was assumed, and also violated student privacy as specified in FERPA. The students were interviewed for three articles in the Washington Post, received the services of an intellectual property attorney, and one of them, Ben Donovan, was featured on NBC's The Today Show. On March 27, 2007, four high school students, two from McLean, filed legal action against iParadigms LLC, the parent company of Turnitin.com. The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, the jurisdiction where McLean lies. iParadigms counterclaimed, alleging one of the students hacked into its service. Approximately one year later, the district court granted summary judgment in favor of iParadigms and against the students based on the doctrine of fair use, and against iParadigms on their hacking claim because they failed to prove any monetary damages. Both parties appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. On April 16, 2009, the 4th Circuit court affirmed the district court's judgment against the students in favor of iParadigms, and reversed and remanded the judgment against iParadigms on the hacking claims.[32]

Notable alumni

Notable McLean High School alumni include:

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  3. https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/rankings
  4. "Fairfax Due For 2.4 Million In School Aid". The Washington Post. August 6, 1952.
  5. Smith, Marie D. (September 27, 1955). "'Community Spirit' Guides McLean High". The Washington Post and Times Hearld.
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  29. https://patch.com/virginia/mclean/mclean-highs-student-newspaper-finalist-national-award
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  32. Wilkinson, Motz, Traxler (2009-04-16). "Appellate Decision" (PDF). United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-04-19. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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