Monticello High School (Virginia)

Monticello High School (MHS) is a suburban public high school located in Albemarle County, Virginia, United States outside Charlottesville. Opened in 1998, it is one of three traditional comprehensive high schools in the Albemarle County Public Schools System. The school is named after Monticello, the nearby estate of President Thomas Jefferson.

Monticello High School
Address
1400 Independence Way

Charlottesville
,
VA
22902

United States
Information
School typePublic high school
Established1998
PrincipalRick Vrhovac
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,207 (2019-20)
Schedule typeFour-by-Four Yearlong
CampusSuburban
Color(s)          Black and Gold
Athletics conferenceJefferson District
VHSL Group 3A West Region
MascotMustang
Feeder schoolsWalton Middle School
Burley Middle School
WebsiteSchool website

With an enrollment of 1,207 students in grades 9 through 12, Monticello receives students from Walton and Burley Middle Schools, which cover the southern and eastern portions of the county. The school colors are black and gold, and the mascot is a Mustang. The school's fight song uses the tune of The Victors. A new fight song was introduced in 2017, called "Stang Up". This song was created by students of the school, and is played on a local radio station. The song follows the tune of the song Gang Up.

Effective in the 2019-20 school year, Monticello, along with all the other Albemarle County high schools, operates on a Four-by-Four yearlong schedule, with two sets of classes alternating days and Fridays switching between the two. Rick Vrohovac was selected as Monticello High School's sixth principal in August 2017.

Accolades and academics

In the spring of 2006, biology teacher Jeremy Dove was recognized with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. MHS has a reputation as Albemarle County's "green school," as it was built to be energy-efficient and environmentally friendly, with skylights, a natural biofilter in the parking lot, solar panels, and an on-campus artificial wetland.

Monticello High School is fully accredited by the Virginia State Board of Education and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The school offers 19 Advanced Placement courses, which are: English 11 and 12, European History, US History, US Government, World History, Human Geography, Biology II, French V, Spanish V, German V, Psychology, Statistics, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Physics II, Chemistry II, Environmental Science, and Studio Art.

MHS uses Albemarle County's standard grading scale, according to which: A=90-100, B=89-80, C=79-70, D=69-60 and F =59 and below. A weighed average is used to determine class rank, although no valedictorian or salutatorian is named at graduation.

Athletics

Monticello High School offers 25 interscholastic sports as well as theater, scholastic bowl, and debate programs.

Since it opened in 1998, Monticello has been a member of the Jefferson District, which includes seven other area high schools in Region II of the Virginia High School League's AA classification (A-AAA scale). In football, the school has shifted between Divisions 3 and 4 of Class AA. For the 2009-2011 two season cycle, MHS competes in Division 3.

Athletics Director Matthew Pearman has been at MHS since October 2014, following the resignation of former AD Fitzgerald Barnes who had been at MHS since the school opened. Barnes resigned in September 2014, after admitting to being involved with David Deane, the Vice President of Downtown Athletic, and Charles Phillips, the Vice President of Sales for Team Distributor, a sports apparel retailer in Maryland, in a scheme to fix bids on athletic apparel purchased for Monticello High School.

The Mustangs won at least 8 games each football season from 2002-2008. In 2003, Monticello advanced to the Division 3 state championship and lost to Gretna High School. The Mustangs returned to the Division 3 State Championship in 2007 and defeated Richlands High School 36-22, clinching the first state championship for any Charlottesville-area high school football team. In the following 2008 season, Coach Bicknell's team claimed back-to-back Region II Championships, but the season ended abruptly after a controversial 4th Quarter penalty in a Division 3 state semifinal game at James Monroe High School.

The Monticello debate team has been to the VHSL State Championship twice in their three-year existence.

On-campus facilities include a multi-purpose stadium with track, softball and baseball fields, a cross country running trail, multiple practice fields, two gymnasiums and weight rooms. The school's boys and girls tennis teams use the courts at adjacent Piedmont Virginia Community College. As of August 2009, Mustang Stadium features an All Turf Playing Field. Construction began in June 2009 after several years of planning and fundraising.

Since 2002, Mustang Stadium has also served as the venue for the Jefferson Classic, a high school marching band contest held the first Saturday in October and sponsored by the Monticello Bands and Music Boosters.

Notable alumni
  • Mike Brown – Wide Receiver, formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars
  • Ben King – World-class professional cyclist, has participated in several international races including the Tour De France.
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References

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