Gar-Field Senior High School

For other schools with similar names, see Garfield High School (disambiguation).

Gar-Field Senior High School
Address
14000 Smoketown Road Woodbridge, Virginia 22192
Information
School type	Public, high school
Motto	School of Champions
Founded	1951
School district	Prince William County Public Schools
School number	(703) 730-7000
Principal	Dr. Cherif Sadki
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	2,602
Color(s)	Red      White      Blue
Mascot	Indian
Website	www.gar-field.org/

Gar-Field Senior High School is a senior high school in Dale City in unincorporated Prince William County, Virginia, USA, with students in grades 9 through 12. Established in 1951, it was originally located at 15941 Cardinal Drive until the current school opened in 1972 on 14000 Smoketown Road.

It has recently been one of the largest high schools in Virginia, with enrollment peaking at over 3,000.

History

The high school's motto is "The School of Champions." And have been rivals with Woodbridge High School for many years.

The name Gar-Field is derived from two prominent local families, the Garbers and the Manderfields, who donated the land for the original school just off of U.S. Highway #1. The comic strip "Ber-Mander," which appears on the back page of the school newspaper, utilizes the unused portions of these names. Ber-Mander was created by artist Chris Sprouse (a 1984 graduate of Gar-Field) in the early 1980s, and featured a "hippie" title character.

In the 1950s, Gar-Field was segregated, as were Virginia's other schools. However, in 1960, African-American students were enrolled without incident.

Gar-Field is one of two high schools in Prince William County that offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program and the IB Middle Years Program ([1]). It also has the only accredited daycare system of any high school in the state, with a program that allows student-parents to finish their education while learning about how to take care of their children.

Gar-Field is of similar design to that of nearby Woodbridge High School, which was also built in the mid-1970s.

In May 2007, Newsweek Magazine ranked Gar-Field 564th in the nation on its annual list of "Best High Schools in America."

In June 2007, then-principal Roger Dallek announced his retirement after over 20 years at Gar-Field. He was succeeded by Dr. Brenda L. Aiken in the 2007-2008 school year. Dr. Aiken was a former resident of New York state and served for over 20 years with the Fairfax County school system. Dr. Brenda L. Aiken died of cancer at 53 years old on Saturday May 16, 2009. Former principal Roger Dallek returned to fill the position for the remainder of the 2008-2009 school year.

Upon the start of the 2009-2010 school year, William Bixby took the position of principal until his promotion at the end of the 2013 school year. Dr. Cherif Sadki, a former vice principal, took over as principal for the 2013-2014 school year. As of 2014, Dr. Sadki still occupies the position.

Graduation rates and ceremonies

Gar-Field graduates between 500 and 700 students every June, and since 2002 all graduations have taken place at the Patriot Center at nearby George Mason University in order to accommodate the large crowds. The class of 2000 was the first graduating class to have the ceremony at George Mason University.

Robotics Team

Gar-field High School's esteemed Robotics team started in 2006, and that same year the team won the Virginia FTC Championship and represented G-F at the World Championships in Atlanta. The following season G-F placed second in the VA Championship, and in the 2008-2009 season the Varsity team, Team 33, Leviathan, went to Dallas, TX for the VEX World Championship. They placed within the top 50 out of about 250 teams from all over the world. The G-F Robotics team has built a stellar reputation in a very short time in the robotics community.

During the Robotics season of 2009-2010, the Varsity Team 33, Maverick, placed 12th in Robot Skills at the 2009-2010 VEX Robotics World Championships in Dallas, TX. They also placed within the top half of their division.

This past 2010-2011 season, the Gar-Field Robotics team was represented in the Prince William County Zero Robotics Team, SuperNOVA. This team, consisting of students from Osbourn Park, Gar-Field, and Battlefield HS, placed in the Top 5 (Semi-Finalist Standings) and ended up in 3rd place in the nation (Finals). Varsity FTC Team 33, Maverick was a member of the VA FIRST FTC State Championship alliance and attended the 2011 VEX World Championships at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Center in FL. The team is also responsible for reaching out to the community and to provide mentorship to the surrounding middle schools in need of help and support, such as Beville Middle School and Woodbridge Middle School. The team also actively volunteers by running Qualifiers and the annual Roboticon for the middle school students. G-F Robotics members have also appeared in various functions in the community, such as the Annual Community Covenant in Manassas and National Young Readers' Day.

• 2008-2009 Season:
• ○ Excellence Award (VEX)
• 2009-2010 Season:
• ○ Community Award (FTC)
• ○ Spirit Award (VEX)
• ○ Tournament Champions (VEX)
• 2010-2011 Season:
• ○ Community Award (VEX)
• ○ Finalist Alliance (FTC)
• ○ Inspire Award (FTC)
• ○ Winning Alliance (FTC)
• ○ Think Award (FTC)
• ○ Tournament Champions (VEX)
• ○ Sportsmanship Award (VEX)
• ○ Commendation from the Prince William Board of County Supervisors for Robotics
• The Official Gar-Field Robotics website

Demographics

The following information was provided by PWCS.edu's school data profiles.

In the 2011-2012 school year, Gar-Field's student body was:

• 41.2% Hispanic of any race
• 26.6% Black/African American
• 15.8% White
• 9.2% Asian
• 6.8% Two or More Races
• 0.3% American Indian/Alaskan
• 0.1% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

In 2007-2008, Gar-Field's student body was:

• 31.8% Black
• 23.3% White
• 33.4% Hispanic
• 8.3% Asian/Pacific Islander
• 2.8% Other
• 0.4% N/A

Test Scores

SAT average: 971 (verbal - 489, math - 482)

ACT average: 20.8 composite

PSAT average: 138

International Baccalaureate Diploma Pass Rate: 86% (exceeds Virginia, US, and world averages)

Notable alumni

• Jeff Baker, professional MLB player, Colorado Rockies / Chicago Cubs

• Benita Fitzgerald, '84 gold medal Olympian

• John Goding, choreographer

• Emmylou Harris, country western singer

• Bob Malloy, Texas Rangers/Montreal Expos professional MLB player 1987 and 1990

• Brian McNichol, former MLB player (Chicago Cubs)

• Jeff Nixon, professional football player

• Winston October, gridiron football player

• Clint Sintim, NFL linebacker, New York Giants

• Chris Sprouse, comic book artist

• Sheena Tosta (née Johnson), Olympic hurdler; won silver in '08

• Susan Walvius, women's college basketball coach

• R. Chris White, Academy Award nominee, visual effects supervisor

• Othell Wilson, basketball player

• Andrew York, Grammy-winning recording artist

External links

• Official Gar-Field High School website
• Gar-Field IB Program Website
• Prince William County Public Schools