Rockbridge County High School

At time of writing I am a Senior attending this school. There are plenty of bad words circulating about this school, and while there are some problems I would like to shed some good on this school. Firstly, there is the utterly splendid Theatre department. What's disappointing is the lack of funding towards this, though. It might seem that all the funding for extracurricular activites heads to the sports (not that I'm decrying sports, I support our wildcat sports!). It is almost upsetting to know this and consider the high quality of the productions put forth, with both student and teacher working together. The Art department is also poorly-advertised. Not sure on their numerical funding as I have not taken a physical art class. However, I have taken Creative Writing and Expository Writing, which I believe were very enriching classes. I would like to believe that these classes have attributed to my (hopefully) excellent writing. The rest of the courses are fairly cut-and-go: the standard maths, sciences, englishes, etc. The quality of those classes often depends upon the teacher in charge. I essence, the school has a slightly tainted rep. but offers excellently enriching courses.
--Submitted by a student

I have a son who will be a Junior this year and I have been very pleased with the High School.
--Submitted by a parent

As a parent of a recent RCHS graduate, I am very disappointed in the leadership of this school. It's a shame the principal has not been replaced by a more ethical person. I hear this echoed throughout Rockbridge County, Buena Vista and my child even said the teachers can't tolerate her. You wonder why the constant faculty turnover? If coming to the area please look at Buena Vista or a private school. I will for my other child.
--Submitted by a parent

There have been a lot of changes. Personal I found the lost of mr. Brain, the form principal of rchs, to be a major loss to everyone.Make no mistake the staff is underpaid. Yet they continue to put out a most stellar performance in the work place and with the students. Quality of academic programs and availability of music, art, sports and other extracurricular activities are all above average. I often complained that there is not enough time in a school day or year to do all the courses I wanted to do.
--Submitted by Andrew Pharr, a student

Overall this school is no different from any other, they need a strong PTA, with parent volunteers in the classes, hallways, etc. They also need a PAC, parents advisory counsel, PAC's are given funding every school year to better supply the students with the supplies, computers, books, etc. that they need, and the Principal has no say. It's totally up to the parents to decide where the monies are allocated.
--Submitted by Yvette Peterson, a parent

The Principal and other administrators lack leadership skills and discipline is unfair because it is not consistent with each student.' I agree 100% with this statement. Can't wait to leave this area just because of this school. My two sons are 100% dissatified going to school here. Their education has suffered.
--Submitted by a parent

I am very happy overall - there is a bit of change over in some of the faculty, which can cause some issues, but my experience with the school administration has been very good. They are helpful in resolving issues. I think parents involvement is paramount in getting the most from the school for your children.
--Submitted by Chuck Volpe, a parent

More and more teachers are quitting or retireing and the few replacements that we recieve are hardly qualified for the job, several are just subs hired for full time. Discipline is a joke, one student may be expelled and the other given a warning for the same offense, as far as I can tell it's based on who's mom knows the principal. It is hard to even walk down the halls with 300 new freshmen this year, the school was not built to hold as many students as are enrolled.
--Submitted by a student

Rockbridge County HS is a wonderful place to receive an enriching education. The school is clean and teachers are well organized. The passion and dedication of the teachers at RCHS has inspired me to become a teacher. They truly care. Most of the teachers that are teaching there today have been there for a really long time.
--Submitted by a former student

'For a rural school,' RCHS competes with private schools for course offerings and teacher quality. Until critics have seen some of the 'poor' urban or rural schools, they have no room to criticize RCHS. How can this site--or a critic of it--be taken seriously when the claim the school is rat-infested is allowed to stand unchallenged? Please do your own research and do not listen to disgruntle people who may try to sway your opinion.
--Submitted by a parent