High school in Salem, Virginia, United States
Glenvar High School is a public high school in Roanoke County, Virginia, United States. It is one of the five high schools for the Roanoke County public school system. Glenvar High School serves the western end of Roanoke County and is located in the community of Glenvar, which is immediately west of Salem, Virginia.
History
Glenvar High School was opened in 1966 by Roanoke County public schools. Most, if not all, of the student body would previously have attended Andrew Lewis High School in Salem. However, the student bodies of Glenvar and Andrew Lewis were consolidated into the new Salem High School for the 1977–1978 school year. The former high schools became junior high schools.
Beginning with the 1982–1983 school year, the city of Salem established an independent school district and enrollment in Salem High School was limited to students from the city. Glenvar High School was reopened to serve western Roanoke County. The school housed grades 7 through 12 until a new building was constructed for Glenvar Middle School in 1996.
Academics
Glenvar High School is a comprehensive high school which includes grades 9–12 with a student enrollment of 650. The school offers courses in multiple academic disciplines including Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment courses. Specialized vocational education is available at the Arnold R. Burton Technology Center in Salem. Pass rates for Virginia's Standards of Learning tests average over 90%, which makes the school fully accredited.
The earth science and ecology students of Glenvar High School raise some of the brook trout hatchlings from Paint Bank, Virginia, which survive at a rate of 10 per cent, rather than the 1 to 3 percent that survive in the wild. They are released in the Roaring Run creek in Botetourt County, Virginia.[2]
Athletics and extracurriculars
Glenvar High School is a member of the Virginia High School League and competes in the A Three Rivers District. Glenvar competed in Group AA (called Group IB before 1971) when it was opened but dropped down to Group A shortly after it reopened. Glenvar has enjoyed success in athletics through its history.[citation needed] Glenvar captured Group AA state championships in football, men's basketball, men's outdoor track, and wrestling.[citation needed] Glenvar has won Group A state championships in baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, golf, women's softball, wrestling, volleyball, and men's tennis.[citation needed] Glenvar won the Wachovia Cup, the VHSL's award for overall athletic excellence, in Group A for the 1993–1994 school year.[citation needed]
Coach Richard "Dickie" Myers spent over forty years coaching wrestling, cross country, and track. He was the wrestling head coach for the 1971 and 1972 state championship teams and coached many individual state champions in wrestling and track. Jamie Soltis, principal of Glenvar High School for the 2017-2018 school year, was one of Myers' products in wrestling and track. Soltis won two state titles in wrestling at 103 and 112 pounds.[citation needed] Soltis also won state championships in track and cross country under the coaching of Myers.[citation needed]
