Charlottesville High School is a public high school in the independent city ofCharlottesville, Virginia, serving students from 9th to 12th grade. It is a part of Charlottesville City Schools. It is the second largest high school in the region with a student population of approximately 1,300. The school grounds include a memorial garden, a running track, ballfields, landscaped courtyards and the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center. Across Melbourne Road lies Theodose Stadium, which doubles as the field hockey stadium during the fall, and soccer and lacrosse stadium during the Spring season. University Gardens, a University of Virginia family housing unit, is zoned to Charlottesville High School.
History
Charlottesville High School was founded by John Cunningham in 1904 and was built in 1974 because the Lane High School building had become too small to accommodate all students within the city limits. Lane High school saw its last graduating class in June, 1974. CHS opened its doors in September, 1974. The new school inherited their school colors as well as their mascot from the former high school. Lane High School was never demolished and is now the Albemarle County office building. Charlottesville High School's sports complex was still located on the grounds of the Lane High School building until the 1980s, when it was moved to a site across the street from CHS. During the last 20 years of the 20th century, CHS has had some major additions including a new gym facility and a large auditorium. Renovations started in 2004, lasting two years, and included a fresh coat of paint, updated class rooms, larger and modern restroom facilities, updated ventilation systems, new lockers, and new, asbestos-free floor tile.
Athletics
CHS has many athletic programs, ranging from football to tennis, track and field to field hockey. Recent highlights include soccer winning a state championship in 2004. Charlottesville high school boys soccer won the state championships in 2019
Performing arts
In 1984, the 1,276-seat Performing Arts Center of Charlottesville was built to address both the shortage of auditorium space for the high school as well as the area's need for a large venue to accommodate professional touring performances, such as the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, Russian Ballet, and the Charlottesville performance of A Prairie Home Companion. In the fall of 2005, Charlottesville City Council decided to rechristen the Performing Arts Center of Charlottesville as "The Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center of Charlottesville", in order to honor the civil rights activist. Sixty dates during the school year are reserved for school-sponsored events such as assemblies and the school's performing arts program.
