Braxton County High School

Infobox_School
name =Braxton County High School


imagesize =
motto =
established =
type =Public
affiliation =
district =Braxton County School District
grades =9-12
president =
principal =James Lambert
head of school =
dean =
faculty =
staff =
students =
enrollment =
athletics =
conference =
colors = Green and Gold
mascot =Eagle
campus type =
campus size =
free_label =
free_text =
free_label2 =
free_text2 =
location = Sutton, West Virginia
country = USA
information =
website =http://boe.brax.k12.wv.us/schools/BCHS.htm

Braxton County High School (BCHS) is a high school located in Sutton, West Virginia, United States. However visitors might not realize that its address is officially Sutton, since it is directly off the Flatwoods exit on I-79. The school offers grades 9-12, and serves all of Braxton County.

School History/Enhancements

BCHS has undergone many changes in its long history. The school replaced three smaller high schools in the county, Sutton High School, Gassaway High School, and Burnsville High School, thereby consolidating both Braxton County's students and its educational resources. The school consisted then of three 'wings' known as A, B, and C. A wing was the academic wing, two stories tall, which hosted classrooms for academic classes such as chemistry, math, and English. B wing was the vocational wing, also two stories, which hosted various vocational classes, such as typing, cooking, and welding. C wing was the gymnasium, also two stories tall to contain a higher level of bleachers, including a training area behind that second level.

All of these wings were connected by a ground floor central area that included the main offices, cafeteria, library, and band room. In the summer of 1991, a wooden-covered bridge was built that connected the second floors of A and B wing to help students transition from classes more quickly. In the 90's, the open area where the bridge had previously been built was enclosed to create more classrooms and to fully connect A & B wings.

In the summer of 2006 the entire front area of the school was expanded, filling in the previously open walkway to the school entrance and closing the gap between the B wing, and the gymnasium. A ribbon cutting ceremony for these changes was held on August 15, 2006. [ [http://boe.brax.k12.wv.us/Schools/BCHS/RibbonCuttingCeremony.htm http://boe.brax.k12.wv.us/Schools/BCHS/RibbonCuttingCeremony.htm] ]

School Grounds

The school grounds include a large parking lot and large amounts of open hillside on three sides as it sits on top of a hill. Jerry Burton Boulevard, named after a coach who died from leukemia in the 1980's, runs along the edge of the hill, circling the school. In 2006, a second parking lot was created in the lot below the high school.

There is a football field with various athletic buildings nearby. Also in the late 90's a new Braxton County Middle School was built on the other side of the parking lot, placing both these schools within walking distance of each other. This new middle school replaced four other middle schools , therefore making only a one consolidated high school and one consolidated middle school in the county.

Also in the late 90's a walkway was built going down the hill from the high school towards the main road. The walkway allows students easy access to the few fast food restaurants in that area.

Driver's tests often use the school's driver's education vehicles and in the school's parking lot. There are often two orange barrels left on one edge of the parking lot for parallel parking tests.

Mascot and colors

The school's mascot is the Eagle and the school colors are green and gold (Although traditionally the gold is always displayed as a dark yellow).

Statistics

As of the 2006-2007 school year [ [http://schools.publicschoolsreport.com/WestVirginia/Sutton/BraxtonCountyHighSchool.html http://schools.publicschoolsreport.com/WestVirginia/Sutton/BraxtonCountyHighSchool.html] ] [ [http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/88061 http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/88061] ] :
* 737 students are in attendance
* 9th & 10th grades have class sizes around 200
* 11th & 12th grades have class sizes around 150
* This is due to having an approximately 26% dropout rate when students turn 16.
* The students are 99% Caucasian.
* The student-teacher ratio is 14.3:1
* Up to 45% of students are from low-income homes, and eligible for Free or Reduced lunches.

Interesting Facts

* The Eagles marching band, under the direction of Mr. Jason Birch, is one of the best in the state.
* It is ranked an AA team in sports, and participates in Golf, Football, Basketball, Women's Basketball, Baseball, Women's Softball, Track, Wrestling, and Women's Volleyball! It previously had a successful Cross Country team (in 2003 it was ranked 3rd in the state at the "AA" level) but it was disbanded due to lack of interest.
* It doesn't offer a special 'GPA Ranking System' for advanced/honors/AP classes. Therefore it often has multiple people tying for valedictorian and salutatorian. For example in the 1992 graduating class, there were 6 valedictorians with straight A averages, and 2 salutatorians who had both received straight A's with one B.

See also

* List of high schools in West Virginia
* Education in West Virginia

References

nm

External links

* [http://boe.brax.k12.wv.us/schools/BCHS.htm Official site]
* [http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/88061 School Overview]
* [http://schools.publicschoolsreport.com/WestVirginia/Sutton/BraxtonCountyHighSchool.html School Report]