Virginia's Blue Ridge: Education

Learn more about award-winning education throughout Virginia's Blue Ridge, including Botetourt, Franklin and Roanoke counties, Roanoke City and Salem.

Botetourt County

Fully accredited by the Virginia Board of Education, Botetourt County Public Schools educates nearly 5,000 students across 12 schools and a virtual academy.

Academic Excellence

A commitment to academic excellence has led to recognition for multiple schools across the county. Last year, Central Academy Middle School was the only individual school in Virginia to receive the state’s innovative practice award. The award recognizes practices that elevate the quality and character of the school environment to create a positive atmosphere for learning and reflect the norms, goals and values of the community.

Buchanan Elementary School received Virginia’s Highest Achievement Award in 2020, awarded to schools demonstrating high levels of academic success.

Investing in Education

Botetourt County Public Schools acted quickly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, allocating $158,000 to purchase 534 new Chromebooks for students. These devices are now in use in the classroom and at home. “Technological trends are constantly pushing our educators to adapt and look for new ways to engage with and support students,” says Billy Martin, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors. “I am proud that our Board has been able to help our school system quickly fill this need.”

Franklin County

Elementary Schools

  • Boones Mill Elementary
  • Burnt Chimney Elementary
  • Callaway Elementary
  • Dudley Elementary
  • Ferrum Elementary
  • Glade Hill Elementary
  • Henry Elementary
  • Lee M. Waid Elementary
  • Rocky Mount Elementary
  • Snow Creek Elementary
  • Sontag Elementary
  • Windy Gap Elementary

Middle Schools: 

  • Benjamin Franklin Middle School

High Schools: 

  • Franklin County High School

Additional programs: 

  • The Gereau Center/CEED
  • Franklin County Adult Ed Center

Higher education

  • Ferrum College

Mr. Swann Goes to Washington

Rocky Mount Elementary celebrated fifth-grade teacher Anthony Swann being recognized as Virginia Department of Education’s 2021 Virginia Teacher of the Year. He was recognized at the White House by President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden.

Adversity in the Face of Challenge

FCPS formed a Cultural Competency Division Wide Committee, providing all students the opportunity to learn and apply the 5 Cs (critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity, and citizenship) to build problem-solving and collaborative skills. In addition, Ferrum and Henry Elementary schools were awarded a grant for Competency-Based Education, and all schools now have additional programs in place to address the learning loss of students.

“I am grateful to our staff for going above and beyond to help us keep the school doors open,” says Superintendent Dr. Bernice Cobbs. “The pandemic has forced us all, especially our teachers, to retool their approaches to teaching and learning while dividing their time between teaching, engaging students, modeling resourcefulness, and helping with safety and supervision.”

Sports Achievements

FCPS celebrated their very first middle school cross country state champion! Jonah Bowman finished first in the Middle School State Championship. Caitlyn Roach also ran and finished third overall. Congratulations to them both!

  • BFMS Football Team went undefeated
  • Girls Volleyball - Regular Season Co-champions and Tournament Champions
  • Girls Cross Country - Blue Ridge District Champions
  • Boys Cross Country - Blue Ridge District Champions
  • Blue Ridge District Runners of the Year
  • Kylie Cooper - Girls Runner of the Year
  • Nathan Atchue - Boys Runner of the Year

Roanoke City

Elementary Schools

  • Crystal Spring Elementary School
  • Fairview Elementary School
  • Fallon Park Elementary School
  • Fishburn Park Elementary School
  • Garden City Elementary School
  • Grandin Court Elementary School
  • Highland Park Elementary School
  • Hurt Park Elementary School
  • Lincoln Terrace Elementary School
  • Monterey Elementary School
  • Morningside Elementary School
  • Preston Park Elementary School
  • Roanoke Academy for Math and Science
  • Round Hill Elementary School
  • Virginia Heights Elementary School
  • Wasena Elementary School
  • Westside Elementary School

Middle Schools:

  • James Breckinridge Middle School
  • James Madison Middle School
  • John P. Fishwick Middle School
  • Lucy Addison Middle School
  • Woodrow Wilson Middle School

High Schools:

  • Patrick Henry High School
  • William Fleming High School

Additional Programs:

  • Forest Park Academy and iAccelerate
  • Noel C. Taylor
  • Roanoke Technical Education Center
  • Roanoke Valley Governor’s School

Roanoke City Public Schools (RCPS) is an urban school division serving Pre-K through 12, with a population of approximately 14,000 students. Their mission is to graduate students prepared for life in a rapidly changing world. RCPS has a lot to celebrate in recent years, having received numerous special recognitions, employed award-winning staff and boasted a number of excellent programs available to their students. In addition, their on-time graduation rate is 89%.

Notable Achievements

Award-Winning Staff

  • The Virginia Department of Education named Lucy Addison Middle School’s Eboni Harrington, a seventh-grade math teacher, as Region 6 Teacher of the Year. She was one of eight regional winners across the Commonwealth, a massive achievement.
  • Mr. Raymond Cotter of William Fleming High School was a finalist for the 2021 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. The White House will announce the winners of the 2021 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching later this year.
  • William Fleming High School is a Special Olympics National Unified Champion School.
  • Crystal Spring Elementary was ranked #5 in Virginia Elementary Schools by US News.

Great Programs

  • The NAMM Foundation, once again in 2021, has named RCPS one of the Best Communities for Music Education. This is the ninth consecutive year Roanoke City Public Schools has been recognized.
  • Spanish and coding are offered at every elementary school and an honors program is available at all five middle schools.
  • More than three million meals were served during the pandemic, from March 2020 through June 2021, by Roanoke City Public Schools in partnership with SodexoMAGIC.
  • All students have access to musical instruments, thanks to a partnership with Save the Music Foundation. Middle and high schools have string orchestras, bands, and choral programs.
  • RCPS has Pre-AP/Honors Programs at all five middle schools.
  • The Community College Access Program (CCAP) allows graduating seniors to attend Virginia Western Community College tuition-free for up to three years.

Incredible Students

  • Roanoke City Public Schools boasts a diverse student population, with students from more than 70 countries who speak more than 70 languages.
  • The 2021 Roanoke City Public Schools’ graduating class has 14 student athletes who have been recruited and will play at the collegiate level, for sports including lacrosse, track, soccer, football, basketball, and wrestling.
  • RCPS has seven regional champions during the 2020-21 school year, six from Patrick Henry High School and one from William Fleming High School.

Higher Education

More than half of the region’s population over the age of 25 has at least some college education. More than a third has either an associate’s degree or bachelor’s degree, or both, proving our local workforce is incredibly well-educated. Turns out we have more college students per capita than Austin, Boston, Raleigh-Durham and San Francisco!

  • High School Diploma/GED or higher: 89.4%
  • Some college, no degree: 20.1%
  • Associate’s or bachelor’s degree: 27.9%
  • Graduate or professional degree: 10.3%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 5 year-2019 Estimates.

K-12 PRIVATE SCHOOLS

  • Alleghany Highlands Christian School, K-5
  • Christian Heritage Academy, K-12
  • Community School, ages 3-14
  • Community High School, 9-12
  • Faith Christian School, PK-12
  • First Wesleyan Christian School, PK-5
  • Life Academy, PK-12
  • North Cross School, PK-12
  • Roanoke Adventist Preparatory, PK-8
  • Roanoke Catholic, PK-12
  • Roanoke Valley Christian Schools, K-12
  • Smith Mountain Lake Christian School, K-9
  • Special Education & Montessori Schools
  • The Achievement Center
  • Preston Oaks Montessori School
  • Roanoke Valley Montessori School
  • Salem Montessori School
  • New Vista Montessori School, ages 3-6
  • Shenandoah Autism Center
  • Talented & Gifted Programs
  • Jackson River Governor’s School,
  • Alleghany County and Covington
  • Roanoke Valley Governor’s School for Science and Technology
  • Burton Center for Arts and Technology
  • Botetourt County STEM-H Academy
  • Gereau Center for Applied Technology and Career Exploration, Rocky Mount
  • International Baccalaureate Program, Salem High School

Higher Education

  • American National University
  • Averett University
  • Bluefield College
  • Central Virginia Community College
  • Dabney S. Lancaster Community College
  • ECPI University
  • Ferrum College
  • Florida Institute of Technology
  • Hollins University
  • James Madison University
  • Liberty University
  • Lynchburg College
  • Mary Baldwin College, Roanoke Center
  • New River Valley Community College
  • Old Dominion University
  • Patrick Henry Community College
  • Radford University
  • Radford University Carilion
  • Randolph College
  • Roanoke College
  • Roanoke Higher Education Center
  • Southern Virginia University
  • Sweet Briar College
  • Virginia Military Institute
  • Virginia Tech
  • Virginia University of Lynchburg
  • Washington & Lee University
  • TAP/This Valley Works
  • University of Virginia, Roanoke Center
  • Virginia Commonwealth University
  • Virginia Tech, Roanoke Center
  • Virginia Western Community College

Medical Schools

  • Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
  • Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine

Career Building Colleges

  • American National University
  • Roanoke Higher Education Center
  • Skyline College

Roanoke County (and Vinton)

Elementary Schools: 

  • Back Creek Elementary School
  • Bonsack Elementary School
  • Burlington Elementary School
  • Cave Spring Elementary School
  • Clearbrook Elementary School
  • Fort Lewis Elementary School
  • Glen Cove Elementary School
  • Glenvar Elementary School
  • Green Valley Elementary School
  • Herman L. Horn Elementary School
  • Masons Cove Elementary School
  • Mount Pleasant Elementary School
  • Mountain View Elementary School
  • Oak Grove Elementary School
  • Penn Forest Elementary School
  • W.E. Cundiff Elementary School

Middle Schools: 

  • Cave Spring Middle School
  • Glenvar Middle School
  • Hidden Valley Middle School
  • Northside Middle School
  • William Byrd Middle School

High Schools: 

  • Cave Spring High School
  • Glenvar High School
  • Hidden Valley High School
  • Northside High School
  • William Byrd High School

Additional Programs: 

  • Burton Center for Arts & Technology
  • Governor’s STEM Academy at BCAT

A School Division of Innovation

In 2021, Roanoke County Public Schools was among the first school districts in the Commonwealth to earn the distinction as a “School Division of Innovation” by the Virginia Department of Education. While there are some educational programs that may be innovative, they only benefit a small subset of students. The district is in the process of embedding existing curriculum with exemplar deeper learning experiences that are mapped to key skills of citizenship, collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking. By the time students graduate, their normal progress through the curriculum will take them through engaging curated lessons designed to push the limits of their creativity and critical thinking. At graduation, they will have a portfolio of their work which will demonstrate that they are “Opportunity Ready,” prepared to take advantage of whatever opportunity comes their way.

“Over the past few years, we have worked to develop a guiding document called the C-Change Framework, which, in conjunction with our RCPS Profile of a Graduate, represents the skills that graduates need to become Opportunity Ready,” says Dr. Ken Nicely, superintendent of Roanoke County Public Schools. “We have conducted extensive related professional development, developed learning communities related to supporting these changes, and built a large system of supporting programs to help give teachers resources to foster and encourage deeper learning so our students will become opportunity ready.”

Better with Bayer

Hidden Valley Middle School seventh-grade math teacher Sarah Bayer received the 2020-21 Master in the Middle Teacher of the Year award from the Virginia Middle School Association Board of Directors. The award honors a nominated middle level teacher who has demonstrated a devotion to teaching young adolescents and a commitment to best middle level practices. As a 16-year veteran of middle school math, she enforces her “You Be Bayer” metacognitive strategy, where the kids actively encourage each other in academic pursuits, building their confidence through peer support.

Salem

Elementary Schools: 

  • East Salem Elementary School
  • G.W. Carver Elementary School
  • South Salem Elementary School
  • West Salem Elementary School

Middle Schools: 

  • Andrew Lewis Middle School

High Schools: 

  • Salem High School

Higher education: 

  • Roanoke College

New Leadership

Salem Schools said farewell last year to Dr. Alan Seibert, who spent 30 years going from student teacher to superintendent. His successor, Dr. Curtis Hicks, now leads the helm. School Board Chairman, David Preston, says Hicks’ extensive and diverse administrative experiences, and his wealth of institutional knowledge made him the top choice. “We have an outstanding track record in Salem of hiring quality educators, identifying leaders and then grooming them for moments like this,” says Preston. “Curtis is a dynamic leader who relates extremely well to students, teachers and parents. He has the unique ability to engage these groups, even when they are at odds or struggling, and find the common ground that ultimately benefits the child.”

Driven to Success

Salem High School teacher Derek Wray received a check for $10,000 in 2021 for his teaching excellence in his automotive and diesel technical class. He was one of three grand prize winners of the “Harbor Freight Tools for Schools” prize, receiving $30,00 for himself and $70,000 for the teaching program. Out of more than 700 skills trades teachers from 49 states, Wray was the sole automotive instructor to win the grand prize. Wray has 17 years of classroom experience and plans to use the money to get his students a Tesla to teach them how to work on electric cars.

Fun Facts

  • Salem High School is undergoing a $36 million renovation project, which includes new pipes, flooring, air conditioning systems and energy efficiency improvements.
  • Enacted their Spartan Summer Learning Camp in 2020, a summer program that saw 600 children participate in hands-on learning activities.
  • Added additional staff to support SEL (Social – Emotional – Learning)
  • Incorporated multi-age classrooms, mixing age groups in the elementary schools
  • Roanoke College, a fine liberal arts school, sits in the center of town and Salem-based, 14 campus American National University has grown substantially in recent years.