Lee High School (Lee County, Virginia)
Encyclopedia
Lee High School is a public school located in unincorporated
Lee County
, Virginia
, near Jonesville
. It is a part of the Lee County School District. It is one of two high schools in Lee County, Virginia
.
, Dryden High School, Keokee High School, Flatwoods High School and Pennington High School. Some of the schools had enrollments dropping under 200 students, leading the district to duplicate services between small schools (making advanced classes with smaller enrollments difficult to offer). Athletic opportunities were strained at the very small schools.
Thomas Walker High School was not included in the consolidation because of its position at the western end of the county.
Lee High was initially a football powerhouse, making the playoffs in their first season and reaching the state championship in 1990. Lee lost the game to Tabb High School
in the last minutes of the game, 21-14. In recent years, the school football team, the Generals, have won only a handful of games, not making playoffs since the turn of the century. The unexpected decline in football has been due in large part to the highly politicized revolving door that had become of the head coaching position following the retirement of head coaches Don Williams (1989–1992, 1997–1998) and Allen Kinser (1993–1996), both former Pennington High School coaches.
Lee High dropped from Group AA to Group A status in the 2007-2008 year (granted due to "travel hardship"). Lee's former district, the AA Highlands District
, was dissolved with two members moving to the AA Southwest District
and another school moving down with Lee and joining a new district. This new district, which is a part of A Region D
, is the A Clinch Mountain District
.
The 1990 Golf team is the only team to win a state championship for the school to date, in VHSL Group AA.Italic textef name="VHSL">VHSL Recordbook
In 2008, Lee High's Scholastic Bowl Team (part of the VHSL) qualified for the VHSL State Tournament and participated in the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament in Chicago, Illinois.
2011-Men's Tennis Team; Clinch Mountain District Champions, Region D Champions, and A-State Runner's-Up.
Lee High Generals Marching Band-Photos
The Lee High Generals Marching Band is under the direction of Ben Harding. The marching band has won the McChesney Band Festival several times since the school opened. The band receives high ratings in marching and concert band annually. The band ranges in size from 100-140 members, making the band the largest student participation group from a school of around 712 students. They are widely recognized as one of the top marching band programs in Southwest Virginia, contending with other strong programs from the area such as Graham High School
, J.I. Burton High School
, Marion Senior High School
, Powell Valley High School, and Richlands High School
.
October 15, 2011- Lee High Generals Marching Band completed at the Letcher County Marching Invitational Lee High placed 1st in all AAA captions, including Band, Drum Major, Colorguard, and Percussion. They received an overall Superior Rating, 1st Place General Effect for entire competition, as well as 3rd placed in the entire competition.
October 8, 2011- Lee High Generals Marching Band competed at the McChesney Band Festival. Overeall Superior Rating, Overall Crowd Favorite, 3rd Place overall for entire competition.
October 1, 2011- Lee High Generals Marching Band competed at the Lonesome Pine Band Festival Lee High placed 3rd in Class AAA, Superior Band rating, 1st Place overall General Effect Award, 2nd Placed colorguard in Class AAA.
October 23, 2010- Lee High Generals Marching Band competed at the Music in the Foothills Competition Lee High placed 3rd in class AAAA. Lee High colorguard was awarded 1st place in class AAAA.
October 9, 2010- Lee High Generals Marching Band was awarded the following awards at the 30th Annual McChesney Band Festival.
Parade: 1st Place Overall
Drum Major: 1st Place, Class AAAAA
Division I Band: Class AAAAA
Class AAAAA/Entire Competition: Audience Choice Award(Monetary Award included)
Reserve Champion Award(David R. Tipton Memorial Trophy)
See 'McChesney Band Festival' on Powell Valley High School Band Website
September 25, 2010- Lee High Generals Marching Band was awarded the Grand Championship Trophy at the Letcher County Central Marching Invitational(Whitesburg, KY). The band also won 1st place in the parade division, which was awarded with a $1,000.00 prize.
Letcher County Central Marching Invitational-Results
October 10, 2009- Lee High Generals Marching Band Placed 1st in all caption awards and Overall Categories, winning the McChesney Cup, the McChesney Band Festival held at Big Stone Gap, VA.
In 2008, the band won the Grand Champion award at the United States Scholastic Band Association
Western Virginia Regional competition.
DIRECTOR HISTORY:
Ben Harding; 2011-Present
Michael Twigg; 1989-2011
located in the Lee County Career and Technical Center building. Classes include: Agriculture, Auto Body Repair, Building Maintenance, Building Trade, Business Ed., Childcare, Cosmetology, Criminology, Culinary Arts, Drafting, Electricity, Family Consumer Science, Farm Machine Repair, Horticulture, Marketing, Networking, Nursing, Small Engine Repair, Technology Ed., and Welding.
Unincorporated area
In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...
Lee County
Lee County, Virginia
According to the census 2009 estimates, there were 25001 people, 11,587 households, and 6,852 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile . There were 11,587 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, near Jonesville
Jonesville, Virginia
Jonesville is a town in and the county seat of Lee County, Virginia, United States. The population was 995 at the 2000 census.- History :Jonesville was established in 1794 as the county seat of Lee County. The town was known as Glade Spring in its infancy. It was incorporated in 1884, and...
. It is a part of the Lee County School District. It is one of two high schools in Lee County, Virginia
Lee County, Virginia
According to the census 2009 estimates, there were 25001 people, 11,587 households, and 6,852 families residing in the county. The population density was 54 people per square mile . There were 11,587 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...
.
History
Founded in 1989, Lee High School was formed by consolidating Jonesville High SchoolJonesville High School
Jonesville High School was a public high school located in Jonesville, Virginia.-History:Jonesville High School had an enrollment of around 450 student in grades 7-12. The school was closed in the summer of 1989 and converted to a middle school due to consolidation...
, Dryden High School, Keokee High School, Flatwoods High School and Pennington High School. Some of the schools had enrollments dropping under 200 students, leading the district to duplicate services between small schools (making advanced classes with smaller enrollments difficult to offer). Athletic opportunities were strained at the very small schools.
Thomas Walker High School was not included in the consolidation because of its position at the western end of the county.
Athletics
Lee High School-Sports PageLee High was initially a football powerhouse, making the playoffs in their first season and reaching the state championship in 1990. Lee lost the game to Tabb High School
Tabb High School
Tabb High School is a public high school located in Tabb, an unincorporated community in southern York County, Virginia. It is part of the York County School Division. The school opened in 1972 and is located near the site of the first land battle of the US Civil War-the Battle of Big Bethel....
in the last minutes of the game, 21-14. In recent years, the school football team, the Generals, have won only a handful of games, not making playoffs since the turn of the century. The unexpected decline in football has been due in large part to the highly politicized revolving door that had become of the head coaching position following the retirement of head coaches Don Williams (1989–1992, 1997–1998) and Allen Kinser (1993–1996), both former Pennington High School coaches.
Lee High dropped from Group AA to Group A status in the 2007-2008 year (granted due to "travel hardship"). Lee's former district, the AA Highlands District
AA Highlands District
The AA Highlands District was a high school conference of the Virginia High School League that included schools from Southwest Virginia, mostly in the Bristol and Kingsport areas. The schools of the Highlands District competed in AA Region IV with the schools in the AA Piedmont District and the AA...
, was dissolved with two members moving to the AA Southwest District
AA Southwest District
The AA Southwest District is a high school conference of the Virginia High School League that includes schools from southwestern Virginia, United States. The schools of the Southwest District compete in AA Region IV with the schools in the AA Piedmont District and the AA River Ridge District...
and another school moving down with Lee and joining a new district. This new district, which is a part of A Region D
A Region D
Region D is one of the four A regions of the Virginia High School League. It is made up of three districts: the A Black Diamond District, the A Cumberland District, and the A Lonesome Pine District...
, is the A Clinch Mountain District
A Clinch Mountain District
The A Clinch Mountain District is a member of the Virginia High School League, Group A, Region D. The league's mission is to establish and maintain "standards for student activities and competitions that promote education, personal growth, sportsmanship, leadership and citizenship." The secondary...
.
The 1990 Golf team is the only team to win a state championship for the school to date, in VHSL Group AA.
In 2008, Lee High's Scholastic Bowl Team (part of the VHSL) qualified for the VHSL State Tournament and participated in the NAQT High School National Championship Tournament in Chicago, Illinois.
2011-Men's Tennis Team; Clinch Mountain District Champions, Region D Champions, and A-State Runner's-Up.
Marching band
Lee High Generals Marching BandLee High Generals Marching Band-Photos
The Lee High Generals Marching Band is under the direction of Ben Harding. The marching band has won the McChesney Band Festival several times since the school opened. The band receives high ratings in marching and concert band annually. The band ranges in size from 100-140 members, making the band the largest student participation group from a school of around 712 students. They are widely recognized as one of the top marching band programs in Southwest Virginia, contending with other strong programs from the area such as Graham High School
Graham High School (Bluefield, Virginia)
Graham High School is a public high school located in Bluefield, Virginia across the state line from Bluefield, West Virginia in Tazewell County, Virginia, as a part of Tazewell County Public Schools....
, J.I. Burton High School
John I. Burton High School
John Ira Burton High School is a small high school located in the City of Norton, Virginia which has an enrollment of approximately 330 students.- School Building :...
, Marion Senior High School
Marion Senior High School (Virginia)
Marion Senior High School is a public high school located in Marion, Virginia. It is part of the Smyth County Public Schools and its athletics compete in the AA Southwest District in Region IV....
, Powell Valley High School, and Richlands High School
Richlands High School (Virginia)
Richlands High School is located in Richlands, Virginia in Tazewell County. Athletic teams compete in the Virginia High School League's AA Southwest District in Region IV.-Academics:...
.
October 15, 2011- Lee High Generals Marching Band completed at the Letcher County Marching Invitational Lee High placed 1st in all AAA captions, including Band, Drum Major, Colorguard, and Percussion. They received an overall Superior Rating, 1st Place General Effect for entire competition, as well as 3rd placed in the entire competition.
October 8, 2011- Lee High Generals Marching Band competed at the McChesney Band Festival. Overeall Superior Rating, Overall Crowd Favorite, 3rd Place overall for entire competition.
October 1, 2011- Lee High Generals Marching Band competed at the Lonesome Pine Band Festival Lee High placed 3rd in Class AAA, Superior Band rating, 1st Place overall General Effect Award, 2nd Placed colorguard in Class AAA.
October 23, 2010- Lee High Generals Marching Band competed at the Music in the Foothills Competition Lee High placed 3rd in class AAAA. Lee High colorguard was awarded 1st place in class AAAA.
October 9, 2010- Lee High Generals Marching Band was awarded the following awards at the 30th Annual McChesney Band Festival.
Parade: 1st Place Overall
Drum Major: 1st Place, Class AAAAA
Division I Band: Class AAAAA
Class AAAAA/Entire Competition: Audience Choice Award(Monetary Award included)
Reserve Champion Award(David R. Tipton Memorial Trophy)
See 'McChesney Band Festival' on Powell Valley High School Band Website
September 25, 2010- Lee High Generals Marching Band was awarded the Grand Championship Trophy at the Letcher County Central Marching Invitational(Whitesburg, KY). The band also won 1st place in the parade division, which was awarded with a $1,000.00 prize.
Letcher County Central Marching Invitational-Results
October 10, 2009- Lee High Generals Marching Band Placed 1st in all caption awards and Overall Categories, winning the McChesney Cup, the McChesney Band Festival held at Big Stone Gap, VA.
In 2008, the band won the Grand Champion award at the United States Scholastic Band Association
United States Scholastic Band Association
The United States Scholastic Band Association was formed in the Fall of 1988 to provide high school band programs with a competitive circuit featuring top judges from across the continent and a venue for the US Scholastic Band Championship....
Western Virginia Regional competition.
DIRECTOR HISTORY:
Ben Harding; 2011-Present
Michael Twigg; 1989-2011
Vocational Classes
Lee High School offers students elective vocational classesVocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
located in the Lee County Career and Technical Center building. Classes include: Agriculture, Auto Body Repair, Building Maintenance, Building Trade, Business Ed., Childcare, Cosmetology, Criminology, Culinary Arts, Drafting, Electricity, Family Consumer Science, Farm Machine Repair, Horticulture, Marketing, Networking, Nursing, Small Engine Repair, Technology Ed., and Welding.