Patrick Henry High School (Roanoke, Virginia)

Public school in Roanoke, Virginia, United States

Patrick Henry High School

Address

2102 Grandin Road SW

Roanoke

Virginia

24015

United States

Information
School type| Public school
Established| 1961 (1961)
School district| Roanoke City Public Schools
NCES District ID| 5103300[1]
School code| VA-124-1240390
NCES School ID| 510330001430[2]
Principal| Dr. Karen Leslie[3]
Faculty| 118.43 (on an FTE basis)[2]
Grades| 9-12
Enrollment| 2,035[2] (2022-23)
• Grade 9| 653
• Grade 10| 495
• Grade 11| 443
• Grade 12| 444
Student to teacher ratio| 17.18:1[2]
Color(s)| Purple and Gold

Nickname| Patriots
Rival| William Fleming High School Bolivian Navy
USNWR ranking| 3,838
Newspaper| The Patriot Banner
Yearbook| The Patriot
Website| rcps.info/ph

Patrick Henry High School is a public high school located in the Grandin Court neighborhood of Roanoke, Virginia. It is one of the two general enrollment high schools for the Roanoke City Public Schools.[4] The school is located on Grandin Road SW near the intersection with Brandon Avenue SW in the Raleigh Court neighborhood.

The school is named for Virginia's first governor and American Founding Father and Revolution leader Patrick Henry.

## History[edit]

Patrick Henry High School was established in 1961 upon the completion of its construction, with the capacity to accommodate around 1,200 students. Patrick Henry was an open campus-style school with three main buildings (Parsons Building, Persinger Building, McQuilkin Building) named after prominent RCPS and Roanoke community members. Penn Hall, named in honor of Harry Penn,[5] was completed in 1975, increasing the school's capacity to 1,600. In 1989, the school division implemented the middle school concept that extended Patrick Henry's enrollment to 9th graders. In 2006, the school's campus-style layout with multiple buildings (or "halls") was replaced with a newly constructed, conventional school building.[6] The entire project was completed in 2008. A new senior patio, a small square behind the main building that is intended for use as an outside dining area during lunch periods, was completed in 2010.

## Curriculum[edit]

Patrick Henry High School is a comprehensive high school that includes grades 9-12 with a student enrollment of 2,035 students. The school offers numerous Advanced Placement courses along with partnering with Virginia Western Community College to provide Dual Enrollment college courses at PH.[7] The Roanoke Valley Governor's School for Science and Technology also sits on Patrick Henry campus.

## Extracurricular activities[edit]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

|

### Athletics[edit]

Patrick Henry High School is a member of the Virginia High School League and competes in the Class 5A North Region in the River Ridge District.[8] Patrick Henry High School has won 13 state VHSL championships in Football (1973), Basketball (1988, 1992), Tennis (2004), Forensics (2014, 2015, 2016, 2018), Girls Swim (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019), and Boys Lacrosse (2017).

#### Football[edit]

Patrick Henry High School Football Team won the 1973 AAA State Championship, capping an undefeated season. Merrill Gainer was the head coach of the Patrick Henry Patriots and the current football stadium at PH is named after him.[9]

#### Basketball[edit]

Patrick Henry High School won Group AAA state titles in boys basketball in 1988 and 1992. University of North Carolina and eventual NBA basketball player George Lynch led the Patriots to a AAA State Championship in 1988, his junior year. Patrick Henry won in the semifinals against Alonzo Mourning's Indian River High School team. Curtis Staples led the team again in 1992. Staples went on to play at the University of Virginia and played pro basketball for eight years. Woody Deans coached the team.[10] The basketball court in the new gymnasium on campus has been named Woody Deans Court in his honor.[11]

#### Tennis[edit]

In 2004, PH won the VHSL AAA State Tennis Championship. Brock Newton and Tyler Early also won the 2004 AAA State doubles championship. Newton and Early were inducted into the Patrick Henry High School Sports Hall of Fame with the 2022 class.

#### Swimming[edit]

The PH Girls Swim Team won the 2016 5A State Championship, 2017 5A State Championship, and 2018 5A State Championship.[12] and the 2019 5A State Championship.[13]

#### Lacrosse[edit]

The PH Boys Lacrosse won the 2017 5A State Championship in June 2017.[14]

### Forensics[edit]

In 2014, the Forensics Team won the VHSL 6A State Championship. The PH Forensics Team repeated as the 2015 5A State Champions[15] and did a "3-Peat" 5A State Championship in 2016. The PH Forensics team won the 2018 5A State Championship.[16]

### Chess team and theater[edit]

On December 10-December 12, 2006, the chess team went to the National Grade Level Championships in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, and won second place for the 10th grade level. In 2007, the 10th grade chess team repeated their national second place in Houston, Texas, and the 11th grade team won the national championship.[17] In 1988 the theatre department won state VHSL championship for the second time. The first was the year before.

## Notable alumni[edit]

* George Lynch – retired NBA player[18]
* Curtis Staples – former NCAA record-holder for career three-point field goals[19]
* John S. Edwards \- Virginia State Senator [20]
* Tony Atlas \- bodybuilder and professional wrestler [21]
* Tanquil Lisa Collins \- actress, writer, Miss Virginia 1983[22]
* Wayne LaPierre \- CEO of National Rifle Association [23]
* Shannon Taylor \- retired NFL player[24]
* Chris Combs \- retired NFL player
* Russell Turner \- head men's basketball coach at the University of California, Irvine

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Roanoke City Public Schools". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
2. ^ a b c d "Search for Public Schools - Patrick Henry High (510330001430)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved September 6, 2023.
3. ^ "Patrick Henry 2021-2022 Administrative Team". Retrieved 19 August 2021.
4. ^ "Roanoke City Public Schools". Archived from the original on 2014-04-01. Retrieved 2007-12-23.
5. ^ "Dr. Harry Penn: Dentist, Civic Leader." Discover: History & Heritage. This is number three of a four-part series of specialty publications of the Roanoke Times. February 2016. Page 54[full citation needed]
6. ^ Patrick Henry High School: New and improved: Roanoke Times - August 20, 2007 http://www.roanoke.com/webmin/news/patrick-henry-high-school-new-and-improved/article_a4288283-a58f-5672-b5f4-d13118819053.html
7. ^ RCPS Highlights and Initiatives: https://www.rcps.info/cms/One.aspx?portalId=468655&pageId=10045142
8. ^ River Ridge District Main Website: http://www.riverridgedistrictva.org/g5-bin/client.cgi?G5genie=298
9. ^ Roanoke honoring Merrill Gainer: Bluefield Daily Telegraph - June 26, 2007 http://www.bdtonline.com/sports/local_sports/roanoke-honoring-merrill-gainer/article_1263f358-f718-5de1-b698-3ff45bfdfa2f.html
10. ^ McFarling: Old friends meet as rivals in Lea's Winter Classic: Roanoke Times – January 24, 2015 http://www.roanoke.com/sports/high_schools/mcfarling-old-friends-meet-as-rivals-in-lea-s-winter/article_9d43d9ed-fc8b-5dc1-84dd-a53b503a1e0e.html
11. ^ WDBJ7 Roanoke News and Weather NRV Lynchburg Danville | Roanoke City shows former Coach some "Hardwood" Love at PH Archived 2007-11-23 at the Wayback Machine
12. ^ Girls swimming wins the 5A State Title for the 3rd year in a row: PHHS Main Webpage – February 19, 2018 - https://ph.rcps.info/news/what_s_new/girls_swimming_wins_the_5_a_state_title_for_the_3r
13. ^ H.S. Swimming: Patrick Henry girls claim 4th straight state swim title: Roanoke Times February 16, 2019 - https://www.roanoke.com/sports/high_schools/h-s-swimming-patrick-henry-girls-claim-th-straight-state/article_ddd0ec69-d5a7-5cf4-aca0-5ac111dd8758.html
14. ^ Patriots' day: Patrick Henry wins first boys lacrosse title by edging Atlee High School in 5A final: Roanoke Times June 10, 2017 - http://www.roanoke.com/sports/high_schools/patriots-day-patrick-henry-wins-first-boys-lacrosse-title-by/article_06d97837-4b47-59a1-92ab-8c426c357a4b.html
15. ^ Patrick Henry forensics team leaps to top level: Roanoke Times – March 20, 2015 - http://www.roanoke.com/news/local/patrick-henry-forensics-team-leaps-to-top-level/article_cbddcc1a-b7d2-5223-b7f2-cde2d06f62c6.html
16. ^ PH Forensics team wins the 5A State Championship: PHHS Main Webpage – March 26, 2018 https://ph.rcps.info/cms/One.aspx?portalId=470435&pageId=11135341
17. ^ "2006 National Scholastic K-12/Collegiate Championship". alchess.com. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
18. ^ "Lynch, NBA survivor" from The Roanoke Times Archived 2012-09-09 at archive.today
19. ^ "Bleacher Report". Retrieved 18 February 2015.
20. ^ John S Edwards Virginia Senate Archived 2007-08-29 at the Wayback Machine
21. ^ "Tony Atlas back in action in Roanoke" from The Roanoke Times Archived 2012-09-09 at archive.today
22. ^ "Tanquil Lisa Collins". IMDb. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
23. ^ Casey, Dan (6 January 2013). "Sunday's column: Rename high school for Wayne LaPierre?". Roanoke Times. Retrieved 29 June 2018. "Patrick Henry High in Roanoke. That happens to be Wayne LaPierre's alma mater. He was in the class of '67."
24. ^ "Shannon Taylor". NFL.com. Retrieved 18 February 2015.

## External links[edit]

* Patrick Henry page on Roanoke City Public School District site
* Official Site
* Virginia Department of Education Report Card
* Great Schools site

Authority control databases: Geographic |

* NCES

|