Western Branch High School - Chesapeake, Virginia/VA

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Western Branch High School

1968 Bruin Pl, Chesapeake, VA, 23321-4576 -

tel: (757)638-7900
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Definition of Terms

Western Branch High School

School Level

High school

Grades Offered

Grades 9 - 12

County

Chesapeake City County, VA

Students & Faculty

Total Students

2234 students

% Male / % Female

50% / 50%

Total Classroom Teachers

132 teachers

Students by Grade

Grade 9 - 659 students

Grade 10 - 548 students

Grade 11 - 522 students

Grade 12 - 505 students

This School

(VA) School Average

Teacher : Student Ratio

1:17

1:13

Students by Ethnicity

This School

(VA) School Average

% American Indian	n/a	n/a
% Asian	4%	5%
% Hispanic	2%	8%
% Black	35%	26%
% White	58%	56%
% Unknown	1 %	5%

Additional Student Information

This School

(VA) School Average

% Eligible for Free Lunch

13%

28%

% Eligible for Reduced Lunch

% Migrant Students Enrolled

n/a

n/a

(VA) Statewide Testing Performance

School Statewide Performance

View Education Department Test Scores

School District Name

Chesapeake City Public s School District

This School's Agency

(VA) District Average

Number of Schools Managed	46	4
Number of Students Managed	40,759 students	3,743 students
District Total Revenue	$357,292,000	$33,339,000
District Expenditure	$367,639,000	$35,891,000
District Revenue / Student	$8,766	$11,213
District Expenditure / Student	$9,020	$16,234
District Graduation Rates	88%	84%

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Western Branch High School (WBHS) is located in Chesapeake, Virginia, a rapidly growing suburban community in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. Over 91% of the graduating classes in the preceding four years have continued their educations after high school. The faculty is both highly educated and well-experienced with 68% having a masters degree or higher and 72% having more than ten years of teaching experience.
Advanced placement courses and examinations are offered in seventeen content areas.Work study programs are also available to students in marketing, industrial trades, and business.
Chesapeake's Center for Science and Technology is also an option for students during part of the school day to study in any of twenty-two specialities such as cosmetology, biotechnology, radio and television, and welding.
Fine Arts programs at WBHS include art, award winning orchestras and bands, and choral music programs.
Student activities programs are popular at WBHS. The athletic, forensic, and drama programs have been particularly successful. The athletic program includes twenty varsity sports for young women and men at an extremely high level of competition. The forensics program and the one act play competitions produce winners annually. Bruin Productions recreate major Broadway productions annually.
WBHS students are leaders in the United Way campaigns, Red Cross blood drives, and other community programs such as walk-a-thons and the Special Olympics.
Western Branch High School's facilities have been renovated to accommodate student body growth and to meet the needs of the community which the staff and the facilities themselves serve.
History: Heeding Thomas Jefferson's pleas for public education in Virginia, the 1799 Virginia Assembly established four schools in the state, two of which were in the Tidewater region. One of these, the Craney Island School, was the direct ancestor of Western Branch High School. The local name of "Churchland" was given to a school in 1854. This Churchland School, consisting of grades one through eleven, moved in 1922 to a three-story brick structure. By 1950, the area's truck farms had given way to housing developments, and Churchland High School was built to accommodate the expanding school population.
In 1961, the city of Portsmouth initiated annexation proceedings for the entire area, then under the jurisdiction of Norfolk County. Concurrently, negotiations began for a merger of Norfolk County with the City of South Norfolk to form the new corporate City of Chesapeake.
This area became the City of Chesapeake by popular vote in January, 1963. When the final distribution of the area took place in 1968, Chesapeake received the building which was to become the first Western Branch High School. Thus, Western Branch High School, comprised of 1,200 students in grades six through twelve, began in the new city of Chesapeake on September 3, 1968.
Further community growth resulted in the need for a larger high school building; the present Western Branch High School building was first occupied in September, 1972. In 1988, an addition was constructed to the school adding twelve classrooms in order to accommodate the growth of the community. In 1995, a second addition and renovation of the original building was initiated and completed shortly thereafter.
Mr. Arthur V. Brandriff, Jr. was appointed as Principal of Western Branch High School in 1968 and has remained in that capacity since then. During those years, the administration, faculty, and staff at Western Branch High School have remained cognizant of their responsibilities to provide an environment that encourages personal growth, self-respect, pride in work and achievement, and the appreciation of learning. High standards within our school extend to our community and society. Western Branch High is envisioned as part of a cohesive school community, one that recognizes the importance of the individual and of the larger society of which each person is a part, that provides for personal enrichment, and that assumes a vital role in education.
Source: Wikipedia; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL
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About This Zip Code (23321)

School Zip (23321)

(VA) State Average

Population (Approximate)

30,098 people

6,688,554 people

% (age 25+) w/College Degree

36%

26%

Population Average Age

36 years old

35 years old

Average Household size

2.8 persons

2.5 persons

Median Household Income

$55,785

$50,018

Avg. # of Rooms in Household

6.5 rooms

5.9 rooms

Median Age of Housing Structure

30 years old

34 years old

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Median Value of Housing Unit
Zipcode (23321)

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% Owning / % Renting

77% / 23%

66% / 34%

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Nearby Schools:


1. Excel Campus High School - 141 students - view location
2. Woodrow Wilson High School - 1351 students - view location
3. Nansemond River High School - 1237 students - view location
4. Churchland High School - 1862 students - view location
5. Deep Creek High School - 2088 students - view location
View all schools in: Chesapeake Town, Chesapeake City County, Zip 23321

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Note: Data has been gathered from several government and commercial data sources. School data reflects years 2002-04 statistics (most recent years available). Area and demographic data reflects year 2000 statistics. Public School Review does not ensure the timeliness or accuracy of the information on this site.

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