Heritage High School (Leesburg, Virginia)

History

Heritage opened in 2002 for the eastern Leesburg community, feeding most of its students from Stone Bridge High School and the rest from Loudoun County High School. It was originally expected that Simpson's 8th graders would feed into Heritage, but instead, boundary lines were drawn to have Harper Park Middle School feed into Heritage. The lines were drawn and are still drawn to the point where students who live in communities adjacent to Heritage do not go there for high school and instead go to Loudoun County High.

Like other new high schools that opened in Loudoun County before it, such as Stone Bridge and Potomac Falls, Heritage opened without a senior class, and juniors were allowed to choose which school they wanted to graduate from. Most Heritage students came from the Stone Bridge attendance area, and many rising juniors (Class of 2004) at Stone Bridge chose to stay there rather than go to Heritage. This was somewhat understandable because Leesburg students at Stone Bridge in the class of 2004 attended J.L. Simpson Middle School for 6th and 7th grade (1997–1999); went to a brand new Harper Park Middle School for 8th grade (1999–2000); went to a brand new Stone Bridge for their first two years of high school (2000–2002); and then were expected to go to another new school for their last two years. Constant boundary adjustments may have contributed to the large number of rising juniors who wished to remain at Stone Bridge. Consequently, the junior class at Heritage was only about 110 members, rather than about 250 if all juniors were required to go to the new school.

Of the 312 students in the graduating class of 2006, 112 received the governor's seal on an Advanced Studies diploma, one of the highest academic honors offered by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Like other Loudoun County high schools, Heritage participates in the Advanced Placement program and offers numerous AP courses.

Accreditation

Heritage High School is a fully accredited high school based on the Standards of Learning tests in Virginia.

SAT Scores

The average SAT score in 2006 for Heritage was a 1,532 (518 in Math; 515 in Critical Reading; 499 in Writing).

Athletics

The mascot is the Pride, in the shape of a Lion. Heritage's sports teams currently play in the Dulles District and Region II of the Virginia High School League. The Pride opened as a member of this district.

Basketball

The school is well known for its boys' basketball team which consistently has made it to Region II playoffs, its 2006 team was the first undefeated team in the history of the Dulles District. The Pride boys' basketball team has won 3 consecutive Dulles District Championships 2006, 2007, and 2008.

Soccer

The Boy's soccer team did well in the 2006 season, shaking off the new school repuation, with the Pride's soccer team making it to the AA State Semifinals before falling 2-1 to AA Dulles District champion Potomac Falls. A tenacious rivalry would develop between the two teams, who met five times that season with the Panthers going 4-0-1, including wins over the Pride in the Dulles District Tournament Finals, the Region II Finals, and the State Semifinals.

Many of Heritage's core players returned for 2007 and mounted a commendable challenge scoring 48 goals with 20 against, and an overall record of 14-4-1 and a district record of 13-3-1. They finished Second place in the Regular Season after topping Potomac Falls for a period, who had suffered a tie to Loudoun County and a tie 2-2 to the Pride. However, Potomac Falls would end any chance of Pride Silverware by beating them 0-3 in a heated game away near the end of the season. In the Dulles District Tournament, the Pride finished in Second after a heart breaking overtime loss to Loudoun County finishing 2-1; ending the campaign early.

The following 2008 season would mark the end of an era and a new beginning with, Dulles District Coach and Washington Post All-Extra Coach of the Year, Steve Williams stepping down. Betsey Munson would take the helm who had a glittering, trail of success at Clark County: 4 State Final Appearances and 2 State Championships; not including many coaching awards. Her arrival was accompanied by an unknown, standout player Ivan Callejas, the last time he had played for Heritage had been a brief stint during his freshmen year, he would go on to lead the Pride in goals for the 2008 season. The Pride-Panther rivalry would reach a season crescendo from a pass by Josh Thiel, assisting Callejas in the 65th minute giving the Pride a historic 1-0 victory. The "Pride Shock" would mean that No. 10 in the State, Potomac Falls had lost its first regular season game in almost 3 years or more accurately, since April 19, 2005. They had only lost 3 times prior in the regular season dating from May 1, 2003. Heritage would later be rank No. 10 in the State, until the group suffered their only loss of the season against Potomac Falls 3-1 away. Coach Munson's debut season title would be sealed by a Luis Rodriguez goal against future professional Calle Brown, from a Shawn Page assist in extra time giving Heritage the 2-1 victory. Luis's brace began from an assist in regular time by Nana Darko. The Dulles District Tournament would finish in a stunning, turning point upset by Park View in a debatable round of penalties. The final game for the team would be played in Regions losing 1-2 at home, despite State Champion ambitions. Nonetheless, the season marked Heritage Pride Boys' their first, ever Regular Season Title finishing 12-1-3 for the regular season and completing an overall record of 13-3-3.

Two years later in 2010, Coach Munson and a new squad would go on to make another run, finishing in Second place for the Regular Season and making it to the Post-Season Tournament Final, but this time in the AAA Cedar Run District. In the Tournament Final, they narrowly missed out losing to Battlefield 1-2; Jake Flanagan scored the Pride’s lone goal unassisted. Having finished Second in both competitions the Pride would advance and make an away Regional Appearance.

In 2013, Coach Munson claimed the state record for having the most wins as a female coach in Virginia High School League history for boys soccer.

The 2015 season was another notable season for the Pride. The Pride defeated Park View 3-0 and became Regular District Champions for the second time from a hat-trick by Gio Vasquez against Park View.

Lacrosse

The Heritage boys' lacrosse team did exceptionally well in the 2007 and 2008 seasons, finishing 15-3 and 14-3 respectively. They were tournament champions in 2007 and regular season champions in 2008. The class of 2008 has had the strongest class in school history and graduated with the most wins in school history. The class of 2008 also had 3 members go on to play collegiately at the NCAA level.

Other Sports

Heritage teams did surprisingly well in the 2005-2006 year. Both the girls' and boys' Track teams won their respective AA Dulles District Titles. The football team also had its first winning season in the 2005-2006 school year, with a 7-3 record, sharing the Dulles District title with Park View High School, but unable to make the playoffs because Park View had more power points in the Virginia High School League’s rating system. in 2015, third year head coach Reed Prosser helped the Pride to a 6-4 record, after starting 6-0, and to a playoff appearance.

The Heritage girls' Varsity Swim & Dive team have made a vast improvement over the season of 2014-2015. Seeing as the girls have placed first in the Conference 21 meet. Taking first at regionals was an even bigger step for our Heritage girls' Varsity Swim & Dive team. To finish up the season our girls' team placed third in the 4A Northern Virginia Annual States meet. There were also many record breakers for swimmers on the Heritage Varsity Swim & Dive team in the season of 2014-2015.

Arts

Heritage has very successful Band, Choral, and Drama programs which perform at district and regional festivals.

Band

The Heritage Symphonic Band During the summer of 2008 was invited by well-known composer Frank Ticheli to perform in the 200-instrumentalist world premier of his new piece "Angels in the Architecture" at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. The performance took place on July 6, 2008 at 2:30 pm in the Opera House's Concert Hall, directed by Dr. Matthew George.

In addition, the band also played their own personal concert at the Opera House consisting of the songs "Into the Storm" by Robert W. Smith, "Of Dark Lords and Ancient Kings" by Roland Barrett, and an arrangement of Danse Bacchanale written by Camille Saint-Saëns and arranged by Jay Bocook.

Choir

Heritage's Choir programs consist of:

Heritage Singers: An auditioned choir composed of male and female students (grades 10 - 12) with an advanced knowledge of music. The group performs advanced literature in a variety of styles from various periods of music history. This group is the core of the choral program, performing frequently throughout the year.

TWELVE: An auditioned SATB group of juniors and seniors who sing advanced literature for small ensembles. The primary emphasis is singing jazz styles, but the group also sings holiday music for various events in the community. All members of the group must be in Heritage Singers as well as TWELVE, so that performance can be the priority of this class. In addition to training these students to hear the difficult jazz chords and be able to sing them, they work to develop a quality persona on stage.

Women’s Chorale: An auditioned choir composed of female students (grades 9 - 12) with an advanced knowledge of music. The group performs advanced literature composed and arranged for female voices.

Treble Choir: A non-auditioned choir composed of female singers (grades 9 - 12). The group performs literature composed and arranged for the female voice and appropriate for their skill level.

Men’s Choir: A non-auditioned choir composed of male singers (grades 9 - 12). The group performs literature composed and arranged for the male voices and appropriate for their skill level.

Drama

Heritage's Drama Program presents four or more productions a year including, A Fall Play, A One Act Show, A Children's Show, and The Spring Musical. They compete in The NCA Cappies division.