| Harrisonburg High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| |
1001 Garbers Church Road , 22801 | |
| Coordinates | 38°26′32″N78°54′33″W / 38.442176°N 78.909297°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | Unity in Diversity |
| Established | 1879 |
| School district | Harrisonburg City Public Schools |
| Principal | Melissa Hensley |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 1,951 (2022–23) [1] |
| Colors | Navy Blue, red, and white |
| Athletics conference | Virginia High School League Class 3 Region 3C Valley District League |
| Team name | Blue Streaks |
| Newspaper | Newsstreak |
| Yearbook | The Taj |
| Website | harrisonburg |
Harrisonburg High School (HHS), part of the Harrisonburg City School System, is a public high school located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. HHS serves grades nine through twelve, and its athletic teams are known as the Blue Streaks. In October 2017, 1782 students were enrolled. [2] It was rated "Fully Accredited" by the Virginia Department of Education for the 2017–2018 school year. [3] As of the fall of 2024, it serves students residing in the western part of Harrisonburg.
Harrisonburg High School was founded in 1879 and was initially located on South Main Street. In 1928, it was moved to South High Street; in 1967, the high school was moved to Grace Street. During this time it housed students from grades seven upward, but when Thomas Harrison Middle School was built in 1989, grades seven and eight were shifted from the high school department, and the high school expanded to include both South High Street and Grace Street complexes. The complex was used to hold wrestling shows for Jim Cornette and his Smokey Mountain Wrestling promotion until its closure in 1995. The entire complex renovated in 1994, on its hundredth anniversary, but was subsequently leased and later sold to James Madison University, [4] after the construction and opening of a new building on Garbers Church Road on August 24, 2005. The HHS school board has agreed to move to One Court Square in Harrisonburg; its plans were endorsed by the Harrisonburg City Council on February 8, 2011. [5] In August 2019, the Harrisonburg City Council announced the plan to build a second high school in Harrisonburg in order to alleviate overcrowding in HHS. [6] Rocktown High School was officially opened at the beginning of the 2024–25 school year, serving students residing in the eastern part of Harrisonburg. [7]
[8] Harrisonburg is in the Valley District of the Virginia High School League (VHSL). Originally in Region II, it was reclassified Region V in 2007. When VHSL replaced its former three group classification system with a six group classification system in 2013, Harrisonburg became part of Group 5A, renamed to Class 5 in 2023. After the drop in enrollment following the opening of Rocktown High School, Harrisonburg High School was moved to Class 3 in 2024, which went into effect for the 2025-26 season.