About HCPS
The Halifax County School System, which encompasses Halifax County and the Towns of South Boston and Halifax, consists of seven elementary schools (grades K-5), one middle school (grades 6-8), one high school (grades 9-12), one STEM academy, and one early learning center. Each school is accredited by the Virginia Department of Education, and the high school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. All schools are staffed by highly qualified professionally licensed teachers and administrators.
At the elementary level, the instructional focus is reading and math. Reading coaches, guidance counselors, music, art, and physical education teachers, and elementary gifted staff support and supplement the K-5 instructional program. Instructional technology is an integral component of the elementary program with each school having computer labs, document cameras, Smartboards, MOBIs, Galaxy Android tablets, and HATCH systems which are used daily by classroom teachers.
The Halifax County Middle School utilizes a modified transitional team approach in grades 6-8 to bridge the transition between elementary school and high school. Middle school students are offered a wide range of related-arts classes in addition to the core courses of Language Arts, Math, Social Studies and Science. The extracurricular program at the middle school includes fine arts and athletic opportunities for interested students.
At Halifax County High School, students in grades 9-12 are exposed to a vast array of academics, fine arts, vocational and extracurricular opportunities. College prep, advanced placement and dual enrollment coursework is supplemented by the opportunity for academically talented students to receive associate degrees while attending high school. Thanks to the dual enrollment program, 70 students were awarded their Associate of Arts Degree at their high school graduation in June 2011. Career and technical offerings include Culinary Arts, Child Care, Health Occupations, and Motorsports as well as several opportunities in computer technology. The students are exposed to the arts through instrumental, choral music, and visual arts classes. Academic competition teams as well as more than a dozen interscholastic sports teams offer opportunities on a regional and statewide basis for our high school students to show their talents.
Halifax County High School graduates attend colleges and universities with success. Our students pursue higher education primarily in the southeast, but those who have ventured outside of the region have done equally well. Those going to the job market after high school or to community colleges have also achieved success.
Halifax County Public Schools is a school system with a vision. This vision includes career pathways offered through our academy approach. The STEM Academy, one of seven academies, allows students to explore college coursework in science, technology, engineering and math. Many additional opportunities, for students and teachers, are provided through our Halifax County Public Schools Education Foundation. The vision also included an aggressive sixty million dollar capital improvement initiative which resulted in an addition to and the total renovation of the middle school and the construction of two new elementary schools.
Halifax County is by reputation the finest public school program in southern Virginia - it is our intention to maintain this tradition by continuing to place "children first for our future."