MCLEAN HIGH SCHOOL

'McLean High School' is a public secondary school located in McLean, Virginia. It is located on 1633 Davidson Road and part of Fairfax County Public Schools.
According to the school's home page, Mclean High School is located four miles from Washington, D.C., and tucked into the northeastern section of Fairfax County, McLean High School provides a supportive environment for the whole student—focusing on student achievement, while encouraging participation in sports, the arts, clubs, publications, and other co-curricular and extracurricular activities. The quality of our students’ educational experiences is a direct reflection of our community’s commitment to its schools and education. McLean is home to a highly educated business and professional population, including employees of the federal government, as well as international business and government professionals.
McLean offers an academically challenging program with courses designed to complement the broad interests and abilities of a culturally diverse student body. Because of the strong academic orientation of the McLean community, the curriculum focuses on college preparation with an impressive array of advanced placement courses, while offering a wide variety of electives designed to appeal to all interests and vocations. Electives offerings include everything from an award-winning fine and performing arts program, with orchestral, choral, and instrumental levels suitable for the beginner or the expert performer to a preschool program in our early childhood education classes. McLean has provided the impetus for students to matriculate to the best universities and to embark on successful careers in a variety of fields. ^[1]
According to Newsweek Magazine's 2007 list of the top US high schools, McLean was ranked 73, up 13 positions from 2006. ^[2]

Contents

Demographics

Test Scores

Athletics

Band

Mascot

Newspaper

Yearbook

Notable Alumni

References

Demographics

McLean High School's student body is 70% White; 4% Black; 7% Hispanic; and 19% Asian.

Test Scores

McLean High School is a fully accredited high school based on the Standards of Learning tests in Virginia. The average SAT score in 2006 for McLean was 1,755 (583 in Critical Reading, 602 in Math, and 570 in Writing).

Athletics

The school plays in the AAA Liberty District and the Northern Region. Their mascot is the Highlander, and their primary rival school is Langley High School, also in McLean.

Band

McLean's band program is currently conducted by James Kirchenbauer, who has been the conductor since 1982. Under Mr. Kirchenbauer, the McLean band has been awarded many honors, such as the Sudler Flag of Honor in 2000. The band also traveled to the Midwest Clinic in 2006, one of the most presitigous performances a high school band can achieve.

Mascot

The school considered itself "The Eagles" before they became "The Highlanders." Girls' sport teams were known as "The Bald Eagles." The mascot was changed to what it is today in 1958 after a school wide vote to stick with the Scottish heritage of McLean, Virginia.

Newspaper

McLean also has an award winning newspaper, ''Highlander''. In 2006, ''Highlander'' was inducted into the high school newspaper Hall of Fame after ten years of consecutively being an "All American." The paper can also be seen at its website [1].
Two writers from the paper won "National Story of the Year" awards while attending the school. The first was a feature story about the under age drinking that occurs at friday parties in student homes. The other was a sports story that revealed tobacco was being chewed on school grounds by some coaches and their players.
''Highlander'' has existed since the school opened. In 1956, it was named the ''Hilltop Highlights'', but was changed in 1958 to ''The Highlander''. Since the paper's first publication, it has gone from being a newpaper to a newsmagazine and back to its current state, a newspaper. This year is volume 52 of the ''Highlander''.

Yearbook

''The Clan'' has been McLean's award winning yearbook since the school's first year. In 2005, ''The Clan'' was inducted into the high school yearbook Hall of Fame after ten years of consecutively being an "All American."

Notable Alumni

★ Aldrich Ames- Ames is a 1959 graduate who became a CIA agent. He was convicted in 1994 for spying for the Soviet Union. Ames' story is widely told in novels and movies, and was also featured on the March 7, 1994 cover of Time (magazine).

★ William F. Readdy- Readdy is a 1970 graduate who became an astronaut. He has flown three missions during his career.

★ Duff Goldman- Goldman attended McLean during his sophomore year. He opened a bakery in Baltimore, Maryland and became the star of his own Food Network show, Ace of Cakes. He considers his McLean art teacher, Jeffery Meizlik, his biggest inspiration.

★ Elizabeth Cheney- 1984 graduate currently Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs and daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney.

★ Mary Cheney - 1987 Graduate and daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney.

★ Vern Yip- Yip graduated in 1986. He's a well known interior designer, who has appeared on design show Trading Spaces.

References

1. http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/McLeanHS/
2. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18757087/site/newsweek/