Gar-Field Senior High School is a senior high school in Woodbridge in unincorporated Prince William County, Virginia, USA, with students in grades 9 through 12. Established in 1953, it was originally located at 15941 Cardinal Drive until the current school opened in 1972 on 14000 Smoketown Road.
History
The name Gar-Field is derived from two prominent local families, the Garbers and the Manderfields. According to Prince William County Circuit Court records, the Garbers and Manderfields donated approximately 20 acres of land for the original school near Neabsco Creek that had once been part of “Round Top Farm”, just off of U.S. Highway #1. The gift to Prince William County’s School Board stipulated that this land would be used for building a public school for white children which opened to students on December 8, 1953. [2]
The principal is Matthew Mathison. Before coming to Gar-Field, he was an assistant principal at Woodbridge Senior High School. He has been principal since 2019.[3]
Demographics
In the 2019–2020 school year, Gar-Field's 2,305 student body was:
Gar-Field High School is an International Baccalaureate(IB) World School. They offer the IB Middle Years Programme, (MYP) IB Diploma Programme, (DP) and the IB Career Related Programme. (CP) Gar-Field High School was first authorized to offer the IB Diploma Programme in 2000, IB Middle Years Programme in 2002, and Career Related Programme in 2016. Students can take part in full IB programs at Gar-Field High School to earn a diploma/certificate depending on which programme they successfully complete. A student can also take courses offered by the IB in their levels of strength and interest, but do not have to be part of the full IB program. These are known as IB/MYP Course Students. Students can be awarded college credit with IB classes, and it weights the GPA. Only two high schools in Prince William County Public Schools offer the program.
