Spring Valley High School is located in unincorporated Northeast Columbia, South Carolina, United States, and is operated by Richland County School District Two. Opened in the fall of 1970, it was for a long time the sole high school operating in Richland School District Two, replacing Dentsville High School.
History
The school had an unusual design. The main building was divided into octagonal 'pods', each containing eight chevron-shaped classrooms. This design was borne out of the open classroom concept that was popular during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In the school's early days, classrooms within each pod had no walls, allowing students to participate in any one of several classes occurring at one time. This did not prove successful, and walls were later added to separate the classroom pods by the early 1980s.
In 2008, a new three story building replaced the pods as the new school building, integrating the original gymnasium and fine arts buildings as the only remaining pieces of the original campus.
On October 26, 2015, a Richland County sheriff's deputy who was serving as Spring Valley's school resource officer was called to a classroom to remove a female student from her classroom. The female student was arrested on a charge called "disturbing schools" for refusing to give up her cell phone and leave the room. She was then pulled from the desk by the officer, thrown to the floor and handcuffed. Another female student in the classroom was also charged with disturbing schools after she allegedly yelled and cursed at the officer. The officer was fired after an internal review found that his actions ran counter to sheriff's department policy. The FBI and the US Department of Justice are investigating to determine if the deputy violated the student's civil rights. In response to the incident, South Carolina lawmakers, led by Rep. Mia McLeod, have proposed limitations to the state statute that defines when students can be arrested for disrupting schools. School district administrators also promised to conduct additional staff training about when to involve school resource officers in future incidents.
Band
The Spring Valley Viking Band is the marching band for Spring Valley High School. The first band took the field in 1971, a year after the school's opening. The band has won six South Carolina Band Directors Association 4-A State Marching Championships. They won five straight from 1974 to 1978 and won their sixth in 1983. The band also won three national titles, the De Soto National Title in 1974 and Cherry Blossom National Title in both 1975 and 1978.
Magnet programs
The discovery magnet program is designed for talented students and focuses on science and math, first founded in 1995. These courses are honors level and required for all members of the Discovery program. All discovery members are required to complete two college-level research projects during their sophomore and junior year. The completion of at least four AP courses (one math, one science, two others) is required for graduation from the discovery program.
The explorations program is the sister program to discovery. The program focuses on math and science, and is a college-preparatory program, as opposed to an honors program.
Athletics
State championships
Boys:
Boys soccer: 2007
Notable alumni
- Peter Boulware â€" former NFL linebacker for Baltimore Ravens
- Michael Boulware â€" NFL defensive back for Minnesota Vikings
- Ainsley Earhardt â€" Fox News Channel anchor
- Taylor Guerrieri â€" baseball player
- Terrance Hayes â€" National Book Award winning poet
- Monique Hennagan â€" two-time Olympic 4 × 400 m gold medalist (2004, 2000)
- Danielle Howle â€" folk-rock songwriter
- Christopher W. Kersey - private equity investor
- Tyrone Legette â€" former NFL defensive back for New Orleans Saints
- Lethon Flowers â€" former NFL defensive back for Pittsburgh Steelers
- Andre Roberts â€" NFL wide receiver for Washington Redskins
- Willie Williams â€" former NFL defensive back for Pittsburgh Steelers
- P. J. Dozier â€" former NBA Player for Los Angeles Lakers
See also
- Spring Valley High School police incident
References
