History of Spotsylvania County Public Schools
In 1870, the public education system in Spotsylvania County was established with segregated one-room schools. These schools were gradually abandoned in favor of larger buildings combining elementary and high schools.
In 1922, The Spotsylvania County Public Schools (SCPS) division was created. Robert E. Lee High School became the first accredited high school in the County in 1920. It was built in 1914 at Spotsylvania Courthouse but was destroyed by fire in 1941. The former Spotsylvania High School was a state-of-the-art building constructed in 1939 for $158,000. During the twentieth century, the school system moved from scattered one-room schools for elementary education to consolidated schools for grades 1–12 to an integrated system in 1968. Until then, most African-American children attended one-room schools until the John J. Wright Consolidated School opened in 1952.
Since 1968, the school system has evolved into separate elementary, middle, and high schools. Today, SCPS serves over 23,780 students daily from preschool to grade twelve and comprises 31 schools and centers: 17 elementary schools, 7 middle schools, 5 high schools, a Career and Technical Center, and an Alternative Learning Center.
Recent systematic changes for the school division have included:
In the summer of 2005, for the first time, the Spotsylvania County Public School Board announced that they were going to start a week before Labor Day. While other counties around Spotsylvania started the day after Labor Day.
In 2006, the Division changed from a 7 period day (50 minute class) schedule to an A Day/B Day block schedule with 90 minute class periods at the secondary level.
In 2008, PASS (Parents Access for Students' Success) was implemented. PASS was the Division's first online program, allowing students and parents to check grades, attendance, and lunch account balances.
In 2010, Spotsylvania County Public School Board changed the 6-point grading scale to a 10-point one.
