Seneca Valley High School

{{For|the high school located in Pennsylvania|Seneca Valley School District}}
{{Infobox school
 | name                    = Seneca Valley High School
 | logo                    = Coat of arms of Seneca Valley High School, Maryland.png
 | image                   = Seneca Valley High School, Germantown, Maryland (July 7, 2021).jpg
 | address                 = 19401 Crystal Rock Drive
 | city                    = [[Germantown, Maryland|Germantown]]
 | state                   = [[Maryland]]
 | zipcode                 = 20874
 | country                 = United States
 | coordinates             = {{coord|39|10|30|N|77|15|52|W|region:US-MD_type:edu|display=inline,title}}
 | type                    = [[Public school (government funded)|Public]] [[High school#United States|secondary]]
 | motto                   = Soaring Towards Excellence
 | established             = {{Start date and age|1974}}
 | district                = [[Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland)|Montgomery County Public Schools]]
 | ceeb                    =  210582
 | us_nces_school_id       = {{NCES School ID|240048000918|school_name=Seneca Valley High|access_date=February 9, 2024|ref_name=NCES}}
 | principal               = Ricardo Hernandez
 | teaching_staff          = 154.60 [[Full-time equivalent|FTE]] (2022-23)<ref name="NCES" />
 | grades                  = 9–12
 | gender                  = Co-educational
 | students                = 2,239 (2022-23)<ref name="NCES" />
 | ratio                   = 14.48 (2022-23)<ref name="NCES" />
 | campus_size             = {{convert|440000|ft2|m2|adj=on}}
 | campus                  = [[Suburban]]
 | colors                  = Green, gold<br>{{Color box|Green}}{{Color box|Gold}}
 | song                    = "Seneca Valley is the Best!"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/senecavalleyhs/about/song.aspx|title=Seneca Valley High School Song}}</ref>
 | mascot                  = Screaming Eagles
 | newspaper               = The Talon
 | rival                   = [[Damascus High School]]<br>[[Northwest High School (Maryland)|Northwest High School]]
 | website                 = {{URL|www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/senecavalleyhs/}}
}}

'''Seneca Valley High School''' ('''SVHS''') is a [[State school|public]] [[Secondary school|high school]] serving grades 9-12 in [[Germantown, Maryland]], United States. It is part of the [[Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland)|Montgomery County Public Schools]] system. The current building was finished in 2021, and has a capacity of 2,423 students.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 23, 2020|title=Superintendent's Recommended FY 2022 Capital Budget and Amendments to the FY 2021–2026 Capital Improvements Program. Chapter 4 – Seneca Valley Cluster.|url=http://gis.mcpsmd.org/cipmasterpdfs/CIP22_Chapter4SenecaValley.pdf|website=Montgomery County Public Schools|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124012600/http://gis.mcpsmd.org/cipmasterpdfs/CIP22_Chapter4SenecaValley.pdf|archive-date=November 24, 2020}}</ref><ref name="moco360">{{cite web |last1=Peetz |first1=Caitlynn |title=A Look Inside the New Seneca Valley High School |url=https://moco360.media/2020/09/28/a-look-inside-the-new-seneca-valley-high-school/ |work=MoCo360 |date=September 28, 2020}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Seneca Valley High School's parking lot in 1974.png|thumb|Seneca Valley High School's parking lot in 1974]]
Seneca Valley High School sits on land that was once the site of a dairy farm owned by baseball player [[Walter Perry Johnson]]. Johnson purchased the land in 1935 and lived there with his family until his death in 1946.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.germantownmdhistory.org/?q=node/2|author=Germantown Historical Society|work=Germantown Historical Society|title=Germantown's History, A Brief Overview|quote=Johnson bought his dream farm in Germantown in 1935 and lived here with his five children and his mother, his wife having died, until his own death in 1946. His dairy farm was located where Seneca Valley High School is today. He was elected by the local people to two terms as a County Commissioner.|accessdate=March 10, 2013}}</ref>

Seneca Valley High School opened in 1974 as the first high school in Germantown and remained the only one until 1998, when [[Northwest High School (Maryland)|Northwest High School]] opened. In its first year of operation, the 1974-1975 school year, under Principal Nathan Pearson, Seneca Valley hosted students in grades seven through ten. In the following 1975-1976 school year, the school operated grades nine through eleven, with 8th graders transferring to the newly opened Ridgeview Junior High School in Gaithersburg, Maryland. During the 1976-1977 school year, Seneca Valley became a senior high school, hosting grades ten through twelve, and graduating its first class in June 1977.

In 1988, Seneca Valley changed to its present state of full-fledged high school with grades 9-12.

In 2017, construction work began for a completely new school building and campus. The original building was demolished in 2020 and replaced with a new building on-site which was completed in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|title=Germantown Community Meeting with Councilmember Craig Rice |url=https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Rice/Resources/Files/GermantownCommunityMeeting.pdf |date=October 7, 2015 |website=Montgomery County Public Schools |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116232552/https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/Rice/Resources/Files/GermantownCommunityMeeting.pdf|archive-date=November 16, 2015}}</ref> The new 440,000-square-foot building makes SVHS the physically largest high school in Maryland. The larger facility also changed enrollment boundaries to draw more students from the [[Clarksburg High School|Clarksburg]] and [[Northwest High School (Maryland)|Northwest High School]] areas, and accommodates 14 career and technical education programs (CTE) for the upcounty student population.<ref name="moco360" />

== Athletics ==
The school's colors are green and gold, and their mascot is the Screamin' Eagle. Seneca Valley's biggest athletic rivalry is with the nearby [[Damascus High School]].<ref name=damascus>{{Cite news |last1=Melnick |first1=Kyle |title= Seneca Valley gets its statement win over Damascus: ‘All I have to say is we’re back’|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/10/29/seneca-valley-gets-its-statement-win-over-damascus-all-i-have-say-is-were-back/|newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 29, 2021}}</ref>

Seneca Valley's [[American football|football]] team has won 12 state football championships, in 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2002.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Melnick |first1=Kyle |title=Seneca Valley, once Maryland's premier football program, tries to recapture its glory |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/10/19/seneca-valley-once-marylands-premier-football-program-tries-recapture-its-glory/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=October 19, 2021}}</ref> This is a Maryland state record which they share with Damascus High School.<ref name=damascus/>

Their hockey team (Upper Montgomery County Lightning) were JV state champions in 2022 and varsity county champions in 2024.

== Notable alumni ==
* [[Mark Bryan]] (1985), lead guitarist for [[Hootie and the Blowfish]]<ref name=blowfish>{{cite news |last1=Harrington |first1=Richard |title=Locally Schooled Blowfish |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/07/26/locally-schooled-blowfish/365f2486-5a52-413e-9152-970d82a75e71/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |issue=Weekend |date=July 26, 1996 |page=11}}</ref>
* [[Neil Fallon]] (1989), vocalist for [[Clutch (band)|Clutch]]<ref name=clutch>{{cite news |last1=Nader |first1=Elisa |title=The House That Clutch Built |url=https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/arts/article/13012331/the-house-that-clutch-built |work=Washington City Paper |date=January 24, 1997}}</ref>
* [[Dean Felber]] (1985), bass guitarist for Hootie and the Blowfish<ref name=blowfish />
* [[Jean-Paul Gaster]] (1989), drummer for Clutch<ref name=clutch />
* [[Dan Maines]] (1989), bass guitarist for Clutch<ref name=clutch />
* [[Andre Smith (tight end)|Andre Smith]] (2006), NFL player<ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Rourke |first1=Kevin |title=Coming Home for Good: Former NFL Player Now Patrols His Hometown Streets with MCPD |url=https://www.germantownpulse.net/single-post/2018/11/30/Coming-Home-for-Good-Former-NFL-Player-Now-Patrols-His-Hometown-Streets-in-Germantown-with-MCPD |work=Germantown Vibe |date=November 30, 2018}}</ref>
* [[Paula White]] (1984), televangelist and pastor, Paula White Ministries<ref>{{cite news |first=Hamil R. |last=Harris |title=My Story Is a Story of Restoration |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=December 16, 2004 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A1888-2004Dec15.html |accessdate=April 15, 2011}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Seneca Valley High School}}
*{{Official website|https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/schools/senecavalleyhs/}}
* [http://www.svhsfootball.com/index.php/ Seneca Valley Football]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100525112702/http://www.svhslacrosse.com/ Seneca Valley Lacrosse]
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010813004443/http://www2.mcps.k12.md.us/schools/senecavalleyhs/ |date=August 13, 2001 |title=Seneca Valley High School }}

{{Montgomery County Public Schools}}
{{Montgomery County, Maryland High Schools}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:1974 establishments in Maryland]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1974]]
[[Category:Germantown, Maryland]]
[[Category:International Baccalaureate schools in Maryland]]
[[Category:Public high schools in Montgomery County, Maryland]]