History of Auburn
Auburn High School is one of four secondary schools in the Montgomery County Public School system. Auburn is located on Route 8 in the southwest portion of Montgomery County, approximately 35 miles southwest of Roanoke, Virginia via Interstate 81. Auburn is located in an area rapidly moving from a rural farming community to a suburban residential community. The school is closely associated with Radford University and Virginia Tech through visiting professors, student teachers, and student aides, as well as with local manufacturing corporations such as Volvo-White, Kollmorgen, Hercules, Corning Glass, and Federal Mogul.
Education in Riner began with governesses who lived in homes. Later, the school was located in a one-room log cabin, then in a multi-roomed weather-boarded school. These buildings were dependent on potbellied stoves for heat; water was carried to the room and dispersed by a community dipper.
In the early years, many students boarded in local homes while others came by covered wagon or on horseback. Bus transportation did not begin until 1920.
The school was upgraded from a junior high school to a state accredited senior high school during the 1916-17 session. This first graduating class was comprised of four members.
In 1922, an addition was made to the school building, making a total of six rooms, six teachers, and 158 students. In 1924, the school became an agricultural high school, creating the need for more room. At this time new rooms were added, a well was dug, and water fountains were installed. There were still no rest rooms. More students were enrolled at Auburn and by 1928, the graduating class had nine members. Since then, Auburn High School has had the following student enrollment by decade:
67 1969 296 2009 432
104 1979 300
135 1989 300
231 1999 359
Beginning in 1911, eleven principals served one to two-year terms until 1926. The following have served as principal since 1926:
Mr. D.M. Cloyd 1926-1930
Mr. L. E. Mosley 1930-1946
Mr. Manual Reynolds 1946-1971
Mr. Sam Lucas 1972-1977
Mr. Ralph Erwin, Jr. 1977-1979
Mr. Daniel H. Surface 1979-1980
Mr. Michael W. Callahan 1980-1981
Mr. Robert K. Miller 1981-2001
Mr. Carl R. Pauli 2001-present
Auburn High and Middle School is uniquely combined with a shared administration and counseling department. The high school has 265 students in grades 9-12, and the middle school has 237 students in grades 6-8. The high school offers a wide variety of courses including Advanced Placement, honors, college preparatory, vocational, and work training programs. Approximately 60% of each graduating class pursues post-secondary education. The faculty of 45 includes 22 with Advanced Degrees, a Presidential Scholar, a Tandy Scholar, a Virginia Science Teacher of the Year, a teacher selected for Classical Study in Greece, and ten teachers with extensive Advanced Placement Training.
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