Colonial Forge High School

Colonial Forge High School
Address
550 Courthouse Road Stafford, Virginia, 22554 United States
Information
Type	Public High School
Established	1999
School district	Stafford County Public Schools
Superintendent	Dr. David E. Sawyer
Principal	Michael Byers
Vice principal	Brian Collier Tricia Jacobs Rodney Jones Karen Mays
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	2,050  (Fall 2009)
Language	English
School Color(s)	Navy Blue, Forest Green and White
Fight song	Colonial Forge Fight Song, based off "The Harmonious Blacksmith"
Athletics conference	Virginia High School League AAA Northwest Region AAA Commonwealth District
Mascot	Eagles
Nickname	Forge, CoFo
Rival	Stafford Senior High School North Stafford High School Mountain View High School Brooke Point High School
Publication	Molten Art
Newspaper	Talon
Yearbook	Apollo
Feeder schools	Rodney E. Thompson Middle School (Majority) H.H. Poole Middle School (Minority) T. Benton Gayle Middle School (Majority) Stafford Middle School (Minority)
Website	http://www.cfhs.org

Colonial Forge High School is a public high school in Stafford, Virginia serving students in grades nine through twelve in the central portion of Stafford County, Virginia.

Colonial Forge is among the top 1,000 schools in the nation, ranked 2nd in the 2007 edition of the Newsweek list of the 1200 best high schools in America.

Location and demographics

Colonial Forge is located on Courthouse Road, State Route 630, slightly over two miles from Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1. Colonial Forge's student enrollment is now 69% Caucasian, 21% Black, 5% Hispanic, 5% Italian and 4% Asian/Pacific Islander.

History

Colonial Forge was completed in 1999 as the fourth high school to open in Stafford County. The school's colors are navy blue, forest green, and silver and the mascot is the Bald Eagle.

Academics and extracurricular activities

With a student population of over 2000, over 300 Colonial Forge students are enrolled in one or more music classes. Colonial Forge bands consistently receive superior ratings in grade V and VI literature at district festivals and are nine-year recipients of the Virginia Honor Band award. They will attempt their tenth at the district band festival in March. The Sound & Guard was previously under the direction of Mr. Andrew Loft since the band's beginning, but in 2010 Mr. Duane Coston took over. The Colonial Forge Madrigals have received top ratings at festivals and have placed at numerous choral events and competitions. The Colonial Forge Show Choir and Ladies Select have also received top ratings at numerous show choir competitions. The choral students consistently rank in the top percentiles a numerous county, district, and state level choirs. For the ninth straight year, Colonial Forge has been designated a Blue Ribbon School by the Virginia Music Educators Association. This distinction is awarded to schools in which all top performing ensembles receive a superior rating at district festival. At Colonial Forge, the band, choir, and orchestra have achieved superior ratings each year since 2002.

The school's Academic team is ranked third in the state, with the team having also won the year's district tournament in a sudden death overtime against Albemarle High School. In the 2005-06 season the Academic team won the district and regional titles and ranked fifth in the state of Maryland.

Molten Art, Colonial Forge's literary magazine, has won several Crown Awards in Columbia University's CSPA Crown competition, including a Silver Crown in 2004, and Gold Crowns in 2006 and 2008. Molten Art consistently earns high national praise, often competing against private schools that specialize in the arts.

Athletics

Colonial Forge's athletic teams have established themselves in the AAA Northwest Region and the state:

Wrestling

The Colonial Forge wrestling team, coached by Bill Swink, has established itself as a dominant force in the Commonwealth District, winning the district tournament from 2001-2009* - the 2010 district tournament was not held due to snow, but CFHS won all of their regular season dual meets (CFHS did not win in their inaugural season, but have not lost the title since). In addition to the district titles, Colonial Forge also has won the regional title in the AAA Northwest Region from 2002-2010. Their success is not limited to the district and regional levels; Colonial Forge has also claimed three AAA VA State Championships in wrestling back-to-back-to-back in 2007-08-09.

Track and Field and Cross Country

Since the school's inception Colonial Forge's cross country and track teams have proven themselves as some of the best in the state winning multiple team district and regional titles and finishing in the top five in the state as a team five times, getting as high as second in 2003. The running program has produced multiple state champions and All-Americans along with flocks of all-district, all-region, and all-state athletes. In the summer of 2008, Colonial Forge Graduate Jerome Miller made the finals of the US Olympic Trials in the high jump. At the 2010 AAA cross country state championships the boys placed 2nd and the girls 3rd. This is the highest placing for both teams at the state level. Alums Michael Porter and Sean Leyh are the current head cross country coaches. The boys 2010 outdoor track team won the Northwest Region title over Riverbend HS.