North Marion High School (West Virginia)

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North Marion High School
Address
Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap
1 North Marion Drive Farmington , Marion County , West Virginia 26571 United States
Coordinates	39°30′39″N 80°18′4″W / 39.51083°N 80.30111°W / 39.51083; -80.30111Coordinates: 39°30′39″N 80°18′4″W / 39.51083°N 80.30111°W / 39.51083; -80.30111
Information
School type	Public coeducational
Opened	1979
School district	Marion County
Superintendent	Gary Price[1]
Principal	Russelle DeVito
Faculty	45.00 (FTE)[2]
Grades	9-12
Age	14 to 18
Enrolment	712 (2018–19)[2]
Average class size	25-30
Student to teacher ratio	15.82[2]
Campus type	Closed
Color(s)	Black & silver
Mascot	Husky
Nickname	Rachel Rowdies
Team name	'Huskies'
Yearbook	North Star
Feeder schools	Mannington Middle School Monongah Middle School Barrackville Middle School Fairview Middle School
Website	www.marionboe.com/NorthMarion

North Marion High School is a public high school in Farmington, West Virginia, United States. It is one of three high schools in Marion County. The other two are Fairmont Senior High School and East Fairmont High School.^[3]

The school is classified as "AA", and it has an enrollment of 851 students as of 2020.^[4]

History and location[]

North Marion High School was completed and opened in September, 1979.^[5] The school is a consolidated high school made up of four former high schools that closed in the consolidation: Barrackville, Monongah, Mannington and Fairview. With over 1,600 students, was at the time one of the largest high schools in West Virginia. Farmington High School, which closed in 1975 because of structural problems caused by mine subsidence, is often considered to be part of the consolidated group (even though it had been closed prior to the building of the new school). The four former high schools were converted to middle schools, with all four buildings remaining in current use. One of which, Mannington Middle is the oldest currently used school in West Virginia, opening in 1902.

North Marion High School is located approximately fours miles from Farmington, West Virginia on US Route 250 north. While it is closer to the city of Mannington, West Virginia, and is often considered to be located in Rachel, West Virginia, the school mailing address is Farmington. Rachel is a small coal mining community located adjacent to the school, and is an unincorporated municipality.

Nickname and colors[]

North Marion students, teams and alumni are known as Huskies. The school colors are black and silver. The mascot and colors were chosen by the students of the various consolidated high schools in an election in the spring of 1979. For the first several years the students enjoyed an unofficial “Husky Lunch” consisting of a Moon pie and an RC Cola until outside vending was closed.

Athletics and academics[]

After completion of the original facility, the building process continued sporadically. A local group calling themselves the "Wood Cutters" completed, with mostly volunteer labor and materials, the addition of a facilities building, football stadium, practice field and softball field. Without the work and efforts of the volunteers, many of the improvements of the school would not have been possible^{[citation needed]} and the continued improvement of the grounds has become a source of community pride. The school continues to enjoy strong local fan and booster support. In 2014, turf was added to Husky Field. And a Track and Field track was built in 2015.

In popular culture[]

The school is represented as "Grantville High School" in the popular alternative history novel 1632 by writer Eric Flint. The novel is set in the fictional town of Grantville, which is based on the real town and surroundings of Mannington.^[7]

Notable alumni[]

• Rich Rodriguez, 1981 graduate: Former West Virginia University football player and head coach; Former head football coach for the University of Michigan; Former Head Football coach at the University of Arizona. Current Offensive Coordinator at the University of Louisiana-Monroe.^[8]
• Natalie Tennant, 1986 graduate:^{[citation needed]} First female to represent West Virginia University as the Mountaineer Mascot; Prominent television anchor and reporter, working in both the Clarksburg and Charleston television markets; Former WV Secretary of State, elected in 2008, serving from 2009-2017.

References[]