VHSL realignment to last four years through 2031
~ PVN staff report
LURAY — Beginning next school year, both Luray and Page County high schools will once again be competing on the same level in postseason play for athletics and other Virginia High School League competition due to declining student enrollment.
The VHSL announced its new alignment of all 319 secondary schools among its six classifications in late July. School divisions submitted March 31, 2026 Average Daily Membership (ADM) numbers to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), with the count reflecting total student days in membership through March 31 divided by the number of days school was in session up to that date. VHSL uses that count submitted by the school division superintendent for grades 9-11.
“We develop a proposed alignment plan based upon the accurate student enrollment numbers submitted by each superintendent to the VDOE,” said VHSL Executive Director Ty Gafford. “Once we have these raw numbers from the VDOE, our VHSL Alignment Committee begins the process for developing the 2027 through 2031 four-year alignment cycle.”
Three local schools will see a significant change due to the new VHSL alignment.
Page County High School will become the largest Class 1 school in Virginia, with 343 students in grades 9-11. Grayson County High School, which has 344 students, is the smallest Class 2 school. Page County competed as one of the smallest Class 2 schools under the last realignment for the past two school years.
Warren County High School will become the largest Class 2 school during the 2027-28 school year, with 557 students in grades 9-11. Skyline High School will be the second-largest Class 2 school, with 550 students.
Next school year, there will be 52 high schools designated Class 2 in Virginia, while 53 schools will be Class 1.
Luray High School will remain at the Class 1 level, where the Bulldogs competed last year. However, after initially being one of the largest Class 1 schools following the last two-year realignment, Luray will now be the 9th-largest Class 1 school next year with 301 students in grades 9 through 11.
Riverheads High School also remains at the Class 1 level, as it did this season, with 325 students — the third-largest enrollment in Class 1.
East Rockingham will be among the smallest Class 3 schools at 577 students.
The only big change in the Bull Run District was Page County joining Luray and Rappahannock (180 students) in Class 1 postseason play. Clarke (495), Central of Woodstock (481), Strasburg (417), Madison (380) and Stonewall Jackson (371) will all remain at the Class 2 level.
The largest VHSL member in Virginia (as of March 31, 2026) is Class 6 Alexandria City High School with 3,290 students in grades 9 through 11. The next biggest school, Washington Liberty High, shows a drop-off of more than 1,000 students (2,222).
The smallest high school with VHSL membership is Highland High, with only 40 students in grades 9 through 11, including a junior class of only seven students. Highland is the only VHSL member below 100 students.
If a school wished to appeal its numbers and classification, that school needed to request an appeal by Aug. 10. They were then required to submit an appeal in writing by Aug. 17. The VHSL Alignment Appeal Committee meets Tuesday, Aug. 25 to hear appeals and recommend the final alignment plan to the VHSL Executive Committee for 2027 through 2031.
Below is the full VHSL realignment list for 2027-28 through 2031-32,
•••
RELATED ARTICLES
Be the first to comment