Sherando High School was opened in August 1993 as the second high school in Frederick County. It was built to help alleviate crowding at James Wood High School, the sole high school in the county at the time. The first principal was Dr. John W. Frossard, with assistant principals Gary V. Tisinger and Joseph J. Swack. The latter succeeded Frossard as principal. The school was named after one of the historic Iroquoian-speaking Native American tribes in the Shenandoah Valley. The principal is John Nelson.
Accreditation
Sherando High School is a fully accredited high school based on its performance on the Standards of Learning tests in Virginia.
Students
As of September 30, 2006, using the terms from the reporting instrument, the student body was 84.8% White, 5.2% Black, 5.9% Hispanic, 1.4% Asian/Pacific Islander, 1.0% unspecified, and less than 1.0% Indian/Alaskan. English is the predominantly-spoken first language of the population, followed by Spanish. Certain sophomores and juniors are eligible for admission to Mountain Vista Governor's School.
Athletics
The school mascot is a warrior. The sports teams currently play in the AA Northwestern District and Region II. The school has had numerous athletes and teams reach the state level. In the 2005 fall season, the highest finishing team was volleyball as the state runners-up. Boys' cross country and football were close behind, as both teams finished third in the state. In the winter, several indoor track athletes, swimmers, and wrestlers made it to the state level, but no teams won a title. In the spring, two outdoor track members became the school's state champions: Ryan Witt in the 1600m run and Latasha Watson in the 400m dash. In the 2006 fall season, the highest finishing sport at the state level was the cross country team. In 2006, the football team finished 10-0 for only the second time in school history. A week after the season ended, Sherando lost to the Harrisonburg Blue Streaks 27-23 in the first round of regionals. The first perfect season was in 1997-98, under the leadership of Head Coach Walter Barr, wide receiver Bo Arthur, and a talented trio of running backs. In 2007, the Sherando High School varsity football finished as the state runner-up. They went 10-0 during the regular season en route to the state final in Lynchburg. Sherando ended up losing to Amherst County 56-10. In 2013, the Sherando varsity baseball team won states. Varsity cheerleading as well as the football and baseball teams finished runner-up in states for the 2014 school year.
The band has received Virginia Honor Band recognition a total of 19 times. They first earned it in 1993–94, and they most recently earned it in 2018–19.
Eleven times under the direction of Daniel Schoemmell,
