Our Campus

Thank you for your interest in our school! Community High School is a small, independent, college preparatory high school grounded in the liberal arts with a commitment to seminar-based classes. We were founded in 2002 by a group of parents who were looking for a more innovative and responsive high school environment for their own children. Please see below for a visual tour of our school building. If you would like to visit in person, contact us to schedule a tour.

The Building

In 2011, Community High moved to a beautiful permanent home in a restored historic warehouse in downtown Roanoke. The building boasts original wide plank flooring, exposed brick walls, and heart pine timbers, along with a flexible 150-seat theater, band rehearsal facilities, painting and film-editing studios, and a fully equipped science laboratory.

Downtown Roanoke

Our location allows our students direct access to downtown Roanoke and institutions like Center in the Square, the Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke Public Library, and more. Students are allowed to go downtown during lunch to visit these institutions, patronize restaurants and coffee shops, spend time with their friends, and visit the Roanoke farmers market.

Outdoor Space

We are lucky to have an open green space next to the school building, which is available for student use throughout the day. Students use this space to eat lunch, play frisbee and soccer, and sit or study in the sunshine when the weather is nice. We also have a basketball court, and a small patio with a picnic table for eating, studying, or chatting with friends.

Our Classrooms

Our classrooms tend to be multi-use, meaning that multiple disciplines teach classes in each classroom. Most classrooms have desks or tables arranged in a circular/square formation to accommodate discussion sections, as well as white boards for note-taking and display screens for media. The exception is our fully equipped science laboratory, which contains lab benches, gas jets, sinks, and chemical storage – everything you need for wet labs in subjects like chemistry, biology, and environmental science.

Theater

The June M. McBroom Theatre comfortably seats 150 patrons and has hosted groups from afar like bluegrass wizard James King and the American Shakespeare Company, as well as local organizations including theater companies, literary groups and medical lecturers. It also serves as home to our own events, including theater and musical performances, speakers, and community gatherings.

Band Room

In the Community High School Performance Band class, students study ensemble performance by choosing songs, rehearsing, and performing several times per year in an actual band using core rock/jazz instrumentation: drums, electric bass, electric and acoustic guitars, keyboard and vocals. The band rocks out twice per week in our small but cozy band room.

Studio

At CHS, arts courses are considered “core” classes, and are required and weighted in the same way as other disciplines. Visual arts offerings vary from year to year, and include classes like Oil Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Comics, Puppet-making, and more. Our dedicated painting studio contains individual work spaces as well as storage for materials and student projects.

Student Lounge

Students gather between classes and during free periods to swap stories, play games, do homework, and relax in the Student Lounge. The Lounge is also a favorite lunch spot, and has a shared microwave and refrigerator. Each student at CHS has their own cubby to store books, bags, and more, and most of these are located in the student lounge as well.

Library

The library is packed full of books available to borrow, and home to six desktop computers reserved for student homework/classwork needs. It also serves as a favorite quiet study space for students. We occasionally host workshops in the library as well, covering everything from citing sources in a paper, to how to use the internet effectively for research.

Fitness Center

Our Physical Education program’s goal is to help students develop healthy, life-long fitness habits by teaching them that there are lots of fun ways to get moving. During class, we most often use the nearby YMCA and outdoor parks for personal workouts, sports, yoga, hiking, and much more, but between classes students may use the equipment in our on-site gym.