Editing Highland County, Virginia (section)

==Community services==

===Education===
Currently, [[Public education in the United States|Public education]] in Highland County for grades [[K-12 (education)|K-12]] is provided by Highland County Public Schools. The district has one elementary school, Highland Elementary School, serving grades kindergarten through 5th, and one high school, Highland High School, serving grades 6th though 12th. The high school includes a middle school division consisting of grades 6th through 8th that is in a separate location in the building from the core high school. Both the elementary and high schools are housed in one building located southeast of Monterey.<ref name="overview3">''[[#EconOverview|Economic Overview 2002 Bath and Highland County]]'', 2002, p. 3.</ref><ref name="commerce edu">{{cite web|title=Highland County > Education|publisher=Highland County Chamber of Commerce|url=http://www.highlandcounty.org/education.html|access-date=December 28, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230234046/http://www.highlandcounty.org/education.html|archive-date=December 30, 2013}}</ref><ref name="education">{{cite web|title=Comprehensive Plan: Education|publisher=Highland County|url=http://www.highlandcova.org/Compplan/Eduverb.htm|access-date=December 28, 2013}}</ref><ref name="monterey topo map">{{cite web|title=County of Highland - Topographic Map (Monterey)|publisher=Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission|website=highlandcova.org|url=http://www.highlandcova.org/Compmaps/30%20-%20Monterey%20Topographic.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.highlandcova.org/Compmaps/30%20-%20Monterey%20Topographic.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|access-date=December 28, 2013|year=2010}}</ref>  The district is the smallest school district in Virginia in terms of the student body, with a total student count just exceeding 200.<ref name="school district welcome">{{cite web|title=District - Welcome|publisher=Highland County School District|url=http://www.highland.k12.va.us/education/school/school.php?sectiondetailid=1617&linkid=nav-menu-container-1-10305|access-date=December 28, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318171238/http://www.highland.k12.va.us/education/school/school.php?sectiondetailid=1617&linkid=nav-menu-container-1-10305|archive-date=March 18, 2014}}</ref><ref name="avg students">{{cite web|title=Highland County Education: Average Daily Student Membership|website=Regional Data Center for Virginia's Central Shenandoah Valley|publisher=Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission|url=http://rdc.cspdc.org/getreport.aspx|access-date=December 28, 2013}}</ref>

The first record of educational services in the area of Highland County is from 1755 with the arrival of a teacher by the name of William Steuart. It was not until 1820 that education became publicly supported, having been left to private hands previously. Though the system established in 1820 was of a rudimentary quality, books sufficient for teaching [[the three Rs]] were provided by public funds. Additional subjects were studied, such as geography and grammar, as resources were available.<ref name="history150-153">[[#OrenHistory|Oren]], 1911, pp. 150-153.</ref>  The first tax levied in support of the public schools was passed in 1847<ref name="Scott95">[[#Scott|Scott]], 2008, p. 95.</ref> and the county was divided into twelve school districts in 1850.<ref name="history150-153"/>  Numerous small schools were distributed throughout the county, and by 1893, there was a total of 47 schools.<ref name="93handbook">{{cite book|title=Virginia, a Hand-book: Giving Its History, Climate, and Mineral Wealth, Its Educational, Agricultural, and Industrial Advantages, Volumes 81-893|publisher=Everett Waddey Company|year=1893|others=Thomas Whitehead, Virginia. Dept. of Agriculture, Virginia. Board of Agriculture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UvcRAAAAYAAJ|page=264}}</ref>   By the early 1900s, the county was divided into three school districts: Blue Grass, Monterey, and Stonewall. In 1922, the county's school districts were consolidated into one district and there were "52 one- and two-room grammar schools" and "three accredited four-year high schools". By 1929, the total number of schools decreased to 32 as the school district became more consolidated. In 1957, all high schools in the county were consolidated and all high school students were located at the [[Monterey High School (Monterey, Virginia)|Monterey High School]]. High school students were again transferred in 1963 to the current high school building, and by 1985, all elementary students were transferred to Monterey Elementary School, housed in the building previously used as the Monterey High School. In 1997, the elementary school was transferred to the complex of the high school, forming the present day status of the school district.<ref name="vaNRHPnom">{{cite web |url=http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Highland/262-0082_Monterey_High_School_2002_Final_Nomination.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Highland/262-0082_Monterey_High_School_2002_Final_Nomination.pdf |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Monterey High School |author=William T. Frazier| date=August 2001|publisher=Virginia Department of Historic Resources|pages=5–7}}</ref>

There are no colleges or universities located in Highland County. There are several colleges and universities, however, within the neighboring counties and surrounding area. These include [[Blue Ridge Community College (Virginia)|Blue Ridge Community College]], [[James Madison University]], [[Washington and Lee University]], and the [[University of Virginia]], among others. These institutions are generally within a two-hour drive from Highland County.<ref name="education"/>

===Healthcare===
Highland County does not have a [[hospital]], the closest being in neighboring Augusta and Bath Counties, such as [[Augusta Health]].<ref name="services">{{cite web|title=Comprehensive Plan: Community Services|publisher=Highland County|url=http://www.highlandcova.org/Compplan/Commverb.htm|access-date=December 28, 2013|archive-date=December 30, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230232221/http://www.highlandcova.org/Compplan/Commverb.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>  The Highland Medical Center, Inc. is located in Monterey and is the only general patient care medical facility in Highland County. The center opened in 1996 and became a [[Federally Qualified Health Center]] in 2003.<ref name="services"/><ref name="commerce health">{{cite web|title=Highland County > Medical|publisher=Highland County Chamber of Commerce|url=http://www.highlandcounty.org/medical.html|access-date=December 28, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230235232/http://www.highlandcounty.org/medical.html|archive-date=December 30, 2013}}</ref>  Highland County is one of four counties in Virginia and one of only 50 counties in states east of the [[Mississippi River]] (excluding [[Minnesota]]) that is designated as a frontier county.<ref name="frontier">{{cite web|title=Frontier Areas from 2010 U.S. Census|publisher=National Center for Frontier Communities|url=http://www.frontierus.org/documents/2010_frontier-areas-and%20pop-densities.xlsx|format=XLS|access-date=December 30, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230234113/http://www.frontierus.org/documents/2010_frontier-areas-and%20pop-densities.xlsx|archive-date=December 30, 2013}}</ref>  This designation is applied because of Highland's remote characteristics with a low population density and limited access to healthcare and other services.<ref name="commerce health"/><ref name="frontier def">{{cite web|title=What is the definition of frontier?|publisher=Rural Health Information Hub|url=https://www.ruralhealthinfo.org/topics/frontier#definition|access-date=February 15, 2018}}</ref>

===Emergency services===
There are three [[volunteer fire department]]s servicing Highland County. The southern portions of the county are serviced by the Bolar Volunteer Fire Department headquartered in the village of Bolar in neighboring Bath County, Virginia. The McDowell Volunteer Fire Department, organized in 1978, serves the areas of McDowell, [[Doe Hill, Virginia|Doe Hill]], and Head Waters.<ref name="services"/><ref name="overview4">''[[#EconOverview|Economic Overview 2002 Bath and Highland County]]'', 2002, p. 4.</ref><ref name="fire department">{{cite web|title=History of the McDowell Vol. Fire Dept.|publisher=McDowell Volunteer Fire Department|url=http://www.mcdowellfire.com/History_of_MVFD.html|access-date=December 30, 2013}}</ref>  The areas of Monterey and [[Blue Grass, Virginia|Blue Grass]] are served by the Highland County Volunteer Fire Department.  [[Rescue squad]] services for the county are provided by the Highland County Volunteer Rescue Squad which has locations in Monterey and McDowell.<ref name="services"/><ref name="overview4"/>

The Highland County Sheriff's Office provides law enforcement services to the entire county and is located in Monterey.<ref name="services"/>  In 2012, the department had 7 sworn deputies and employed 5 civilians.<ref name="crime">{{cite web|title=Crime in Virginia|publisher=Virginia Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Department of State Police|year=2012|url=http://www.vsp.state.va.us/downloads/Crime_in_Virginia_2012.pdf|access-date=December 30, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112104211/http://www.vsp.state.va.us/downloads/Crime_in_Virginia_2012.pdf|archive-date=November 12, 2013}}</ref>