School History
Staunton River Middle School sits on 25 rural acres in Bedford County, Virginia. The areas served by Staunton River Middle School include Body Camp, Chamblissburg, Goodview, Hardy, Huddleston, Lynch Station, Moneta, Stewartsville, and portions of the Smith Mountain Lake area. Bedford County is one of the largest counties in the state, consisting of 764 square miles. Staunton River Middle School is located in the southern part of the county and draws from a diverse community ranging from family farms to lakefront homes.
Staunton River Middle School opened in 1980 as the Staunton River Annex when a decision was made to move 7th graders from local elementary schools into the same facility as the 8th graders from Staunton River High School. Mr. Eldred Mauldin, principal of Staunton River High School, also served as the Annex Principal during the first three years after its opening. In 1983, Mr. Paul Sherman became the second principal of the Annex, and the first principal to actually be housed in the building. He served for the next eight years. It was during this time that 6th graders from local feeder schools were added to the student body and the Annex was officially renamed Staunton River Middle School in 1989. In the Summer of 1990, Mr. Jim Phares became the third principal of SRMS, and went on to lead the staff for the next four years. Mr. Terry Hoggatt served as principal for one year during the 1994-1995 school year. He was followed by Mr. John Larocca who served for the next two years. Mr. Lin Roberts took the helm at SRMS during the summer of 1998 and served for the next 10 years. He is currently the longest serving principal at the school. Mrs. Patty Johnson arrived during the summer of 2008 as the first female principal of SRMS and went on to serve for three years. In 2011, Mr. Tim Overstreet was named Principal and served for one year. Dr. Karen Woodford was named Principal of SRMS in 2012 and served until 2018. Mr. Justin Tucker became Principal in 2018 and served for three years. Currently, Mrs. Jessica Geyer serves as the Principal.
Each year, Staunton River Middle School continues gaining recognition as a school committed to innovation and best practices for all learners. Since 2016, SRMS has maintained full accreditation in all four academic departments and made improvements in both behavioral and attendance achievement. In the 2016-2017 school year, SRMS launched dual personalized learning pilot programs in math and eighth grade that garnered some of the highest academic gains in SRMS history, while simultaneously seeing significant decreases in classroom discipline issues. Today, those two pilots continue influencing many aspects of the instructional and behavioral programs. SRMS is privileged to be home to many driven and innovative educators willing to push the boundaries of supporting learner success. In 2018, SRMS was recognized as a successful personalized learning school by the Mid-Atlantic Conference for Personalized Learning (MACPL) and in 2019, SRMS was recognized by the Virginia Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (VASCD) as an Innovation Forum host. An unrelenting commitment to the belief that all learners can achieve continues pushing SRMS faculty, staff, students, and families towards shared success.