Exactly this. Same here I graduated from HS in 1971 in Fairfax County, VA when it was a very red area. Northern VA at that time wasn't that big bc the Federal Government hadn't expanded as much as it did after I left.

The highschool I went to was huge. Many of the students were only there a couple of years bc there were so many military families in the area. My HS offered many different kinds of classes including AP/Advanced courses in every subject along with many classes for kids who didn't want to go to college (a car maintenance shop, regular shop and secretarial classes such as shorthand and typing)

Our English Dept was well recognized as being excellent. The teachers presented their classes with themes such as Pirates where kids read Herman Melville books, etc. , I even took a course on the bible as a literary work, and a course that went through and dissected all the words of all the Beatles music. I had a class where I read Ayn Rand books, Animal Farm and Brave New World. It made learing and reading those books enjoyable.