Lafayette High School
The front facade of a two-story brick building with a white cupola
Lafayette in August 2019
Address
401 Reed Ln[1]

Lexington
,
Kentucky
40503

United States
Coordinates38°01′30″N 84°31′30″W / 38.025°N 84.525°W / 38.025; -84.525
Information
School typePublic, High school
Founded1939
PrincipalAnthony Orr (2022)
Teaching staff123.10 FTE
(2021–22 AY)
Enrollment2,440 (2022–23 AY)
 • Grade 928.24%
 • Grade 1025.57%
 • Grade 1124.63%
 • Grade 1221.39%
Student to teacher ratio19.65:1 (2021–22 AY)
Schedule typeBlock scheduling
ACT average22 (2018–19 AY)[2]
NewspaperThe Lafayette Times[3]
Websitewww.fcps.net/Page/63

Coat of arms of the house of La Fayette
(Gules, a bend or, with a bordure vair)

Lafayette High School is a public high school in Lexington, Kentucky that has been open for 85 years, seen the beginning of racially-desegregated education in the city, and been overseen by eight principals.

History

Founded in 1939 to replace Picadome High School, Lafayette High School was built on the grounds of a former orphanage[3] with funding from the Works Progress Administration. The school was named for Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette; the French general's family gave the school permission to use their family coat of arms as a logo.[4] The school shared its property with a mansion—The Elms—until the latter burned down a few months into the first school year. In 1955, Lafayette was the first white school in Lexington to be racially integrated[3] when Helen Caise Wade (a student at Lexington's all-black Douglass High School) took a summer school course in US history.[5]

Dwight Price (born 1930 or 1931) was principal from 1972–87.[3] After its comprehensive 1998 building renovation,[4] Lafayette implemented block scheduling beginning with the 2000–01 academic year.[2] In 2012, the school received its eighth principal: Memphis, Tennessee-native and University of Kentucky graduate Bryne Jacobs (born 1978 or 1979). Jacobs previously worked at Lexington's Paul Laurence Dunbar High School from 2000–12,[3] and was still at Lafayette through at least the 2017–18 academic year.[3] Renovation of the school's stadium was completed in 2010.[4] The Lexington Herald-Leader reported in July 2022 that Anthony Orr, previously a superintendent of two Kentucky school districts, was the new Lafayette principal.[6] In 2023, Niche ranked Lafayette as the fifth-best public high school in Kentucky, based on seven different weighted metrics.[7]

Demographics

Lafayette is part of the Fayette County Public Schools school district. In the 2021–2022 academic year, 123.10 full-time equivalent teachers made the student-to-teacher ratio 19.65:1. That same year, of the student body, 0.16% were Native American, 5.2% were Asian, 12.05% were Black, 12.62% were Hispanic, 0.04% were Pacific Islanders, 63.52% were white, and 5.53% were multiracial.[1]

Lafayette had 2,440 enrolled students across grades 9–12 in the 2022–23 academic year (689 freshmen, 624 sophomores, 601 juniors, and 522 seniors), which the Kentucky High School Athletic Association recorded as the largest enrollment of any high school in the state.[8]

Academics

Lafayette's northwest wing

As of the 2017–18 academic year, Lafayette offered two specialized programs for its students: the School for the Creative and Performing Arts (SCAPA) and the Pre-Engineering Program. SCAPA was "designed for students who excel in art, ballet, band, contemporary dance, creative writing, drama, piano, strings, and voice", and required an audition to be considered for the program. The latter offering was a program "designed to provide students with the skills needed to succeed in such mathematically rigorous and technical fields as engineering, architecture, medicine, computer programming, mathematics, biology, chemistry and physics."[2]

Extracurriculars

The Lafayette marching band was awarded The Sudler Shield by the John Philip Sousa Foundation in 1991 and 1998.[9]

Athletics

The Lafayette boys' basketball team won the Sweet Sixteen championship in 1942, 1950, 1953, 1957, 1979, and 2001.[10] The baseball team won the state championship in 1988, 1989, and 1992.[11] In 2016, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association audited the school and found Title IX discrepancies between the amenities offered to baseball players and softball players; to solve the problem, the school district outlaid US$2.5 million to build a field house, "new dugouts, a netted visiting hitting area, plus the resurfacing of Lafayette's track and football field."[12]

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 "Lafayette High School (210186000367)". National Center for Education Statistics. Archived from the original on May 12, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "Our School / About the School". Fayette County Public Schools. Archived from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Eblen, Tom (April 21, 2015). "Lafayette High students, alumni celebrate 75th anniversary this weekend". Lexington Herald-Leader. ISSN 0745-4260. Archived from the original on September 17, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 "Our School / School History". Fayette County Public Schools. Archived from the original on August 13, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
  5. ↑ Lane, Tammy L. (March 1, 2010). "Woman who broke color barrier visits Rosa Parks". Fayette County Public Schools. Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
  6. ↑ "Former superintendent of two KY districts is Lexington high school's new principal". Lexington Herald-Leader. July 20, 2022. ISSN 0745-4260. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  7. ↑ Howard, Meredith (April 19, 2023). "These 10 public high schools were named the best in Kentucky, and 3 are in Lexington". Lexington Herald-Leader. ISSN 0745-4260. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  8. ↑ "2022–2023 Audited School Enrollments" (PDF). Kentucky High School Athletic Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Previous Recipients of the Sudler Shield Award". John Philip Sousa Foundation. Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  10. ↑ "KHSAA Boys' Sweet 16® All-Time Winners" (PDF). Kentucky High School Athletic Association. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  11. ↑ "Baseball All-time Titles by School" (PDF). Kentucky High School Athletic Association. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 12, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  12. ↑ Peck, Jared (April 21, 2023). "Lafayette softball's new field house a big hit with Generals' big hitters". Lexington Herald-Leader. ISSN 0745-4260. Archived from the original on April 23, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  13. ↑ Hylton, Billy (March 14, 2002). "Who's Drew (Curtis): And how did this local guy rank fark #10 in a top 25 web list?". Ace Weekly. Archived from the original on October 13, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  14. ↑ Truman, Cheryl (July 13, 2015). "Lexington's Clark Janell Davis, 17 is ready to be Miss America, then POTUS". Lexington Herald-Leader. ISSN 0745-4260. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
  15. ↑ "Austin Kearns Stats". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Dirk Minniefield Stats". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on July 31, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  17. ↑ Blackford, Linda (December 7, 2016). "Trump's pick to lead EPA grew up in Lexington, played baseball at Lafayette, UK". Lexington Herald-Leader. ISSN 0745-4260. Archived from the original on December 8, 2016. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  18. ↑ Tuohy, Lynne (January 5, 2013). "Lexington's Gene Robinson, the first gay Anglican bishop, is retiring". Lexington Herald-Leader. Concord, New Hampshire. Associated Press. ISSN 0745-4260. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  19. ↑ Dunlap, Rebekah (October 24, 2017). "From Lafayette to Broadway: The Story of Colton Ryan". Lafayette Times. Lafayette High School. Archived from the original on November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  20. ↑ Moore, Josh (December 31, 2016). "Lafayette star Jedrick Wills playing in Under Armour All-American game on New Year's Day". Lexington Herald-Leader. ISSN 0745-4260. Archived from the original on December 26, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
  21. ↑ "Young, New Orleans, Offensive Tackle". 247Sports.com. Archived from the original on September 22, 2017. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
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