Lafayette High School (Lexington, Kentucky)
| Lafayette Senior High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
|
401 Reed Lane Lexington, KY 40503 United States |
|
| Coordinates | 38°01′33″N 84°31′30″W / 38.02573°N 84.52492°WCoordinates: 38°01′33″N 84°31′30″W / 38.02573°N 84.52492°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public |
| Motto | Learners, Leaders, Legacies — Lafayette |
| Established | 1939 |
| Principal | Bryne Jacobs |
| Enrollment | ~ 2000 |
| Nickname | Generals |
| Website | http://www.lafayette.fcps.net/ |
Lafayette Senior High School (LHS) is a public high school located in Lexington, Kentucky's Picadome neighborhood. The school is one of five high schools in the Fayette County Public Schools district. It is among the largest high schools in Kentucky.
Lafayette High School opened in 1939 to replace Picadome High School. The school was named for the Marquis de Lafayette, the French general who became famous during and after the Revolutionary War. The family of the Marquis de Lafayette granted the school permission to use their family coat of arms. The original building was constructed as part of a Public Works Administration project on the campus of what had once been an orphanage. By 1940 the LHS vocational program was expanded into a national defense trade school and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, several more buildings were constructed to meet the demand for skilled workers in the war-related industries.
LHS was the first white school in Lexington to be integrated. In 1955 16-year-old Helen Cary Caise enrolled in a summer course in U.S. History. Her uncles and her grandfather at first escorted her to class each day, fearing for her safety. She did not have any problems in completing the course successfully. Most of the white students ignored her during class. However, white supremacists called her family home to threaten them and her father lost his job. In 1958, LHS graduated its first black students. The first black teachers, Viola Greene and Betty Newby, joined the faculty in 1963. With the merger of the Lexington and Fayette County school systems in 1967, many more black students enrolled at Lafayette High School.
Fayette County's art magnet program, the School for the Creative and Performing Arts, or SCAPA, is associated with Lafayette. Its facilities are located on Lafayette's campus.
Lafayette has been widely recognized for a high level of academic achievement. The school has produced scores of National Merit Finalists. Students representing Lafayette have had repeated success in speech, debate, drama, and music competitions. The Lafayette Times and the Marquis have won many awards for excellence in student journalism. In 1987 Lafayette won the Kentucky Governor's Cup, often seen as tantamount to the state academic championship.
Lafayette's athletic teams have been among the most successful in Kentucky high school history. The school has claimed over 50 Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) titles, excluding championships in boys basketball, baseball, boys and girls soccer, boys track, boys cross country, boys and girls gymnastics, boys and girls swimming, boys and girls golf, and boys and girls tennis. Several graduates (including Tyson Gay, Gay Brewer, Austin Kearns) have gone on to successful amateur and professional athletic careers. Lafayette/Picadome has been a member of KHSAA since 1924. School colors are red, white and navy blue.
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