Lubbock High School

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Lubbock High School
Sportsmanship, Then Victory
Lubbock High Logo
School type	Public magnet
Established	1891
Principal	Doyle Vogler
Students	1,808
Colors Mascot	Black and Gold Westerner
Location	2004 19th St. Lubbock, TX 79401
Website	http://www.lubbockhigh.com/

Lubbock High School (formerly known as Tom S. Lubbock High School and colloquially known as LHS) is a 5A high school in Lubbock, Texas (USA). Part of the Lubbock Independent School District, the school is known for its academic program and for the fact that it has produced a number of talented musicians and vocalists over the years (including Buddy Holly and The Crickets, Natalie Maines, Ralna English, and Mac Davis).

The school was founded in 1891. It was the first high school in Lubbock County. Lubbock High's colors are black and gold and its mascot is the Westerner. The school primarily serves students from the central and eastern parts of Lubbock, but the school's LEAP program serves students from all over the city.

1 History
2 Academics
3 Extracurricular activities
4 Notable alumni
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

Main entrance

The school was founded in 1891 as a one room school (an additional two rooms were added in 1898). It was named after Thomas Saltus Lubbock, a Confederate Colonel and Texas Ranger. The original announcement of the school's opening read: "Schooling for all who could reach it by pony, wagon, buggy or on foot." The first (and only) teacher at this point was Miss Minnie Tubbs.^[1] In March 1909, a fire set by students destroyed the building. After this, the school relocated to a brick building with two stories and a basement at the location of the current City Hall in Lubbock.^[1]

In the fall of 1929, plans began for the construction of a new building for LHS. Construction began in 1930, and the building was completed in 1931. The school opened in its new location for the fall semester of 1931. This is the current Lubbock High School building. Due to its distinctive architecture, the school is included in the National Register of Historic Places.^[2]

In 2003, the school made national news because its Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) was denied official status as a student organization. Lambda Legal represented the GSA on behalf of students Mirah Curzer and Yvonne Caudillo in its case against the Lubbock Independent School District, which it ultimately lost.^[3] Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, protested the GSA's existence outside of Lubbock High School in early 2004.^[4] The GSA controversy prompted Lambda Legal to name Lubbock High's GSA as the recipient of its 2004 Courage Award.^[5]

[edit] Academics

In 1979, due to low enrollment as a result of new school district boundaries, there was discussion of closing LHS. In order to solve this problem and to comply with an ongoing desegragation plan ordered by the US Department of Justice, LEAP (Lubbock Exemplary Academic Program) was developed. This college preparatory program offers advanced classes in mathematics, science, English, and history. In its initial design, the LEAP plan included several incentives to attract students from outside the school's geographic district. These included unique classes not offered at that time in other Lubbock high schools, including Russian, Portuguese, Mandarin Chinese, Western Cultures, Marine Biology, and Calculus, among others. Additionally, the school offered trips to relevant locations in conjunction with specific classes. For example, students in the Western Cultures class spent 15 days in western Europe at the close of the school year. Due to pressure from parents with students in other high schools in the district, some of these incentives were phased out by the school board in the 1983-1984 academic year.^[1]

1983 saw the addition of the "Friday Enrichment Schedule," wherein students attended academic classes Monday through Thursday (for longer hours than other high schools in Lubbock) and attended either "enriching classes" (e.g. "Reading for Pleasure," "French Club," etc.) or review classes from 8am until noon on Fridays. Along with the "Friday Enrichment Schedule," a program was instituted in 1983 that allowed junior or senior students to take courses at Texas Tech University or South Plains College for dual credit.^[2]^[1]

In 1996, Lubbock High was named as a Blue Ribbon school.^[6]^[7]^[1]

In the 2000-2001 school year, Lubbock High began to offer the International Baccalaureate program, a prestigious academic curriculum.^[7]^[1] The Class of 2002 was the first to be able to graduate with an IB diploma, and the program has been growing since then. As of the 2005-2006 school year the IB program at Lubbock High School had 45 registered candidates.

[edit] Extracurricular activities

[edit] Academic Decathlon

In 2002, the Lubbock High Academic Decathlon team made national news when its victory over J. Frank Dobie High School in the state championship competition was disputed in court.^[8] The debate arose when there were questions about the scoring methods used in some of the competition's events. Both Dobie and LHS prepared for national competition in Phoenix, Arizona as the lawsuit developed. The Court ruled Lubbock High the rightful victor, and the team did not hear of this news until they were en route to Phoenix. At nationals, Lubbock High went on to place 3rd in the national competition, as well as 1st place among "rookie" schools in the competition. In later years, Lubbock High made history again when an LHS decathlete, Mirah Curzer, became the first competitor to achieve the highest score in the state without competing in the highest division.

[edit] Athletics

Lubbock High competes in many sports. These include football (boys), tennis (boys and girls), basketball (boys and girls), baseball (boys), softball (girls), golf (boys and girls), soccer (boys and girls), volleyball (girls), swimming (boys and girls), gymnastics (boys and girls), and track and field (boys and girls). Boys' teams are called "Westerners," whereas girls' teams are called "Lady Westerners." In 1922, the football team was named "The Pirates" despite the school's mascot being "The Westerner." This changed in the 1930s, and the team's name has been "The Westerners" ever since.^[1] LHS won the Texas AAAA High School state football championships in 1951 and 1952 and was named "AAAAA Texas State Sportsmanship Champion School" in 1998 by the University Interscholastic League.^[7]^[1] The Lubbock High Boys swim team has won 15 straight district championships and the Lubbock High Girls swim team has won 5 straight district championships.

[edit] Robotics

The Lubbock High team won the "Against All Odds" award at the US FIRST robotics competition in 1997. This was given due to the fact that they had raised the money to enter and attend the competition (which took place in Orlando, Florida) themselves, rather than relying on corporate sponsorship like many other competitors did. Lubbock High has also competed in the West Texas BEST competition since 1996.^[9]

[edit] Science Bowl

A team from Lubbock High won the first ever National Science Bowl in 1991. The team again achieved a Science Bowl victory in 1992.^[10]^[7] Lubbock High also won the state Science Bowl for nine consecutive years.^[7]