Lawrence High School (Massachusetts)


Lawrence High School (abbreviated as LHS[4]) is a public secondary school located in Lawrence, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Lawrence Public Schools district. Its current campus consists of several buildings and was completed 2005[3]. Due to poor academic performance, the school and district received public criticism in 2012. [5]

For the technical/vocational secondary school for the greater Lawrence area, see Greater Lawrence Technical School.
Lawrence High School
Address
Lawrence High School
70-71 North Parish Road

Lawrence
,
Massachusetts
01843

United States
Coordinates42.69074°N 71.14488°W / 42.69074; -71.14488
Information
TypePublic High School
School districtLawrence Public Schools
HeadmasterTimothy Finn [1]
Grades9 - 12
Enrollment3,295 (2016-17)[2]
Campus size565,000 sq ft[3]
Color(s)Navy Blue, White
Athletics conferenceMerrimack Valley Conference (MVC)
NicknameLancers
WebsiteSchool website


Campus History

In 1901, The Lawrence High School was established at the corner of Lawrence and Haverhill street[6]. This is where Lawrence High School served its many students for 106 years. In 2007, a new Lawrence High School campus opened in south Lawrence. The original building houses an alternative high school program, and a public middle school. The new Lawrence High School Campus is organized into academies by grade level, with a 9th Grade Academy, a 10th Grade Academy, and an Upper School Academy which serves 11th graders and 12 graders[3]. The new Lawrence High School Campus also houses the Abbott Lawrence Academy, which serves the highest-performing students and the LIFE program, which serves students who are differently-abled. The new Lawrence High School Campus is one of the largest in the state, with a Field House that can seat 3,400 individuals and a Performing Arts Center that seats an extra 1,200 individuals.[6]

Demographics[1]

According to Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education annual statistics, for the 2019-2020 academic year, the demographic enrollment distributions for race, gender and grade level at Lawrence High School (Massachusetts) are as follows:

Total number of enrolled students: 3321
Total number of full-time equivalent educators: 255.7
Therefore, the student to teacher ratio for this school is 13:1

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity
Race Pupils Enrolled* Percentage
African American 37 1.1
Asian 53 1.6
Hispanic 3132 94.3
Native American 0 0
White 93 2.8
Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander 0 0
Multi-Race, Non-Hispanic 7 .2
Enrollment by Gender
Gender Pupils Enrolled Percentage
Male 1765 53.15
Female 1534 46.19
Non-Binary 22 0.66
Enrollment by Grade
Grade Pupils Enrolled Percentage
9 919 27.67
10 886 26.68
11 723 21.77
12 760 22.88
SP** 33 0.99

* Approximate number calculated based on percentage of enrolled pupils.
** SP = Special Education Beyond Grade 12[7]

Receivership

In 2010, more than one out of every four students at LHS dropped out and only 35 percent of 10th graders were assessed to be proficient in mathematics, according to Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education standardized testing results. As a result, the school district was put under receivership by the state Board of Education in January 2012. The receiver named was Jeffrey Riley.[5] In 2012, the drop out rate at the high school was more than 50%.[8]

[The] district ranked in the bottom 1 percent in the state based on math and English test scores when it was placed in receivership by the state education commissioner in fall 2011. There has been an evident improvement in just two years, with high school graduation rates rising to 67 percent in 2014, up from 52 percent in 2011. [...] Lawrence, with about 14,000 students, has a history of corruption and dysfunction. It was the first school system taken over under the receivership law passed by the State Legislature in 2010. The Legislature gave the receivers extraordinary powers, including the ability to extend the school day, change collective-bargaining agreements or even require all staff to reapply for their positions. While state lawmakers were willing to sweep the system clean in the worst districts if that’s what it took to end the cycle of failure, that did not happen in Lawrence.

— The Editorial Board, The New York Times, June 17, 2015 [9]

References
  1. "Enrollment Data (2017-18) - Lawrence High School (01490515)". profiles.doe.mass.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  2. "Lawrence High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  3. "Lawrence High School | Flansburgh Architects". flansburgh.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  4. "Events". www.lawrence.k12.ma.us. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  5. Under Receiver’s Rule, Lawrence Schools Show Early Gains
  6. "History of the Lawrence Public Schools". Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  7. "Profiles Help-About the Data". www.profiles.doe.mass.edu. Retrieved 2019-09-26.
  8. Lawrence, MA, City of the Damned
  9. Massachusetts Takes On a Failing School District
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