Brief History
Lawrence High School is the public high school for the city of Lawrence, Massachusetts and is home to grades 9-12. The school is broken up into four academies where students get to pick a line of study that interests them, kind of like a major in college and a fifth which is geared towards helping the freshman decide which academy to join into in there sophomore year. The school has been around since 1849 although at this time there was no actual building and the class met at one of the elementary schools for classes each day until the current building was constructed in 1867. Lawrence High School was meant to offer a possibility of higher education to the many immigrants that lived and worked in the city.
Current School
As already mentioned the current school is broken up into five academies. They are as follows:
M.B.T.A or Management, Business and Technology Academy
Science and Technology Academy
Health and Human Services Academy
Fine Arts and Communications Academy
Freshman Success Academy
These academies were made to make it easier for the students to find classes that fit their interests and to keep the students motivated to stay in school since they were studying things that interested them. This incarnation of the current school was added in 2000 - 2001.
The Academies
As a freshman every student is placed in the Freshman Success Academy as a way to get a set curriculum going that ensures high standards. Putting all the students together helps the teachers have smaller classes and a better ratio that helps the students have more of a relationship with their teachers and therefore it helps keep the drop out rate low. As already mentioned this academy is also geared to help the students find their point of interest and choose their respective academies.
The M.B.T.A academy is the academy geared towards business and management. Students interested in finance, web design, marketing and other jobs in these lines would be in this academy.
The Science and Technology academy is home to the students who are interested in computer programming, engineering and of course the sciences. This academy gears there students toward classes that challenge them and that are centered on their interest in the sciences.
The Health and Human Services academy is the academy centered on medical, psychological, law and education interests. It is geared towards students who want to go on to learn more about teaching, criminal justice, therapy, medicine and the like.
Lastly is the Fine Arts and Communications academy which is the academy that is the home to the students who enjoy journalism, broadcasting, visual and performing arts. The students in this academy learn about publishing, broadcasting, theater, graphic design and/or music depending on their specific interests.
The academies are not set in stone. Once a student joins an academy he/she is not forced to stay in it if it does not make them happy or if they have discovered a stronger interest in another field. This jumping from academies is discouraged though since it causes a disruption in the students curriculum that is hard to patch when a change is made.
Random Facts
The school initials are LHS
The school colors are blue (usually a navy or dark blue) and white
The school mascot is the Lancer
The gymnasium holds a wall that is divided into years and that has an image of the lancer and the names of all the students graduating in that year
Construction for the new LHS building began in June of 2004
The school rival is the Greater Lawrence Technical School and their mascot is the Reggie
More Information
LHS Official Website (http://www.lawrencehighschool.org/index.html)
Lawrence Public Schools Website (http://www.lawrencepublicschools.org/schools/lhs.html)
| 
