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Lexington High School (LHS) is a public high school located in Lexington, Massachusetts, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade. It is one of two high schools in Lexington, and is part of the Lexington Public Schools system. It has been ranked as one of the best public high schools in Massachusetts, and its sports teams compete in division 1 of Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA)'s 4th district.

Campus

Lexington High School originally occupied this building from 1854 to 1902.

Existing

Lexington High School's campus consists of a central quadrangle (Quad), four main academic buildings (Arts & Humanities, World Language, Mathematics, Science), a field house, and a pair of modular classrooms (mods). The Quad is bounded by the Arts & Humanities building (on two sides), the Science building, and a covered walkway between the Science building and the World Language building.[6]

Future Plans

Lexington High School's buildings suffer from a lack of space, an aging construction, and congestion. 100% of the science classrooms and 30% of general education classrooms do not meet the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) standards for recommended square footage, and the school received a "Does Not Meet Standard" on the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) review of its campus in 2008 and 2020.[7]

As of November 2023 there are ongoing plans to build a new school, with Dore+Whittier having been selected as the Owner's Project Manager, and SMMA as the architect.[7]

Students and faculty

As of the 2022-23 school year, LHS had an enrollment of 2,303. With 184.4 classroom teachers (on a FTE basis), the school operates with a student–teacher ratio of 12.:1.[8] As of 2019, minority enrollment accounts for 54.1% of the student body, a roughly 275% increase over the past two decades driven by a 400% (+/- 10%) increase in the Asian and Asian-American population. There were 135 students (6.5% of enrollment) eligible for free lunch and 29 (1.4% of students) eligible for reduced-cost lunch.[9][10][11]

The math department of the Lexington Public Schools system has received national merit through the Mathematical Association of America, as the Edyth May Sliffe Award has been won by 8 Lexington Public Schools teachers (5 from the high school, and 3 from the middle schools) a total of 11 times. Lexington High School also has the most two-time winners (3 teachers; no teacher can win it more than twice).[12]

Rankings

In 2021, LHS has been recognized by US News and Niche.com as the 2nd and 3rd ranked traditional (non-charter) public high school, respectively, in Massachusetts.[13][14]

Academic competition

Debate

Lexington High School has a debate program consisting of three divisions: Lincoln–Douglas, Policy, and Public Forum, all taught as elective courses. LHS has won all three major divisions at the Tournament of Champions (TOC).[15] It has also had winners or runners-up at National Catholic Forensic League, National Debate Coaches Association, and National Speech and Debate Association. As of 2019, Lexington's debate team has won both the Policy division and the Sweepstakes Award at the State Championship for the last 45 years.[16]

Lexington won the Policy division at the TOC in 1994.[17] A Lexington team won the TOC in the Public Forum division in 2007.[15] Lexington won the Lincoln-Douglas debate division at the TOC in 2012.[18] In 2020, Lexington again won the TOC in Lincoln-Douglas.[19] Lexington has won top speakers awards at the NDCA in Lincoln-Douglas (2012) and Public Forum (2017), and at the TOC in Policy (1986, 1995).[20][15]

The Director of Debate at Lexington High School is Sheryl Kaczmarek.[21] In 2022, she was inducted into the Tournament of Champions hall of fame.[22]

The Lexington Winter Invitational Tournament

The team annually hosts the Lexington Winter Invitational Tournament, nicknamed "Big Lex," with the categories of Public Forum, Policy, and Lincoln-Douglas. The event is a Tournament of Champions qualifier at the quarterfinal level and drew 1000 debaters from across the country in 2014.[23]

Math teams

Lexington High School's teams compete and have competed in several math competitions, including the Massachusetts State Championship Math Meet, the Massachusetts Mathematics Olympiad, and the Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament.

Since 2010, the Lexington High School Math Team has hosted the annual Lexington Math Tournament, inspired by tournaments such as HMMT, and geared towards middle school students.

Titles & recognition

Massachusetts State Championship Math Meet (1st place wins, large school division): 1978–1980, 1992–1995, 2000–2008, and 2010–2013.[24]

New England Championship Math Meet (1st place wins): 1994, 2002, 2003, 2006-2008, and 2012[25]

Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament: 1998 and 2001 (first place); 2002 and 2009 (second place)[26]

Harvard–MIT November Tournament (second place wins): 2008, 2009, and 2011

Worcester Polytechnic Institute Invitational Math Meet (1st place wins): 1988–1994 and 1996–2010

USAMO (qualifying students): 2009 (5),[27] 2010 (5),[28] 2006-2011 (30), 1987-2011 (76)

USAJMO (qualifying students): 2010 (5)[29]

Science teams

Lexington High School's FIRST Tech Challenge team, 2 Bits and a Byte, went to the FIRST world championship in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2018.[citation needed] Lexington High School's all-female FTC team, The Parity Bits, was founded in the spring of 2014.[30]

Lexington High School's National Ocean Sciences Bowl team won the National competition between 1998 and 2002, the first five years of the competition's existence. In 2009, the team won the regional Blue Lobster Bowl.[31] The team also qualified for nationals in 2020-2022, winning 2nd place in 2021.

Lexington High School's National Science Bowl team has qualified for the national competition 17 times, more than any other school in Massachusetts, doing so in 1993, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2008-2019, and 2023.[32][33]

There is also a Science Olympiad team at Lexington High School. The team won the state competition in 2001, 2002, and 2003.[citation needed]

Lexington High School's Invention Club won 3 gold medals at the regional invention convention in April 2017.[citation needed]

Lexington High School's Computer Science Team won second place in the Senior-5 division at the 2009-10 American Computer Science League All-Star Competition.

Quiz Bowl

The Lexington Quiz Bowl team was founded in the 2012–2013 school year. In 2016 a team placed 2nd overall at the National History Bowl.

Model UN

Lexington High School has a Model UN team which is run as an after-school club. Lexington participates in regional conferences such as BUSUN, EagleMUNC, and DartMUN, in addition to various local high school conferences. Lexington won outstanding small delegation at EagleMUNC in 2016 and outstanding small at DartMUN in 2015. Lexington also sends delegations to NAIMUN (North American Invitation Model United Nations) every year. Lexington also hosts an annual high school conference, LexMUN, which is run entirely by the student body. Many public and private schools come from the Boston area to participate.

Chess

The Lexington High School chess team won the Massachusetts State Chess Championship in 2011, 2013, and 2014.[34] In 2009, the team placed 2nd in the freshman section of the annual National K-12 Scholastic Championship in Dallas, Texas.[35] In 2010, the team placed 2nd in the Rhode Island State Championship.[36]

Athletics and sports

Lexington High competes within division 1 of Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association’s 4th district as a member the Middlesex League.[37]

Lexington High School offers the following sports:[38]

  • Fall: August–November
  • Winter: December–February
    • Alpine skiing: girls' and boys'
    • Basketball: boys' varsity, boys' junior varsity, boys' freshman, girls' varsity, girls' junior varsity, girls' freshman
    • Cheerleading: co-ed basketball
    • Ice hockey: boys' varsity, boys' junior varsity, girls' varsity, girls' junior varsity
    • Indoor track: boys' varsity, boys' junior varsity, girls' varsity, girls' junior varsity
    • Swimming: boys' varsity
    • Wrestling: varsity, junior varsity
  • Spring: March–June
    • Baseball: varsity, junior varsity, freshman
    • Lacrosse: boys' varsity, boys' Junior varsity, boys' freshman, girls' varsity, girls' junior varsity, girls' freshman
    • Outdoor track and field: boys' varsity, boys' junior varsity, girls' varsity, girls' junior varsity
    • Softball: varsity, junior varsity, freshman
    • Tennis: boys' varsity, boys' junior varsity, girls' varsity, girls' junior varsity
    • Ultimate: boys' varsity, boys' junior varsity, girls' varsity
    • Volleyball: boys' varsity
The high school's field house

Titles and acknowledgements

Lexington High School sports teams have received the following accolades:

  • LHS's Girls Cross Country team has won a Massachusetts Divisional State Championship six (6) times - 2000, 2001, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2019 - and the All State Championship in 2016.[39]
  • LHS's Boys Cross Country team won a Massachusetts Divisional State Championship in 1958, 1959, 1988, and 2018.[39]
  • The Girls Indoor Track & Field team won the Massachusetts Division I State Championships in 1989, 1990, 1991, and 2013. The team also won the All State title in 1990.[39]
  • The Boys Indoor Track & Field team won the Massachusetts Division I State Championships in 1970, 1976, 2006, 2007, 2015, and 2016.[40] [41] The team won the All State title on three occasions: 1970, 1994, and 2007.[39]
  • The Girls Outdoor Track & Field team won the Massachusetts All State Championships in 1987 and 1998.[39]
  • The Boys Outdoor Track & Field team won the Massachusetts Division I State Championships in 1994, 2007, and in 2023.[42] The team also won the All-State Championship in 1994 and 2007.[39] The team scoring of the All State Championships was discontinued in 2022.
  • The LHS girls' varsity softball team won the Massachusetts Division I State Championships in 2008 and 2009.[43]
  • The boys' basketball team won four state titles in the 1960s and 1970s, including in 1978.[44]
  • Former LHS football coach Bill Tighe was the oldest football coach in the country.[45]
  • The LHS boys' varsity soccer team won the Massachusetts Division I State Championships for the first time ever in 2016.[46]

Extracurriculars

GSA

In 2005, Fred Phelps, of Topeka, Kansas, and his church (the Westboro Baptist Church) protested the Lexington High School graduation because of the school's support of its gay-straight alliance. The group returned in 2009.[47]

Drama

The Lexington High School Drama Company is a mostly student run production company that puts on two annual productions (Spring Musical and Fall Play) as well as other events. The company consists of the Cast, Crew, Costumes, Pit Orchestra, and Improve Troupe.[citation needed]

The Musket

The Musket is the school newspaper. Until 1965, the school newspaper was called The High-Spot.[48]

In 1997 The Musket ran into controversy by refusing to run an abstinence ad. The paper's First Amendment rights were maintained with the victory in Yeo v Town of Lexington, a case argued in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.[49]

Notable alumni

References

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External links