Lubbock High School

Lubbock High School
Lubbock High School
	Lubbock High Logo
Location
	2004 19th St.; Lubbock, Texas 79401; United States
Coordinates	33°34′41″N 101°51′35″W / 33.57806°N 101.85972°WCoordinates: 33°34′41″N 101°51′35″W / 33.57806°N 101.85972°W
Information
Type	Public magnet
Motto	Sportsmanship, then Victory
Established	1891
School district	Lubbock Independent School District
NCES District ID	4828500
CEEB code	444360
NCES School ID	482850010891
Principal	Douglas Young
Staff	121.53 (FTE)
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,916 (2019–20)
Student to teacher ratio	15.77
Campus size	5.5 acres (2.2 ha)
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)	Black and gold
Slogan	"Once a Westerner, Always a Westerner."
Athletics conference	5A
Mascot	Westerner
Information	(806) 219-1600
Website	lhs.lubbockisd.org
	Lubbock High School
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
	Front of Lubbock High School
	Lubbock High School Show map of TexasShow map of the United StatesShow all
Built	1930
Architect	Peters, Strange & Bradshaw; Haynes & Kirby
Architectural style	N. Ital. Romanesque Revival
NRHP reference No.	85000924
RTHL No.	3144
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	May 1, 1985
Designated RTHL	1984

Lubbock High School is a 5A high school serving grades nine to twelve in Lubbock, Texas, as part of the Lubbock Independent School District,

The school was founded in 1891 as 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 (Lubbock Exemplary Academic Program) magnet program serves students from all over the city.

History[]

The school was founded in 1891 as a one-room school, with two additional rooms added in 1898. 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.^[5] 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.^[5] In 1922, a bond issue provided for a new high school with 28 teachers and located between 13th and 14th streets in the 2000 block. Bonds were voted in 1925 for the addition of two study halls. This was the old Thompson Junior High building. 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.^[6]

Academics[]

In 1979, due to low enrollment as a result of new school district boundaries, there was discussion of closing LHS. To solve this problem and to comply with an ongoing desegregation 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. Counselor Nancy Phillips was instrumental in the initial success of the LEAP Program. 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.^[5]

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 8 am until noon on Fridays. The Friday Enrichment Schedule was altered to exclude the "enriching classes" in favor of shortened academic classes in 2007. The school now has an "abbreviated" Texas Friday schedule with classes ending at 1:35 on Fridays. This schedule was changed in 2017 to ending at the regular time of 3:55. 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.^[5]^[6]

In 1996, Lubbock High was named as a Blue Ribbon school.^[5]^[7]^[8]

Lubbock High School began its International Baccalaureate classes during the 2000–2001 school year.

Extracurricular activities[]

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.^[9] 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 became the first competitor to achieve the highest score in the state without competing in the highest division. In 2006, the Lubbock High School Academic Decathlon team placed third in the state. In 2013, the Lubbock High School decathlon team placed 5th in the state, topping the previous year.

Athletics[]

Lubbock High competes in many sports. These include football (boys), wrestling (boys and girls), 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.^[5] LHS was named "AAAAA Texas State Sportsmanship Champion School" in 1998 by the University Interscholastic League.^[5]^[8]

The Lubbock Westerners football program had its heyday during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. The school reached the state championship game in 1938 and 1939, winning in 1939.^[10]^[11] The team had consecutive 13–0 seasons and 5A state titles in 1951 and 1952.^[12]^[13] Notable coaches in the 1950s and later included Wilford Moore, Grant Teaff, and Fred Akers. Lubbock High School did not make the playoffs between 1975 and 2012, marking the second longest playoff drought in Texas 5A football. During the 1998 season Lubbock High beat Monterey High School to win the annual Silver Spurs game for the first time in fifteen years. The next year the Westerners to a 16–13 win over Monterey to retain the Silver Spurs. They repeated this feat in 2007–2008. In 2012 the Lubbock High football team made playoffs for the first time in 37 years in the new 4-4A district.

The Lubbock High men's swim team has won 15 straight district championships and the Lubbock High Girls swim team has won 5 straight district championships and a regional championship in 2007. The men's district championship streak is an LISD record for most straight district championships in any sport.

Robotics[]

The Lubbock High FIRST Robotics Competition team won the "Against All Odds" award at the FIRST Championship in 1997. This was given because 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.^[14]

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.^[8]^[15] Lubbock High also won the state Science Bowl for nine consecutive years.^[8] In 2020, Lubbock High School placed third at the virtual National Science Bowl.^[16]

Mariachi & Ballet Folklorico[]

Lubbock High is the first and only high school in the Lubbock area to offer a Mariachi music program. The Mariachi program offers instruction in violin, trumpet, guitar, vihuela, guitarra de golpe and guitarron. The Mariachi program performs for various Lubbock High, LISD and community functions.

The Ballet Folklorico program was added in 2008. There is an advanced class as well as a beginners class. The dance group performs throughout Lubbock.