Land o' Lakes High School is a four-year public
high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
in
Land o' Lakes, Florida
Land o' Lakes is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pasco County, Florida, United States. Land o' Lakes is part of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida MSA.
As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 31,145. The CDP grew rapidly du ...
.
[lolhs.pasco.k12.fl.us/About%20LOLHS/quick.html]
/ref> It is a part of the Pasco County Schools
Pasco County Schools (also known as District School Board of Pasco County) is a school district that serves Pasco County in the U.S. state of Florida. It is headquartered in Land o' Lakes.
The district includes the entire county.
History
Sch ...
District in Pasco County. The school mascot is the Fighting Gators.
History
Construction of Land o' Lakes High School began in 1973.[lolhs.pasco.k12.fl.us/About%20LOLHS/history.html]
/ref> Leroy McClain was named principal and began hiring staff. Because of critical overcrowding across the county due to a population jump, classes were held in double sessions at nearby Sanders Memorial Elementary School while the school was being built. When the school finally opened two years later, it served 1,400 students in grades 7 through 12. Five years later, Pine View Middle School was built to hold grades 6 through 8.
From 2003 to 2007, Land o' Lakes operated on a 10-period bell schedule to ease crowding with most freshmen attending classes from 10:25 AM to 4:45 PM and sophomores, juniors and seniors attending from 7:35 a.m. to 2 p.m. This was discontinued in 2007, when Sunlake High School opened.
The class of 2008 was the largest in the school's history, with nearly 600 graduates.
Ric Mellin, formerly the principal of J.W. Mitchell High School, became Land o' Lakes' sixth principal in March 2009. He replaced Monica Ilse, who was appointed principal of the new Anclote High School
Anclote High School is a public high school in Holiday, Florida, United States. The school opened in August 24, 2009 with grades 9 through 12; the first graduating class was in 2011. Vanessa Moon is the principal.
History
The school, designated a ...
in Holiday, Florida
Holiday is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pasco County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 22,403 as of the 2010 census.
In the early 1960s ...
(opened in August 2009).
In 2012, the school hosted a rally for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, which attracted 15,000 people.
In 1996, Pasco County began implementing the first in a series of Philadelphia Model career academies, which the District called Learning Communities.[Pasco County Community Quarterly, February 1997] Land o' Lakes High School started one of these, called the Academy of Business Technology. ABT started with 9th grade and included teachers Michelle Auger (Science), Elaine Brubaker (Business), Karen Latusek (Business), Mark Pearson (English), Amy Smith (Math), and Mark A. Thompson (Social Studies). ABT employed integrated curricular instruction and real-life business contexts to teach college-level academics as well as job skills. Amy Smith is still on the faculty of LOLHS. Thompson later became Executive Director of the National Educator Program (NEP), implementing career academies like ABT throughout the United States and the first ever in Afghanistan, China and Uganda.
Recognitions
In 2005, the school received a grade of A from the state of Florida for the first time. It was also the first time a high school in Pasco County received the ranking. That same year, the school was ranked as number 312 on a list of the top 1,000 high schools in the country in an issue of ''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...
'' magazine. In 2006 and 2007, the school kept its A grade and remained on ''Newsweek''s annual list of the top high schools. In 2008, the school again remained on the list. The school also received an A grade for 2009.
In 2012, Land o' Lakes High School renamed its football stadium after coach John Benedetto, who led the Gators to 14 consecutive state playoffs.
International baccalaureate
Land o' Lakes is one of two high schools in Pasco County to offer the IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) is a two-year educational programme primarily aimed at 16-to-19-year-olds in 140 countries around the world. The programme provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into ...
. High school students in Central and East Pasco attend Land o' Lakes for this program, which draws exclusive demands from teachers and students. IB is also offered at Gulf High School
Gulf High School is a four-year public high school in New Port Richey, Florida. It is part of the Pasco County School System in Pasco County, Florida. It is the first high school in western Pasco County and the second school in Pasco County to ...
for students in West Pasco.
Graduation rate
In 2012 Land O' Lakes' graduation rate was 91% as compared to a statewide rate of 86.9% and a Hillsborough County rate of 86.2%.
Attendance policy controversy
In 2007 more than 100 juniors and seniors were banned from attending prom
A promenade dance, commonly called a prom, is a dance party for high school students. It may be offered in semi-formal black tie or informal suit for boys, and evening gowns for girls. This event is typically held near the end of the school y ...
due to an attendance policy that states that if students have more than six absences in a quarter, or ten in a semester, they will lose the privilege of participating in extracurricular activities. This is a district rule enforced by all other schools in Pasco County. Many students affected by this rule claimed that it had not been enforced before, and they had been allowed to attend homecoming
Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia.
...
, even with excessive absences. They tried to start a petition and tried to organize their own prom.
Notable alumni
* Jeff Baisley, baseball player drafted by Oakland Athletics in 2005 out of the University of South Florida
The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF i ...
* Stacy Bishop
Stacy Leigh Bishop (born May 1, 1985) is an American former college and professional soccer midfielder who last played for Atlanta Beat of Women's Professional Soccer.
Early years
Bishop was born in Katy, Texas. She grew up in Land o' Lakes ...
, current professional soccer player for the Atlanta Beat
* Cory Doyne, former MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
player for the Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...
* Jason Garcia, current MLB pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles
* Logan Payne
Logan Payne (born January 21, 1985) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was originally signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football at Minnesota.
...
, wide receiver for the Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
* Derek Thompson, baseball player drafted by the Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...
in the 1st round of the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft
* Drew Weatherford, class of 2004; named all-American by ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
in November, 2006; former starting quarterback for Florida State University; former quarterback for Tampa Bay Storm
The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...
* Will W. Weatherford, State of Florida House of Representatives
Land o' Lakes High School today
Nancy Browning, who was hired when the school opened in 1975, retired in 2015. She has since passed away as of July 2020. Many alumni have returned as teachers.
LOLHS houses approximately 2,265 students in grades 9 through 12.
The school was remodeled during the 2017-18 school year., and renovations were completed in the 2019-2020 school year, with the school administration holding a "Grand Reopening" dedication ceremony.
References
External links
Land o' Lakes High School
District School Board of Pasco County
{{authority control
High schools in Pasco County, Florida
Public high schools in Florida
Land o' Lakes, Florida
Educational institutions established in 1975