Lapeer High School is a

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

public high school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

located in

Lapeer, Michigan Lapeer ( ') is a City (Michigan), city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is the county seat of Lapeer County, Michigan, Lapeer County. As of the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census, the city population was 8,841. Most of the city was incorporat ...

. It was established in 2014 following a merger of two high schools. LHS has the largest enrollment of any school in

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan cor ...

The Thumb The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of the Tri-Cities and north of M ...

History

Lapeer High School existed as one school until the 1975–1976 school year, when growing enrollments caused the need for an additional high school building. As a result, Lapeer High School was split into two:

Lapeer West High School Lapeer West High School was one of two public high schools in Lapeer, Michigan. It is on the west side of the M-24 highway. Lapeer West High School was previously Lapeer High School. The current building opened in 1961; the previous high school ...

and

Lapeer East High School Lapeer East High School was a public high school located in Lapeer, Michigan. It was the rival school of Lapeer West High School. In 2010, all portable classrooms were removed and the school was reverted to 9-12 grade students. It was built in 19 ...

In March 2013, the Lapeer School Board voted to consolidate the two high schools in Lapeer. The board decided to act sooner rather than later in addressing long-term structural issues plaguing the community - lower birth rates, declining population, and reduced funding due to current and projected enrollment declines. Over the previous 30 years, both high schools saw enrollments decline by about 15%. Lapeer High School was established in 2014 in the former Lapeer East building, which was renovated in summer 2013 to accommodate in the increase in enrollment, which as of 2014 stood at 2,112. The Lapeer West building now houses

alternative education Alternative education encompasses many pedagogical approaches differing from mainstream pedagogy. Such alternative learning environments may be found within state, charter, and independent schools as well as home-based learning environments. ...

and other educational programs. Prior to consolidation, each high school had an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students.

Athletics

Lapeer High School competes in the

Saginaw Valley League The Saginaw Valley High School Association (commonly referred to as the Saginaw Valley League) is a high school sports league formed in 1904 within the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA), located in the Bay, Genesee, Isabella, Lap ...

, a 14-school conference that mostly serves a large geographical area of

, specifically the

Flint/Tri-Cities Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan corr ...

area. Prior to consolidation, both Lapeer East and Lapeer West were original members of the

Flint Metro League Flint Metro League (FML) is a high school sports league in the Flint area of Michigan. It is composed of twelve high schools. History In 1968, six Flint area schools formed a new league to play against schools of similar size and to cut down on ...

since its founding in 1968. With the announcement of the planned consolidation of Lapeer East and West High Schools, and subsequent denial of membership to the Flint Metro League (based upon LHS's new larger enrollment), district officials began a thorough process to determine new league affiliation with input from students, coaches, and parents. Additional options besides SVC included the

Oakland Activities Association Oakland Activities Association is a Southeast Michigan high school athletics conference. It is made up of 23 schools located largely throughout Oakland County, with a single member located in Wayne County History The Oakland Activities Associati ...

, the

Macomb Area Conference The Macomb Area Conference (abbreviated to MAC) (formerly known as the Macomb Athletic Conference) is a high school sports league located in Southeastern Michigan. It is a member of the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA). There are ...

, and competing as an independent school. LHS is in the South Division of the SVL, competing against schools in the

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

area. Prior to opening, a committee of teachers and students from both schools decided on the schools new mascot and colors. They chose "

Lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electric charge, electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the land, ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous ...

" as the mascot and blue and green as the colors. The colors pay homage to the past of both former schools:

navy blue Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue. Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with naval white) worn by officers in the Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. When this color n ...

from Lapeer West and

kelly green Shades of chartreuse are listed below. Historically, many of these colors have gone under the name of either yellow or green, as the specifics of their color composition was not known until later. Wrapping the spectrum into a color wheel In a c ...

from Lapeer East. As the former East and West High Schools were rivals of one another, and with the move to a new athletic conference, LHS lacks a natural

rivalry A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

. Past non-conference opponents that LHS will now play regularly include the Flint schools and

Davison High School Davison High School is a girls' Church of England secondary school serving pupils aged 11 to 16 in Worthing, West Sussex, England. In its last inspection the school was judged by OFSTED as Good. The school accommodates around 1080 girls across fi ...

Notable alumni

* Kelly Best (West), Miss Michigan USA, 2007 * Larry Carney (East), children's author and songwriter *

Louis C. Cramton Louis Convers Cramton (December 2, 1875 – June 23, 1966) was a politician and jurist from the U.S. state of Michigan. Cramton was born in Hadley Township, Michigan and attended the common schools of Lapeer County. He graduated from Lapeer ...

(LHS), politician and judge *

Danelle Gay The Miss Michigan USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Michigan in the Miss USA pageant. It is currently directed by Proctor Productions. Their first Miss USA victory was in 1990, and notable because ...

(West), Miss Michigan USA, 2006 *

Roger Kish Roger Kish is an American wrestler and the current head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners wrestling team. A native of Lapeer, Michigan, Kish was a four-time Michigan state wrestling champion. Kish is currently tied for ninth all time on the Michigan h ...

(West), head wrestling coach at

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

Terry Knight Terry Knight (born Richard Terrance Knapp; April 9, 1943 – November 1, 2004) was an American rock and roll music producer, promoter, singer, songwriter and radio personality, who enjoyed some success in radio, modest success as a singer, but ...

(LHS),

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...

music producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

and promoter for

Grand Funk Railroad Grand Funk Railroad (often shortened to Grand Funk) is an American rock band formed in 1968 in Flint, Michigan, by Mark Farner (vocals, guitar), Don Brewer (drums, vocals), and Mel Schacher (bass). The band achieved peak popularity and succes ...

* Jake Long (East), professional football player *

Joe Long Joseph Louis LaBracio (September 5, 1932 – April 21, 2021), known professionally as Joe Long, was an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for the Four Seasons. Life and career Long was a classically trained musician who studi ...

(East), professional football player *

Asya Miller Asya Miller Lapper (born October 16, 1979) is a five-time Paralympic medalist, with four of her medals coming in goalball. Miller was nominated for an ESPY Award in 2009. Miller made her Paralympic debut in 2000 and won a bronze medal for discu ...

(East), blind athlete,

goalball Goalball is a team sport designed specifically for athletes with a vision impairment. Participants compete in teams of three, and try to throw a ball that has bells embedded inside of it into the opponents' goal. The ball is thrown by hand a ...

competitor *

Terry Nichols Terry Lynn Nichols (born April 1, 1955) is an American domestic terrorist who was convicted of being an accomplice in the Oklahoma City bombing. Prior to his incarceration, he held a variety of short-term jobs, working as a farmer, grain elevato ...

(LHS), convicted accomplice in the

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry N ...

Glenn Pakulak Glenn Adam Pakulak, Jr. (born April 9, 1980) is a former American football Punter (American football), punter. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2003. He played college football at Kentucky Wildcats football, Ken ...

(East), former professional football player * Charles E. Potter, (LHS), former

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

and

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

serving Michigan *

Victor Prather Lieutenant commander (United States), Lieutenant Commander Victor Alonzo Prather Jr. (June 4, 1926 – May 4, 1961) was an American flight surgeon famous for taking part in "Project RAM", a government project to develop the space suit. On May 4 ...

(LHS), former

flight surgeon A flight surgeon is a military medical officer practicing in the clinical field of aviation medicine. Although the term "flight surgery" is considered improper by purists, it may occasionally be encountered. Flight surgeons are physicians ( MD ...

and

space suit A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, ...

designer * Kemp Rasmussen (West), former professional football player

References

External links

* {{authority control Public high schools in Michigan 1922 establishments in Michigan Schools in Lapeer County, Michigan