Robert M. La Follette High School is a

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

located in Madison, Wisconsin, serving the city's far east side with its attendance boundaries including parts of the City of Madison, City of Fitchburg, Town of Blooming Grove, and Town of Burke, teaching students in grades 9-12. Founded in the fall of 1963, it is a part of the Madison Metropolitan School District, and is named after former lawmaker and 1924 presidential candidate

Robert M. La Follette, Sr. Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th Governor of Wisconsin. A Republican for most of his ...

Academics

La Follette offers diverse academic opportunities, drawing upon its 14 academic departments and more than 150 faculty offering instruction in more than 250 courses in 100 different fields of study. Courses are taught in a variety of academic settings, from traditional classrooms to community-based service experiences. Additional opportunities for growth and leadership are offered through involvement in numerous student organizations. The school began offering

American sign language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...

as a foreign language in 1998, and other schools have modeled their programs after La Follette's.

Academic departments

*Applied Technology *Art *AVID/TOPS *Business, Marketing, and IT *English *Family and Consumer Education *Math *Multilingual Education (ESL) *Music *Physical Education and Health *Science *Social Studies *Special Education *World Languages

Extra-curricular activities

Clubs

La Follette offers nearly four dozen extra-curricular clubs, spanning a wide variety of student interests, including academic, athletic, social, fine arts, science, health and others, such as gaming clubs.

Athletics

La Follette athletics include girls' volleyball, boys' volleyball, girls' soccer, boys' soccer, boys' basketball, girls' basketball, wrestling, boys' track & field, girls' track & field, football, girls' swim, boys' swim, boys' cross country, girls' cross country, dance, cheer, hockey, girls' golf, boys' golf, baseball, softball, girls' tennis, boys' tennis. Club sports include basketball, rugby, bowling, ultimate frisbee and volleyball.

Other notable athletic achievements

* 1978 WIAA Girls Softball State Runner Ups * 1979 WIAA Class A Girls Softball State Runner Ups * 1986 WIAA Class A Girls Softball State Runner Ups * 1988 WIAA Division 1 Boys Volleyball State Runner Ups * 1993 WIAA Division 1 Wrestling Individual State Champion, Chad Powell * 1993 WACPC Competition Dance D1 State Champions * 1994 WACPC Competition Nationals D1 Competitors * 1995 WACPC Competition Dance D1 State Champions * 2003 WIAA Division I Boys Tennis Individual State Champion, Pete Amundson * 2006 WACPC Competition Cheer D1 Small State Champions * 2007 WACPC Competition Cheer D1 Small State Champions * 2010 WIAA Division 1 State Baseball Runner Ups * 2011 WACPC Competition Cheer D1 Small State Champions * 2011 WIAA Division 1 Boys Cross Country Individual State Champion, Chandler Diffee * 2011 WIAA Division 1 Girls Discus Individual State Champion, KeKe Burks * 2012 WIAA Division 1 Boys Cross Country Runner Ups * 2013 WACPC Competition Cheer D1 Small State Champions * 2014 WACPC Competition Cheer D1 Small State Champions * 2015 WIAA Division 1 Boys Cross Country Individual State Champion, Finn Gessner * 2015 WIAA Division 1 Boys Cross Country Runner Ups * 2016 WIAA Division 1 Boys Cross Country Individual State Champion, Finn Gessner * 2022 WIAA Division 1 Wrestling Individual State Champion, Jackson Mankowski

Other activities and events

Arboretum

La Follette has one of the few on-ground

arboretum An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

s in the state. It was designed to have three ecosystems, including prairie, woodland and pond.

Board of visitors

La Follette's board of visitors serves as an advocate for the school, and is the only school in the Madison area, and possibly the state, which has such a board. Drawing upon experiences and resources of alumni, parents and other patrons, the board's mission is to empower students and faculty while building community. The board assists in fundraising, business, community outreach, public affairs, student support and teacher support.

Business

In 2011,

Summit Credit Union Summit Credit Union, founded in 1935, is a credit union that was once based in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. In 2019 they moved their headquarters to nearby Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. , it has 49 locations throughout the state. Summit has ...

began operations at La Follette High School. In ensuing years, branches were opened at other Madison-area high schools. The branch is staffed by interns from the La Follette career internship class and is open during the lunch hour.

Presidential visit

On September 28, 2010, the school was visited by President Barack Obama, who made an unannounced stop ahead of a late-afternoon rally on the UW-Madison campus.

Publications

''The Lance'' is the student newspaper for La Follette; its yearbook is known as ''The Statesman''; ''The Lancer Legend'' is the parent newsletter.

Notable alumni

* Marc Behrend, 1979; former professional hockey player * Craig Brown, 1994; curler * Erika Brown, 1992; curler *

Savion Castro Savion Castro (born 1994) is an officer and member of Board of Education of the Madison Metropolitan School District, and is the youngest member to ever serve on the board. Early life Castro grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, and attended public sch ...

, 2012; member of the

Board of Education A board of education, school committee or school board is the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or an equivalent institution. The elected council determines the educational policy in a small regional are ...

in Madison, Wisconsin * Chuck Chvala, 1973; former State Senate Majority Leader *

Brian Detter Brian R. Detter (born 1959) is an American business executive and formerly served as a deputy assistant secretary of the Navy (DASN). Early life and education Detter was raised in Madison, Wisconsin. He graduated from La Follette High School, ...

, 1977; business executive and former defense official * Crystal Graff, 2011; volleyball player * Dianne Hesselbein, 1989; member of Wisconsin State Assembly * Tim Jordan, 1982; former professional football player * Peter Mueller, 1972; speed skater * Nicole Newman, 2014; softball player * Jeff Nygaard, 1990; Olympic beach volleyball player, 2004; U.S. Men's Olympic National Indoor team, 1996, 2000 * Craig Smith, 2008; current NHL player for the Washington Capitals and former University of Wisconsin hockey player *Michael Flowers, 2004; Wisconsin Basketball; All-Big Ten * Jonte Flowers, 2003; Professional Basketball Player *Rick Olson, 1983; Wisconsin Basketball; Houston Rockets; Wisconsin Athletics Hall of Fame *Craig Anderson, Iowa Basketball * Kim Sponem, 1985; president and CEO, Summit Credit Union''Know Your Madisonian: Kim Sponem leads booming growth for Summit Credit Union'', by Chris Hubbuch, Wisconsin State Journal, August 31, 2019, retrieved May 29, 2020
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Patrick Stiegman
1984; ESPN vice president

References

External links

Foundation for Madison's Public Schools -- La Follette

La Follette board of visitors website

La Follette boys cross country team's website

La Follette boys golf team's FB page

U.S. News & World Report rankings

{{authority control High schools in Madison, Wisconsin Educational institutions established in 1963 Public high schools in Wisconsin 1963 establishments in Wisconsin Robert M. La Follette