Lake Highland Preparatory School
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Lake Highland Preparatory School is a
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
, coeducational school in
Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
. It was founded as an all-white school in 1970 by the board of a whites-only, Christians-only junior college. This gave white parents a private alternative to racially-integrated public schools at the time federal courts had finally required mixing races in public schools. It is the largest private school in Orlando and the fourth-largest private school in the state. It serves grades pre-K through 12, separated into lower (grades pre-K to 6), middle (grades 7–8), and upper schools (grades 9–12). The campus is next to Lake Highland. The school also has a middle school campus (Charles Clayton Campus) for grades 7 and 8. Lake Highland is accredited by the
Florida Council of Independent Schools Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to th ...
and the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...
. The school is also a member of the
National Association of Independent Schools The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) is a U.S.-based membership organization for private, nonprofit, K-12 schools. Founded in 1962, NAIS represents independent schools and associations in the United States, including day, boar ...
.


History

Lake Highland Preparatory School touts its origins at Orlando Junior College, which was established in 1941 "as a private
community college A community college is a type of educational institution. The term can have different meanings in different countries: many community colleges have an "open enrollment" for students who have graduated from high school (also known as senior sec ...
to serve white residents". By the 1960s, the junior college's board of trustees had rejected at least two deals that would have given money to the school if it began admitting black and Jewish students, including an offer of $1 million (roughly $ today) from defense contractor Martin Company and a similar attempt two years later by the state of Florida. By the late 1960s, the school's enrollment had "declined dramatically" following the arrival of two public, integrated community colleges in the region. In 1969, OJC board members voted down a proposal to sell the campus to the expanding Valencia Junior College, electing instead to rebrand the junior college as College of Orlando—the school had long envisioned a shift to a four-year college—and to open a new private school for elementary, middle, and high schoolers. Lake Highland Preparatory School opened in 1970 during the
racial integration Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation). In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity ...
of Orlando-area public schools, following a pattern common to
segregation academies Segregation academies are private schools in the Southern United States that were founded in the mid-20th century by white parents to avoid having their children attend desegregated public schools. They were founded between 1954, when the U.S. ...
. Plans for the school were publicly announced in February 1970; the chairman of the board of trustees, Joseph Guernsey, declined to comment when a reporter asked if the school was established to allow white parents to avoid racially integrated public schools. In August 1970, days before the school opened, headmaster Terrence O'Hara told a PTA meeting that an "air of uncertainty over public schools" contributed to the growing enrollment at racially segregated private schools like LHPS. O'Hara said, "Some parents don't even know what public school they are to send their children to" and this "confusion" meant the parents "felt more secure with their children in private schools." Classes began on September 9, 1970, with 325 students in grades 1 to 12, including 23 seniors. None were black. Tuition was $425 per semester ($ today). In March 1971, Chairman Guernsey announced that a fundraising drive had brought $300,000 in donations and pledges, that applications for enrollment were coming in so quickly that the student body might have to be capped at 800, and that tuition would increase to $550 per semester. He added that the junior college would close in August 1971, leaving the entire 26-acre campus to the prep school. O'Hara left the headmaster's post after a year, as did his successor, Lowell Keene. In 1972, the school found the man who would lead it into its second decade. As superintendent of
Orange County Public Schools Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) is the public school district for Orange County, Florida. It is based in the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center in downtown Orlando. As of the 2021-22 school year, OCPS has an enrollment of 206,246 st ...
, James Higginbotham had resisted court orders to desegregate Robinswood Middle School and Carver Middle School. In May, Higginbotham resigned to accept the newly created post of president of Lake Highland Preparatory School. On his first day in his new job, he gave a speech in which he denounced the court order desegregating public schools, saying that "an era was dying" because of "legalistic do-gooders." In 1976, a school spokesperson said black students were welcome, but none had ever applied or enrolled. In 1981, Guernsey stepped down as board chairman. He was succeeded by Charles E. Bradshaw Jr., who had joined the board of the whites-only junior college in the late 1960s and subsequently helped lead the drive to establish the prep school. Bradshaw would serve as chair until 2005. The Upper and Lower School campus was renamed for him in 2011. Higginbotham died in office in 1982; he was succeeded as school president by Charles Millican, founding president of what is today
University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...
. In 2013, the school instituted mandatory drug testing for students. After the initial test, additional testing is performed randomly and when "reasonable suspicion" indicates. As of 2018, the most recent year for which statistics are available, the school had not reported demographic data to the federal
National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...
.


Athletics

LHPS athletic teams are called the Highlanders. Former head football coach Frank Prendergast serves as the school's
athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...
. In 2012, 27 of the school's 200 graduating seniors signed to play for college teams. The Highlanders compete in various districts of the
Florida High School Athletic Association The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) is an organization whose purpose is to organize sports competition for high schools in Florida. It is a member of the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). Florida uses ...
: mostly 1A, but the
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team competes in 2B and the
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
,
softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...
, and
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
teams in 3A. Most athletics facilities are located on campus. Football and soccer teams play on Holloway Field at CNL Stadium (often shortened to "CNL Stadium" or "the Field"), while the basketball and volleyball teams compete inside the Weng Family Gymnasium (commonly referred to as "the Gym"). The baseball team plays across from Lake Highland in the O'Meara sports complex. Historically,
Trinity Preparatory School Trinity Preparatory School of Florida is an independent college preparatory day-school for students in grades 6 to 12, located in Winter Park, a suburb of Orlando. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church and is accredited by the Florida Coun ...
has been Lake Highland's primary athletic rival, mirroring their academic rivalry. Recently, Lake Highland moved out of Trinity's division, thus ending the annual football rivalry. Lake Highland and Trinity still participate in the same division in most other sports.
Bishop Moore High School Bishop Moore Catholic High School is a private Roman Catholic high school in the College Park neighborhood of Orlando, Florida. The school is located within the Diocese of Orlando, and remains the only Catholic high school in Greater Orlando. Th ...
has supplanted Trinity as LHP's annual football rival. Former major league baseball pitcher
Frank Viola Frank John Viola Jr. (born April 19, 1960) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Minnesota Twins (1982–1989), New York Mets (1989–1991), Boston Red Sox (1992–1994), Cincinnati Reds (1995), and ...
spent 10 years coaching at Lake Highland, six of them as head baseball coach. Lake Highland Prep has 28 state championships across 11 sports. The boys wrestling team, which won in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019, holds the state tournament point-scoring records and also won the first and second team dual state championships in 2018 and 2019. Other state championships have been won in girls volleyball (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008), girls basketball (1998, 2015, and 2016), girls softball (2002 and 2003), boys basketball (2013 and 2014), Boys Soccer (2019) girls soccer (2006), boys lacrosse (2011, 2013, 2014, and 2015), girls lacrosse (2019), girls swim (2004), and girls golf (2001). The girls 200 medley relay and girls 400 free relay teams were state champions in 2017. Lake Highland Prep also holds 15 Orlando Sentinel Varsity Cup “Super Six” awards from 2002 to 2016. In May 2020, the school's wrestling program left the FHSAA in order to compete as an independent and with a national schedule starting with the 2020–2021 academic year. Lake Highland competed at tournaments in Ohio, Delaware, California, and Illinois during the 2019–2020 season. State guidelines only allow one meet per season outside Florida and neighboring states Georgia and Alabama. The move means the school will no longer compete for state titles, but instead compete at the National Prep Championships.


After-school programs

The
Orlando Hoshuko The Orlando Hoshuko, Inc. (オーランド日本語補習校 ''Ōrando Nihongo Hoshūkō'') is a weekend supplementary school for Japanese children in the Orlando, Florida area. It was established as the Japanese Language School of Orlando in Nov ...
, a weekend supplementary school for Japanese children, holds its classes at the school.


Notable alumni

Noted former students include: *
Candice Accola Candice René King ( Accola; born May 13, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her role as Caroline Forbes in The CW supernatural drama series ''The Vampire Diaries'' and her recurring role as the same character on th ...
, actress *
Annalena Baerbock Annalena Charlotte Alma Baerbock (; born 15 December 1980) is a German politician of the Alliance 90/The Greens party serving as Germany's minister for foreign affairs since 2021. From 2018 to January 2022, Baerbock served as co-leader of Allia ...
, German politician, appointed
Minister for Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...
in 2021 *
Joel Berry II Joel DeWayne Berry II (born April 1, 1995) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels and led the team to the 2017 national championship. Berry played professionally for tw ...
, basketball player for the
North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...
,
McDonald's All-American McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hamburger ...
and 3x
Florida Mr. Basketball Each year the Florida Mr. Basketball award is given to the person chosen as the best high school boys basketball player in the U.S. state of Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bor ...
*
John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author, YouTube Content creation, content creator, podcaster, and philanthropist. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including ''The Fault in Our Stars'' ( ...
, author and YouTuber *
Traylor Howard Traylor Elizabeth Howard is an American actress. Her roles include Sharon Carter on the television series ''Two Guys and a Girl'', and Natalie Teeger on the USA Network series ''Monk''. Early life Howard was born in Orlando, Florida, to Peggy ...
, television actress *
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie Dominique Reshard Rodgers-Cromartie (born April 7, 1986) is a former American football cornerback who played 11 years in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Tennessee State University, and was drafted by the Arizona ...
,
defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...
for the
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...
(sophomore year only) *
Max Starks Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...
, a former
offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...
for the
Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...
,
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
,
Saint Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...
, and
Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...
. *
Scott Stapp Scott Stapp (born Anthony Scott Flippen, August 8, 1973) is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Creed. He has also fronted the band Art of Anarchy and has released three solo albums: '' The Great Di ...
, lead singer of
Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...
http://www.lhps.org/alumni/pages/florida.htm *
Mark Tremonti Mark Thomas Tremonti (born April 18, 1974) is an American guitarist and singer, best known for his tenures with the rock bands Creed and Alter Bridge. He is a founding member of both bands, and has also collaborated with many other artists over ...
, lead guitarist of
Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets. The ea ...
and
Alter Bridge Alter Bridge is an American rock band from Orlando, Florida. The band was formed in 2004 by vocalist and rhythm guitarist Myles Kennedy, lead guitarist Mark Tremonti, bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips. After their former band Cr ...
*
Ty Tryon William Augustus "Ty" Tryon IV (born June 2, 1984) is an American professional golfer. Tryon was born in Raleigh, North Carolina. He swings right-handed. He was coached at the David Leadbetter Academy in Florida. He turned professional in 2001 a ...
, professional golfer *
Brittany Viola Brittany Ann Viola (born April 19, 1987 in Minnesota) is an American platform diver formerly for the University of Miami. In 2008 and 2011, she won the NCAA championship in diving's ten-meter platform. She was named to the United States diving ...
, NCAA champion diver


References


External links


Official website
*201
Interview
with Joseph S. Guernsey, founding chairman of the board of trustees of Lake Highland Preparatory School. Page includes information about Orlando Junior College, including a 1967 "Declarations of Principles" {{authority control Private high schools in Florida High schools in Orange County, Florida Schools in Orlando, Florida Private middle schools in Florida Private elementary schools in Florida 1970 establishments in Florida Educational institutions established in 1970 Segregation academies in Florida