Loachapoka High School
Encyclopedia
Loachapoka High School is a high school
in Loachapoka
, Alabama
, enrolling grades 7
-12
. The school enrolls 296 students, and is one of four high schools in the Lee County School District
along with Beauregard High School
, Beulah, and Smiths Station
High Schools.
. In 1968, the Auburn City Schools
ceased providing regular high school services for the Loachapoka area, and Loachapoka students were bused to Beauregard High School
, so that students from the mostly African American
Loachapoka area would have an opportunity to attend an integrated high school. Attendance at Beauregard, however, required some students to take round-trip bus rides of up to 96 miles daily; to limit this, the Lee County Schools Board of Education requested to expand the existing Loachapoka Junior High School (grades 7-10) to a full high school. The federal courts rejected this request to create Loachapoka High four times: in May 1970, July 1970, October 1970, and January 1971, arguing that opening Loachapoka High would "substantially decrease the desegregation in the Lee County School System".
In October 1971, Lee County Schools again requested to create Loachapoka High, with the courts opposing the request yet again, but allowing that they would reconsider if all of the students in the Loachapoka area were required to attend the school. Auburn High School agreed to stop allowing transfers from the Loachapoka area by 1973 so that Loachapoka High would be allowed to open. In the fall of 1973, Loachapoka High School opened, offering a full high school education in Loachapoka for the first time in decades.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Loachapoka
Loachapoka, Alabama
Loachapoka is a town in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is located seven miles west of Auburn in west-central Lee County. The population was 165 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Auburn Metropolitan Area....
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, enrolling grades 7
Seventh grade
Seventh grade is a year of education in the United States and many other nations. The seventh grade is the seventh school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 12–13 years old. Traditionally, seventh grade was the next-to-last year of elementary school...
-12
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...
. The school enrolls 296 students, and is one of four high schools in the Lee County School District
Lee County Schools (Alabama)
The Lee County School District—commonly called Lee County Schools— is the public school district for Lee County, Alabama, United States, excluding the parts of the county in the Auburn, Opelika, and Phenix City city limits. Students in the Lee County Schools attend schools in one of four attendance...
along with Beauregard High School
Beauregard High School
Beauregard High School is a high school in Beauregard, Alabama, enrolling grades 9-12. The school enrolls 584 students, and is one of four high schools in the Lee County School District along with Beulah, Loachapoka, and Smiths Station High Schools. Beauregard High School is named for Confederate...
, Beulah, and Smiths Station
Smiths Station High School
Smiths Station High School is a high school in Smiths Station, Alabama, enrolling grades 9-12. The school enrolls 1,830 students, and is one of four high schools in the Lee County School District along with Beauregard, Beulah and Loachapoka High Schools....
High Schools.
History
While Loachapoka had its own high school in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, by the 1930s students in Loachapoka attended high school at either Drake or Auburn High Schools in nearby AuburnAuburn, Alabama
Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama with a 2010 population of 53,380. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area...
. In 1968, the Auburn City Schools
Auburn City Schools
The Auburn City School District or Auburn City Schools is the school district of Auburn, Alabama. The superintendent is J. Terry Jenkins.-Early history of Auburn schools:...
ceased providing regular high school services for the Loachapoka area, and Loachapoka students were bused to Beauregard High School
Beauregard High School
Beauregard High School is a high school in Beauregard, Alabama, enrolling grades 9-12. The school enrolls 584 students, and is one of four high schools in the Lee County School District along with Beulah, Loachapoka, and Smiths Station High Schools. Beauregard High School is named for Confederate...
, so that students from the mostly African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
Loachapoka area would have an opportunity to attend an integrated high school. Attendance at Beauregard, however, required some students to take round-trip bus rides of up to 96 miles daily; to limit this, the Lee County Schools Board of Education requested to expand the existing Loachapoka Junior High School (grades 7-10) to a full high school. The federal courts rejected this request to create Loachapoka High four times: in May 1970, July 1970, October 1970, and January 1971, arguing that opening Loachapoka High would "substantially decrease the desegregation in the Lee County School System".
In October 1971, Lee County Schools again requested to create Loachapoka High, with the courts opposing the request yet again, but allowing that they would reconsider if all of the students in the Loachapoka area were required to attend the school. Auburn High School agreed to stop allowing transfers from the Loachapoka area by 1973 so that Loachapoka High would be allowed to open. In the fall of 1973, Loachapoka High School opened, offering a full high school education in Loachapoka for the first time in decades.
External links
- Loachapoka High School – official site