Liberty High School (Liberty, Missouri)
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2015) |
| Liberty High School | |
|---|---|
| Address | |
 | |
200 Blue Jay Drive, Liberty, MO 64068 , | |
| Coordinates | 39°14′27″N 94°26′51″W / 39.24077°N 94.44756°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public Secondary |
| Established | 1890 |
| School district | Liberty Public School District |
| Principal | Dr. April Adams |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 1,785 |
| Campus | Suburban |
| Color(s) | Blue, White, and Silver |
| Mascot | Bluejay |
| Rival | Liberty North High School |
| Website | Official |
Liberty High School (LHS) is a four-year high school located in Liberty, Missouri. Its current[when?] enrollment is over 1,800 which rapidly increased with the addition of the freshman class for the first time during the 2013-2014 school year. LHS is one of two high schools in the Liberty Public School District, alongside Liberty North High School (Liberty, Missouri) which opened in 2010. Liberty High School has two feeder middle schools, Liberty Middle School and Discovery Middle School (formally South Valley Junior High).
History
Liberty High School was first established in 1890 as Clay County, Missouri's first four-year high school. Its original campus, located at the corner of Mill and Gallatin is now the site of Franklin Elementary. In 1923, the school, overcrowded in its first facility with 300 students, relocated to the former site of the Liberty Ladies College, at Kansas and Fairview streets. As Liberty grew into a major suburb of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the district built a new facility near Interstate 35, about one mile (1.6 km) west of the downtown area, and converted the previous facility to Liberty Junior High.
With word of its strong academic reputation attracting families to new subdivisions in Liberty and Kansas City, Liberty High School tripled in size during the 1990s, adding wings for science, fine arts, visual arts, and an expanded media center.
In 2010, Liberty Public Schools founded its second high school, Liberty North High School separating the graduating classes of 2012 and 2013 to travel across town to 104th Street, along A Highway, a few miles north of LHS. Although a major change for the district, it was a necessary one for overcrowding and class size issues.
During the 2013-2014 school year, LHS and LNHS began incorporating freshmen classes to the high school buildings to relieve overcrowding issues at the district's middle level buildings.
Athletics/Activities
The Liberty High School mascot is the Bluejay. School colors are blue, silver, and white.
Several programs at Liberty have received state and national accolades. State championships include men's track (1923, 1924, 1999, 2001), men's cross country (2003, 2004), women's cross country (2006), baseball (2002), men's basketball (1998, 2001), women's basketball (2007), academic competition (1993, 2003, 2005), one-act play (1996, 2009, 2014), women's soccer (2010, 2011), cheerleading (2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017) and women's softball (2004). Liberty has served 3 times as the president school for the Missouri Association of Student Councils, doing so in 1957, 2003 and 2014. Its broadcasting program, recipient of the National Pacemaker Award for exceptional student journalism in 2004 and a top ten finalist in 2009, operates cable channel 18 on Time Warner Cable under the non-assigned call letters KLPS. In 2009 the Symphonic Orchestra from Liberty High School placed 2nd, out of 13 schools, in the High School Division at the American String Teacher's Association National Orchestra Festival in Atlanta, Georgia and in 2011 the Honors Orchestra (a combination of Liberty and Liberty North) placed 2nd in the ASTA National Orchestra Festival in Kansas City, Missouri. As of August 2017, Liberty High School is ranked 1st in the nation in debate and forensics according to the National Speech and Debate Association, starting the 2017-18 school year with over 600 speech and forensics degrees on the team. As of 2018 Liberty High School has established a competitive marching band knows as the blue and white Vanguard. They are expected to do well in competitions they attend. [1] LHS is also recognized as top 20 in the nation for its Model United Nations program.
Notable alumni
- David Allen (American football), American football player[2]
- Scott Carroll, baseball player[3]
- James Dewees, musician with Reggie and the Full Effect, The Get Up Kids and My Chemical Romance.[citation needed]
- Marcus Lucas, American football player[4]
- Matt Wertz, Musician[citation needed]
- Stacie Cooley, Miss Missouri 2006
References
- ^ "Rankings | National Speech & Debate Association". www.speechanddebate.org. Retrieved 2017-02-18.
- ^ Mosimann, Jack. "Ring of Honor Feature: David Allen". Kansas State University. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
- ^ Grathoff, Pete (June 3, 2014). "Former Liberty High star Scott Carroll pitches with a lot of support against hometown team". Kansas City Star. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
- ^ Blumberg, Eric (September 26, 2011). "Marcus Lucas Learns From His Mother". KOMU-TV. Retrieved January 23, 2015.