Laurens District 55 High School, also referred to as LDHS or simply Laurens High School, is a four-year public high school in Laurens, South Carolina. It is the only high school in Laurens School District 55 and one of two in Laurens County, South Carolina. The feeder schools include Laurens Middle School, Sanders Middle School, Gray Court Owings, and Hickory Tavern Middle School.
The school was opened in 1972 when Hickory Tavern, Sanders, Gray Court-Owings School, Ford and Laurens High schools were consolidated into one high school. "District 55" was added to the end of the name to differentiate between the pre-existing Laurens High School, and to appease the communities represented by the three other high schools.
Athleticsedit
Laurens High School has a variety of ninth-grade, junior varsity, and varsity sports. The football team plays its home games at K.C. Hanna Stadium, located on the school grounds. The baseball team plays its games at Historic Zed Prescott Field. Each game can be heard on radio through 860AM and 104.1 FM WLBG.
The Raider football team has 3 AAAA State Championships in its history: 1983, 1984, and 1991 along with over 21 region championships most recently in 2016, 2019, and 2022. The Lady Raiders basketball team won AAAA State Championships in 1998, 1999 and 2001.[1][2][3] The Laurens Raider track team won the AAAA track State Championship in 1992. Josue’ Garcia-Rivas, a member of the track team, is the high school national record holder for the 1600 meter run.[4] The Laurens Raider wrestling team also won a Region 1AAAAA title in 2011, 2019. The Lady Raider softball team has won Region Championships in 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Raider baseball team has won three state Championships and a combined total of 20 region championships with the last one coming in 2023
Prayer controversyedit
The school traditionally allowed the student body to vote on whether an invocation would be held at graduation each year. However, in May 2011, a student brought the issue to the attention of the Freedom from Religion Foundation. As a result, former school superintendent Billy Strickland announced that the prayer would no longer be permitted. In a public statement, Strickland remarked, "Our legal counsel has advised us that we should discontinue the practice of voting on whether to have an invocation delivered at the graduation ceremony so we do not create a basis for a legal challenge."[5] Strickland did go on to say that students who speak during the ceremony might still pray because the school does not approve or disapprove what they say.
Referencesedit
^"1997-98 Bill 1197: Laurens District 55 High School Girls Basketball Team, Resolutions - South Carolina Legislature Online". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
^"1999-2000 Bill 4021: Laurens District 55 High School Lady Raiders Basketball Team, Resolutions - South Carolina Legislature Online". www.scstatehouse.gov. Retrieved 2022-05-03.
laurens, district, high, school, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, j. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Laurens District 55 High School news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2021 Learn how and when to remove this message Laurens District 55 High School also referred to as LDHS or simply Laurens High School is a four year public high school in Laurens South Carolina It is the only high school in Laurens School District 55 and one of two in Laurens County South Carolina The feeder schools include Laurens Middle School Sanders Middle School Gray Court Owings and Hickory Tavern Middle School Laurens District 55 High SchoolAddress5058 Highway 76 West LaurensLaurens South Carolina 29360United StatesCoordinates34 30 09 N 82 04 04 W 34 502596 N 82 067853 W 34 502596 82 067853InformationTypePublic high schoolEstablished1972 52 years ago 1972 SuperintendentAmeca ThomasPrincipalLewis ComptonColor s Green and gold MascotRaidersRivalClinton High School Greenwood High SchoolWebsitewww wbr ldhsraiders wbr org wbr en US Contents 1 History 2 Athletics 3 Prayer controversy 4 References 5 External linksHistory editThe school was opened in 1972 when Hickory Tavern Sanders Gray Court Owings School Ford and Laurens High schools were consolidated into one high school District 55 was added to the end of the name to differentiate between the pre existing Laurens High School and to appease the communities represented by the three other high schools Athletics editLaurens High School has a variety of ninth grade junior varsity and varsity sports The football team plays its home games at K C Hanna Stadium located on the school grounds The baseball team plays its games at Historic Zed Prescott Field Each game can be heard on radio through 860AM and 104 1 FM WLBG The Raider football team has 3 AAAA State Championships in its history 1983 1984 and 1991 along with over 21 region championships most recently in 2016 2019 and 2022 The Lady Raiders basketball team won AAAA State Championships in 1998 1999 and 2001 1 2 3 The Laurens Raider track team won the AAAA track State Championship in 1992 Josue Garcia Rivas a member of the track team is the high school national record holder for the 1600 meter run 4 The Laurens Raider wrestling team also won a Region 1AAAAA title in 2011 2019 The Lady Raider softball team has won Region Championships in 2010 2014 2015 and 2016 The Raider baseball team has won three state Championships and a combined total of 20 region championships with the last one coming in 2023Prayer controversy editThe school traditionally allowed the student body to vote on whether an invocation would be held at graduation each year However in May 2011 a student brought the issue to the attention of the Freedom from Religion Foundation As a result former school superintendent Billy Strickland announced that the prayer would no longer be permitted In a public statement Strickland remarked Our legal counsel has advised us that we should discontinue the practice of voting on whether to have an invocation delivered at the graduation ceremony so we do not create a basis for a legal challenge 5 Strickland did go on to say that students who speak during the ceremony might still pray because the school does not approve or disapprove what they say References edit 1997 98 Bill 1197 Laurens District 55 High School Girls Basketball Team Resolutions South Carolina Legislature Online www scstatehouse gov Retrieved 2022 05 03 1999 2000 Bill 4021 Laurens District 55 High School Lady Raiders Basketball Team Resolutions South Carolina Legislature Online www scstatehouse gov Retrieved 2022 05 03 South Carolina Legislature Online Search www scstatehouse gov Retrieved 2022 05 03 www nfhs org https www nfhs org RecordBook Record book result aspx CategoryId 1359 Retrieved 2022 10 22 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty title help No Official Prayer Allowed at Upstate High School s Graduation Ceremony WSPA Archived from the original on 2011 05 13 Retrieved 2011 05 14 External links editOfficial website nbsp This South Carolina school related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Laurens District 55 High School amp oldid 1216456701, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
