Longmeadow High School
Longmeadow High School is a public high school located in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1956 and enrolls approximately 1,000 students. The school's mascot is a Lancer. It is ranked as the sixth best public school in Massachusetts in a 2011 report by "Newsweek". 96% of graduates continue their studies at the college level. In popular culture. In June 2010, Longmeadow High School won the championship of the WGBH TV program, "High School Quiz Show", defeating The Bromfield School in the final match. The school also competed in the WGBY-TV quiz show , "As Schools Match Wits", where their 2010 team reached the finals. New school building. The original high school building was replaced by a new building. The original building was demolished with the exception of the 1971 science wing, which at the time included the swimming pool, library spaces, science classrooms, and a large open classroom known as the business technology center. Construction began in 2011 and continued until April 2013. The renovated natatorium (swimming pool) and locker rooms opened in the fall of 2012, and the new school building which was constructed southeast of the original building opened on February  25, 2013, following the school's winter vacation. The new building consists of a new core section with the auditorium at its center and surrounded by a circular lobby. Around the lobby in this portion are the cafeteria, school office, library, computer lab, and special subject classrooms. The main two-story academic wing housing most of the school's classrooms extends out to the west from the core lobby area. North of the core lobby is the new gymnasium and athletic and physical education spaces as well as the renovated 1971 wing which was completed during the summer of 2013 . The reused wing was nearly completely gutted on the inside and received a completely new brick facade to match the new 2013 building with only the swimming pool and its locker rooms remaining laid out as they were originally built. The portion of the wing where the media center was now contains the fitness center, a new PE room containing a wooden dance floor, the health classroom, and a new business technology center. The northernmost part of the wing is separated from the school proper by security doors. It contains the offices of the school department and LCTV, the town 's community access TV channel. A parking lot and drop-off now occupies the space where the former building stood. A new athletic field is located where the former student parking lot was located. A ceremony was held in September 2013 for the completion of the new high school building. The new school was built at an estimated cost of $78.4 million, and was partially funded by the Massachusetts School Building Authority. The town's portion was $44 million and included required matching funds for the MSBA's portion of the project as well as the full costs  for the demolition and renovation parts of the project as they were outside the scope of the MSBA's approved program. Original school building. The original school was constructed in 1954, with subsequent additions in 1958, 1963, 1971, 1999, and 2009. The renovations created courtyards surrounded by corridors. By the turn of the millennium, the high school supported a peak occupancy of approximately 3,000 students. Years of mistreatment had caused serious maintenance issues over the years. In 2009, the district appropriated money to refurbish the media center, which at the time was located in the 1971 wing. In 2010, demand  for a new school grew until the town voted in favor of constructing a new state-of-the-art facility. District offices were demolished the same year to make way for the proposed academic wing. Faculty and staff moved into the new building in February 2013 and by April, the building was gone. Athletics. Lacrosse. Longmeadow is widely known for their storied high school lacrosse tradition in both the boys' and girls' programs. Since 1970, the first year of varsity play for the boys' lacrosse program at Longmeadow, the team has established a tradition of excellence and earned a position  as one of the top programs in the State, winning Massachusetts State Championships (a total of 18) in 1970, '74–'77, '79–'81, '83–'86, '88–90, '92, '97, '08, and 2013 (boys), a win over Medfield (10–7). 1981 was legendary coach Dave Stockwell's final year at the helm; that year's team went undefeated. Longmeadow's boys' team has produced 36 All-American selections and six Academic All-American selections, and many of the lacrosse alumni have gone on to play lacrosse for top collegiate programs. Swimming and diving. The Longmeadow boys' team has currently won sectionals (dubbed "Western/Central Mass") every  year since 2015. In 2018, the team also placed second in States, the championship meet that includes all of Massachusetts. Football. Longmeadow High School's football team has gone to 14 straight Western-Central Mass Division I Super Bowls under Head Coach Alex Rotsko. Longmeadow has won 8 of the 12 Western-Central Mass Division I Super Bowls (which began in 1997) and 10 overall since 1972. In four out of the last five seasons, the football team has gone undefeated, including back to back to back perfect seasons. The 2005 football (12–0) team beat Leominster in the Division 1  Super Bowl 21–20 in Holyoke. The 2006 team (12–0) beat Leominster again, but in a more dominant fashion, 42–0 at Worcester State University. The 2007 team finished 13–0, a school record due to the new playoff system, and beat Leominster 21–0 in the Division 1 Super Bowl at Westfield State University. Longmeadow held a 47-game winning streak from 2005 to 2008, one of the longest high school winning streaks in the country at the time. The streak eventually came to an end on Thanksgiving Day, November 27, 2008 to East Longmeadow, losing by a score of 16-13 and  ending the 47-game winning streak. However, they went on to participate in their 13th consecutive Division I Super Bowl, and went on to win their 9th Western-Central Mass State Championship over Fitchburg. The 2014 reached the Division 2 State Championship. But they fell to Marshfield High School, 45–6. The Lancers trailed, 39–0, at halftime. Girls' volleyball. The Longmeadow Girls volleyball program gained strength in 2007, when coach George Mulry took over the program. In the past decade the program has won 8 Western Mass Championships (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015) and 6 League Championships (2007 , 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012). The program has grown athletes to achieve numerous accolades and compete at an incredibly high level, both regionally and across the state. These athletes have since gone on to compete at the collegiate level ranging from all divisions (D1, D2, D3, & Club). Coach Mulry has achieved over 150 wins at LHS in the past ten years, 6 sectional titles, 10 championship appearances, & 8 Championships. Boys' tennis. Longmeadow's boys' tennis program is consistently among the top in the state. The boys tennis team has won 23 straight Western Mass titles (D-I) between 1999 to  2019 without losing a match! Music program. Longmeadow High School is known for its Grammy award-winning music program, which includes an orchestra, a student-run chamber orchestra, two bands (a concert band and an honors level Wind Ensemble), a jazz band, a pep band, four women's choirs, a men's choir, an honors choir, an a cappella women's choir, and an honors a cappella choir. These ensembles have received numerous awards and honors, including going on international tours, giving performances at Carnegie Hall and Boston Symphony Hall, and receiving MICCA Festival Gold Medals. In the 50s and  60s, Longmeadow High School was known for musical productions like "Oklahoma" and "The Mikado". In 2014, for the first time in history, Longmeadow Symphony Orchestra was picked to perform at All-Eastern in Providence, Rhode Island.