Lakewood High School (Sumter, South Carolina)

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Lakewood High School
Address
Lakewood High School (Sumter, South Carolina)
350 Old Manning Road

,
United States
Information
TypePublic high school
Oversight Sumter School District
PrincipalMaggie Wright
Teaching staff47.00 (FTE) [1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,016 (2023-2024) [1]
Student to teacher ratio21.62 [1]
Campus Rural
Color(s)   
Kelly green, white,
and purple [2]
Mascot Gators
Rival Sumter High School
AccreditationSouth Carolina Department of Education and Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
NewspaperExpressions
Yearbook"Odyssey"
Phone(803) 506-2700
Website lhs.sumterschools.net/home

Lakewood High School is a co-educational four-year public high school in Sumter, South Carolina, serving grades 9 through 12. [3] Lakewood is one of only three public high schools in the Sumter School District and enrolls between 1,100 and 1,300 students each year from the southern half of Sumter County. [4] [2] The mascot of Lakewood High School is the Gator, chosen for Alligator Branch, a nearby stream. [2]

Contents

History

Lakewood High School, along with Crestwood High School, was built in 1996 as the result of a $28.5 million bond referendum passed by the voters of Sumter County to build two high schools in Sumter District 2. [2] [4] Lakewood High is named after Lakewood Links, a nearby golf course community in Lakewood, South Carolina. [5] The school was dedicated on August 15, 1996. [5]

The first students of Lakewood High School were former students of Furman High School and Mayewood High School, both of which were subsequently converted into middle schools. [5] The school colors are kelly green, white, and purple. [2] Purple was chosen as an accent color to represent unity among Sumter District 2 schools. [2]

On July 1, 2011, Sumter School District 2 and Sumter School District 17 consolidated forming Sumter School District. [2]

Lakewood's feeder school is Furman Middle School.[ citation needed ]

Sports

Lakewood High School's mascot is the Gator and the school's sports teams are referred to as the "Lakewood Gators". [2] [6] The school offers cross country, football, golf, volleyball, softball, basketball, baseball, and wrestling. [6]

The sports rivalry between the Sumter High Gamecocks and Lakewood Gators was memorialized in country singer Lee Brice's song,"Sumter County Friday Night". [7]

Notable alumni

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Lakewood High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved January 10, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "About Us - History of Lakewood". lhs.sumterschools.net. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  3. Lakewood High School home page
  4. 1 2 Bolstad, Erica; Cude, Dan (August 26, 1996). "Sumter District 2 raise the curtain on Lakewood and Crestwood high schools". The Item. No. 315. newspapers.com. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Gedamke, Keith (August 16, 1996). "Nice gator". The Item. No. 305. newspapers.com. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  6. 1 2 "Lakewood Gators". lakewoodgatorathletics.com. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  7. "Lee Brice - Sumter County Friday Night Lyrics". SongMeanings. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  8. "Showtime Spotlight". The Item. No. 148. newspapers.com. April 12, 2013. Retrieved January 22, 2023.

33°51′12″N80°21′22″W / 33.8532°N 80.3561°W / 33.8532; -80.3561