Lakewood High School (Sumter, South Carolina)

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Lakewood High School
Location
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.
  9. "Tyreek Johnson". University of South Carolina Athletics . July 5, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2025.

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