Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) is a selective publicmagnethigh school in Austin, Texas, United States.[3][4] Although LASA is open to all Austin residents and charges no tuition, competition for admission can be strong and is contingent on submission of an application, prior academic record, and the Cognitive Abilities Test. LASA is sometimes referred to as LASA High School.
LASA is often ranked as one of the best public schools in Texas, with a ranking of #4 by U.S. News & World Report in 2023.[5]
History
In 1928, the Austin City Council approved a plan to segregate the city, effectively forcing black populations to move to certain areas of the city. After a national movement for desegregation of public schools began, AISD announced that it would begin efforts to desegregate schools, even though the school district continued to not allow busing.[6] In 1968, the U.S. Department of Justice sued AISD for not integrating schools fast enough, and after many years of litigation, school boundaries were redrawn. LBJ High School opened in 1974 as a product of this reorganization of the school system. Enrollment at LBJ steadily dropped in the years after its founding, as white parents took their kids out of public schools. This prompted the AISD school board to take further action.
In 1985, to stem white flight and create more diverse public schools, and to address demands from the Austin business community for a more skilled workforce, the Science Academy (SA) of Austin was created as a magnet program embedded within LBJ. SA students took classes in math and science with each other, but classes in other subjects with their non-magnet peers. Following the 1997 establishment of automatic admission to state-funded universities for the top 10 percent of every Texas high school's graduating class, non-magnet students at LBJ were placed at a unique disadvantage in terms of college admissions; the solution came in 2001, when a bill[7] sponsored by Rep. Dawnna Dukes separated SA and non-magnet students at LBJ into distinct ranked lists for the purpose of determining top 10 percent eligibility. The SA was merged with Johnston High School's Liberal Arts Academy (LAA) in 2002, forming the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA). At this point, the school didn't have a distinct federal ID number, and thus was still considered a part of LBJ.[8][9] In 2007, so that LBJ could receive a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, LBJ and LASA were split into separate schools. After the split, classes besides fine arts were no longer shared, and teachers taught at either LASA or LBJ, but typically not at both. The two schools continued to share athletic programs until 2020 and fine arts programs until 2021.[8][6]
Campus
LASA shared its campus with Lyndon B. Johnson Early College High School from its founding in 2007 to 2021. LASA was located on the second floor while LBJ was on the first floor. Melissa B. Taboada of the Austin American-Statesman stated in 2015 that some members of the Austin community "say the division [was] a constant blemish on the campus".[10] As part of the Austin Independent School District's November 2017 bond, LASA relocated from the LBJ campus to the Johnston Campus, which was previously occupied by Eastside Early College High School. The campus originally opened in 1960 as Johnston High School. As part of the move, LASA chose a new mascot and school colors. The move took place in summer 2021.[11]
Admission
Admission is based on multiple criteria including grades, standardized test scores, essays, teacher recommendations, extracurricular activities, awards earned, a creative project, and an admissions exam (currently the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT)).[12] The creative project portion was added in 2021.
Student body
As of October 2022[update], 43% of LASA students are white, 24.4% are Asian, 21.9% are Hispanic, 8% are of mixed race, 2.7% are African American, and 0.1% are American Indian.[13] 13.6% of LASA students are low income. The percentages of low income, black, and Hispanic students at LASA decreased circa 2010-2015.[10] The move to the Johnston Campus saw the school increase enrollment significantly, adding nearly 200 students between 2021 and 2023. The student to body ratio is 1 teacher to 17.2 students.[14]
As of 2010, the school spends $3,665 per student for academic programs and $5,919 per student for all school functions.[15]
School rankings
In 2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked the school #32 among the nation's best high schools and #4 among high schools in Texas, with a score of 99.82 out of 100.[5]Niche's 2022-23 rankings placed LASA at #24 nationally, #12 among magnet schools, and #2 in the state of Texas.[16]Newsweek's Best STEM Schools 2020 ranked LASA #6 nationally and #3 in Texas.[17] 33 out of the 293 students in the LASA Class of 2022 were National Merit Finalists.[18]
Traditions
The traditional "Senior Assassins" game was ended in 2014 after word of the game leaked to the media. The game began in 2006. Seniors would collect an entry fee, then chase each other in hallways during class breaks, trying to mark and "tag" each other with markers. A student who got marked was "dead." The last survivor claimed the cash prize. In 2013, students were injured in the hallway by running seniors. Walls were rammed and holes had to be repaired. The game finally ended that year when a male student chased a female into the women's bathroom and she complained. In 2014, the administration helped organize the game, setting additional rules. A parent alerted the media and the subsequent attention caused the district to order the principal to shut the game down.[19] The game was restarted off-campus during the 2021-22 school year.
The official LASA mascot is the Raptor (short for velociraptor), decided upon via school-wide and alumni voting in February 2020.[20] Prior to separation from LBJ, LASA shared LBJ's mascot, the Jaguar, in University Interscholastic League and other collaborative events across the schools.[21]
Sports
LASA hosts the University Interscholastic League and intramural sports, including ultimate frisbee, golf, lacrosse, swimming, cross-country, and tennis. LASA split its UIL athletic teams from LBJ's in the 2020-2021 school year and formed its own football, basketball, and other sports teams. The school offers 18 UIL sports and 2 intramural sports.[22]
Clubs and student organizations
As of January 2024, LASA offers 139 clubs and student organizations. These vary with each school year, and students may apply to create new clubs.[23]
Debate
LASA's debate team competes in Policy Debate. The team is nationally ranked and has qualified a team to the Tournament of Champions every year since 2016. In 2017, LASA had their first team on the Coaches Poll and they finished the year ranked 14th.[24] The same team made it to octofinals of the Tournament of Champions that year and won the Texas Forensic Association State Tournament and the Harvard Debate Tournament.[25] In the final 2018 coaches poll, LASA finished the year ranked 15th in the country.[26]
In the 2020-21 school year, the program was able to qualify 3 teams to the Tournament of Champions for the first time and a fourth team qualified via the at-large application process.[27] That year, the team also won the Bingham Policy Invitational.[28] They are coached by Yao Yao Chen, a volunteer, who won the Kandi King Award for Coaching Excellence in 2021 from the Winston Churchill Classic Tournament.[29] Chen also coaches debate at Kealing Middle School, whose students compete with the LASA debate team in tournaments.
In the 2021-22 season, LASA won the Grapevine tournament and had 3 of the 4 teams in the semifinal round.[30] They also won the Meadows Invitational and Alexandrea Huang and Samuel Church were the top 2 speakers, respectively.[31] In the Texas Forensic Association State Tournament, LASA was 5 of the 19 teams that made it to elimination rounds and made it to the final round.[32] At the Tournament of Champions, they had 2 teams in octofinals, the strongest performance in school history to date.[33] In the last coaches poll that year, LASA was ranked 7th and 9th by the best debate coaches nationwide.[34]
In the 2022-23 season, LASA won the Grapevine tournament for the second year in a row and Eleanor Barrett received the first-place speaker award.[35] LASA also won the Westminster tournament and Greenhill Classic.[36][37] At the St. Marks Heart of Texas tournament, the team won the Junior Varsity and Varsity divisions. In Junior Varsity, Anita Sosa and Bilal Faisal were the top 2 speakers, respectively. In Varsity, Alexandrea Huang, Sam Church and Eleanor Barrett received the top 3 speaker awards.[38] On every coaches poll, the team containing Alexandrea Huang and Sam Church were ranked 1st in the country. In the first coaches poll, the team of Eleanor Barrett and Lucy Loehr were ranked 6th.[39][40] At state that year, LASA had 6 teams make it to elimination rounds and one team was in finals.[41] Alexandrea Huang and Sam Church won the Tournament of Champions that year, becoming the first Texan public school to win the tournament.[42]
Science Olympiad is also offered at LASA as a club. LASA placed in the top 3 in Texas every year from 2005 to 2021 and in 2023, including a streak of first-place finishes from 2007 to 2012. In 2015, the Science Olympiad team placed 3rd in Nationals.[45]
Theatre
The LASA Theatre troupe is called the Alley Cat Players. It puts on multiple plays and a musical each year. Some shows are performed at the LASA theater, also known as the Gordon A. Bailey Performing Arts Center, while some are performed at the Austin ISD Performing Arts Center. Previous plays include Cinderella Waltz, Twelfth Night, The Insanity of Mary Girard, and The Island of Dr. Moreau. Previous Musicals include Legally Blonde: the Musical and Into the Woods both of which were nominated for HAYA awards. ACP's 2023-2024 season includes A Midsummer Night's Dream, Les Miserables, and Clue.
Additionally, the Alley Cat Players also take part in the highly competitive statewide UIL One-Act Play competition each year. Past competition pieces include Inverse Functions, Ducks and Lovers, and Big Love. Most recently, in 2023, LASA's production of W;t by Margaret Edson advanced to the fourth round of competition, winning many awards, including a Best Performer award in addition to a member of the All-Star Technical Crew at each competition circuit.
To graduate with LASA's magnet endorsement, students must complete a minimum of 15 magnet classes, including a minimum three years of one Language Other Than English (LOTE), four years of English, three years of social studies, four years of math (or until they complete multivariable calculus), and four years of science. LASA offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses covering 30 Advanced Placement tests. Some AP courses, such as AP World History, AP English, and AP Physics, are mandatory for students at LASA. Students may begin taking AP classes in 9th grade.[47]
Additionally, LASA high school offers specialized electives such as How To Be An Adult, Astronomy, Medical Microbiology, Amateur Radio, and Modern Physics. As of 2019, LASA has 20 elective science classes, including astronomy, forensic science, and modern physics.[48] Electives for humanities include creative writing, women's literature, amateur radio, and constitutional law.
LASA students are eligible to participate in the LBJ Fire Academy, a two year firefighting and EMT training course. The Fire Academy is a Texas Commission on Fire Protection (TCFP) approved firefighter certification program and a Texas Department of State Health Services approved EMT certification program. At the time of the program's founding in 2006, it was exclusive to LBJ students. The Fire Academy later expanded to allow students from 7 AISD high schools; LASA, Anderson, Austin, McCallum, Navarro, and Northeast.[50] Students begin the program their junior year with firefighter training, before switching to EMT coursework early in their senior year. The classes are "double-block", meaning students attend the academy for two class periods (three hours) every other day. Additional skills training is completed in 8-hour blocks on certain Saturdays. Students complete their "ride-outs" with the Austin Fire Department.
Computer Science
LASA{CS}, the computer science program at LASA, offers courses that cover Java, C++, data structures, Python, web and mobile applications, and digital electronics. Additionally, there is an independent study class to allow more advanced students to work on their own projects. There are also many computer science clubs, such as Hack Club, CS Club, Raptor Works, Programming in Practice, CyberPatriot, and Women in Computer Science (WICS).[51]
Publications
LASA publishes its own newspaper, The Liberator, as well as its own yearbook, Stetson.[52][53]The Liberator was originally LBJ's newspaper; it was named after the abolitionist newspaper published in Boston in the 1800s. With the formal separation of LASA and LBJ in 2007, The Liberator became the official newspaper of both schools. LBJ withdrew from the joint publication at the start of the 2016-17 school year, due in part to the inclusion of an offensive graphic in the newspaper's February 2016 issue.[54] However, the schools were already beginning to separate several courses and electives by that time. Stetson was previously LBJ's yearbook. When LASA and LBJ began to share a campus, LASA produced the book for both campuses. In 2016, LBJ began its own yearbook again, and LASA kept the Stetson name.
Signature Courses
Students must take two "Signature Courses" in both their freshman and sophomore years. These Signature Courses are semester-long classes, with one period every day. Freshmen must take Introduction to Engineering ("SciTech") and Graphic Design and Illustration ("E-Zine"); sophomores take Introduction to the Humanities ("Great Ideas") and Biogeology ("Planet Earth" or "Plearth").[55]
