History
In a meeting held February 10, 1910, Lafayette's school board decided to proceed with construction of a new school to replace the aging and inadequate Lafayette High School at Sixth and Columbia. The new school, a three-story brick building to be named Jefferson High School, was erected in the block between Ninth, Tenth, Elizabeth and Cincinnati Streets. Jefferson opened its doors to students in January 1912 and was formally dedicated April 2. The old high school building at Sixth and Columbia became a vocational school, with classes beginning July 1, 1913.
By the early 1960s, Lafayette's growing population prompted the board to consider either expanding the current school building or constructing a new facility. In 1965 they settled on the latter, and in 1966 a 43-acre (170,000 m2) section of land around the Pythian Home on South 18th Street was purchased to accommodate the project. The new Jefferson High School was dedicated May 24, 1970. The old Jeff building on North Ninth Street served from 1970 to 1982 as Tippecanoe Junior High School (Chargers) and was later occupied by Ivy Tech Community College; most recently it has been converted to apartments for the elderly.
Among Jefferson High School's programs are JEFF 92 (WJEF), a student-operated radio station broadcasting since 1972, and the Lafayette Jefferson Marching Band, conducted by Tom Barker, Bruce Knepper, Chad Young, and Jeff Parthun. Several notable choirs include the First Edition mixed show choir, the Expressions girls show choir, and the top ranked concert choir Varsity Singers. The band competes around the state during the regular season and travels across the continent for special performances, including the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada. The yearbook (The Nautilus) and the newspaper (The Booster) have both won numerous awards for their achievements in the journalistic world. The school also jointly operates with Purdue University the ESports@Jeff program to provide videos, statistics and other content wirelessly during athletic events, and operates STRIVE, a community service organization that helps Make a Wish Foundation, Habitat for Humanity and other charitable groups.
Scheumann Stadium, a multipurpose football/track/soccer facility, opened in 2004. Construction on the Rohrman Center for the Performing Arts completed in 2010 and includes additional practice and performance rooms for the school's bands and choirs. The school is a part of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference consisting of all Indianapolis schools except for Harrison and McCutcheon who also reside in the Lafayette/West Lafayette area. The school is largely diverse with about 1/3 white, 1/3 mexican, and 1/3 african-american.
Read more about this topic: Jefferson High School (Indiana)
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