Los Alamos High School - History

History

Los Alamos High School was the second high school built in Los Alamos. Prior to the Second World War, the Los Alamos Ranch School functioned as a boarding school for wealthy easterners that combined elements of a college preparatory school with a rugged frontier life. In 1942 Los Alamos was chosen to be the site of the Manhattan Project. The US Government acquired the property of the Ranch School through eminent domain, and the school was shut down in 1943.

During wartime, structures in Los Alamos were temporary because people were expecting to leave after the wartime project was completed. In August 1945, following the Allied victory in Japan, it was decided the Los Alamos National Laboratory's nuclear research would continue in order to counter a rising Soviet threat. In 1946 Los Alamos begin erecting permanent structures, including Los Alamos High School. Life during the war and post-war transition was difficult for the first students of LAHS. "' normal teenagers trying to have a normal life in very adverse conditions," said Dan Nelis, one of the school's original students.

In 1946, much of the budget for construction and operation of the high school was provided directly by the Atomic Energy Commission instead of state or local taxes. This arrangement persisted under the Department of Energy and Washington has traditionally paid for a third of the school system's budget. Support from the federal government has been declining and was only 22% in the 2008–2009 academic year.

During the 1960s, LAHS began to attract attention for its consistent academic performance, low drop-out rate, and innovative teaching methods. President John F. Kennedy noted LAHS and other local schools during his visit to Los Alamos in 1962: "I've admired from some years ago, from reading an article about the kind of schools that you run here and the kind of boys and girls that you're bringing up." In 1964, after the assassination of President Kennedy, the community of Los Alamos erected a permanent memorial in his honor at the high school football field.

President Bill Clinton spoke at the school in 1993. In Clinton's speech, he marked the community's technological contributions to national security, and envisioned a new Post-Cold War role for the town in promoting technological advancement and prosperity. In October 1995 a delegation of nuclear scientists from Sarov (Los Alamos's Russian sister city) visited Los Alamos to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Allied Victory in WWII and the end of the Cold War. During their visit members of the delegation both attended and taught classes at Los Alamos High School and the University of New Mexico, Los Alamos. Clinton made an unscheduled appearance at LAHS in 1998 following a speech he gave at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. After passing students who had gathered to cheer his motorcade on his way to the speech, Clinton returned to greet the students and play saxophone.

In 2000, two students were slain before daylight on Good Friday while making a traditional religious pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayó. On May 10 many students lost their homes in the Cerro Grande Fire. The blaze also devastated the scenic forests and hillsides surrounding the school.

The school was used as a filming location for the 2010 film Let Me In, the American remake of the Swedish film Let the Right One In. Students from LAHS and the surrounding community participated as extras in the cast.