La Plata High School

La Plata High School
Location
6035 Radio Station Road

La Plata
,
Maryland
20646

United States

38°32′46.1″N 76°57′1.4″W / 38.546139°N 76.950389°W / 38.546139; -76.950389
Information
Established1927
Principal
Douglass Dolan[1]
Staff72.00 (FTE)[2]
Grades9-12
Student to teacher ratio
15.39[2]
ColorsNavy Blue and White ██
Athletics conference
Southern Maryland Athletic Conference
MascotWarrior[3]
Feeder SchoolsPiccowaxen, Somers
Websitehttps://www.ccboe.com/schools/laplata/

La Plata High School is part of the Charles County Public Schools and is located in La Plata, Maryland, United States. The current school was built in 1979. Before that, it was in the building (built in 1964) which now holds Milton M. Somers Middle School.[4][5]

History

On November 9, 1926, the La Plata Elementary School was destroyed by a tornado that killed 13 students.[6][7] That two room building was replaced by a new school that housed both an elementary and high school for La Plata.[8]

The school opened in 1927, taking over from the McDonough Institute, which was Charles County's first high school.[9] The school was segregated by race. In 1958, the Charles County Community College began meeting at La Plata High School. This college would eventually evolve into the College of Southern Maryland, with the college moving to a campus on Mitchell Road west of La Plata in 1968.[10]

In 1964, around 50 students from the all-black Bel Alton High School integrated La Plata High School under the security of FBI agents.[11] The county began desegregation in earnest in 1966. In 1969, African American students protested racial injustice in the school after the school did not allow African Americans to become majorettes. Students organized a sit-in and a walk-out, and were punished by not being given their diplomas during graduation. The students received their diplomas in 2021 after a special ceremony.[12] In 2022, a Confederate flag was found flying outside of the school by JROTC members,[13] prompting an investigation by the Charles County Sheriff's Office.[14]

The school moved to Oak Avenue in 1964 into the building which is now Milton M. Somers Middle School. The school moved to its present location on Radio Station Road in 1979.[9] Plans for renovations, including the addition of a natatorium,[15] have occurred in the 2020s.[16]

Academics

Advanced Placement courses are offered at La Plata, with an AP participation rate of 41% as of 2024.[17]

Extracurricular activities include Key Club, band and orchestra, Envirothon,[18] and student government, among others.[19]

The represented JROTC branch at La Plata is the U.S. Navy.[20]

Demographics

As of 2025, La Plata High School has an enrollment of 1,217 students with a demographic profile of 52.67% White, 26.79% Black, 2.55% Asian or Pacific Islander 9.37% Hispanic, 0.33% American Indian, and 7.89% Other Races.[2]

Sports

La Plata is a member of the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference.[21]

The school won state championships in baseball in 2008, 2016, 2019, and 2021.[22] In women's basketball, La Plata won a state championship in 1977.[23]

In marching band, the Marching Warriors were USBands group 2A state champions in 2023.[24][25]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Administrative Team". Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "La Plata High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  3. ↑ School Information Archived 2008-01-29 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Partlow, Joshua (January 20, 2005). "Anticipating Growth, Charles Weighs New Government Building". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 24, 2007.
    In turn, Milton Somers was housed until 1964 in the Government Building, on Baltimore Street.
  5. ↑ Kathryn Cochrane Newcomb (1981). "What's In a Name?". Charles County Board of Education. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  6. ↑ Thomas R. Brooks (November 1926). "The Tornado in Southern Maryland, November 3, 1926". Monthly Weather Review. 54, 11 (11). American Meteorological Society: 462. Bibcode:1926MWRv...54..462B. doi:10.1175/1520-0493(1926)54<462:TTISMN>2.0.CO;2.
  7. ↑ "La Plata Elementary School". The Historical Marker Database. February 3, 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
  8. ↑ Zilliox, Jacqueline (2007). Charles County. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-4407-6.
  9. 1 2 Bowling, Llyold S. "The RECORD" (PDF). Historical Society of Charles County. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  10. ↑ "FACT BOOK 2018-2019" (PDF). College of Southern Maryland. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  11. ↑ Anfenson-Comeau, Jamie (September 14, 2016). "Fair talks shine light on Charles County school desegregation". Southern Maryland News. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  12. ↑ Ramirez, Stephanie (June 10, 2021). "La Plata High School 'champions of civil rights' celebrate graduation over 5 decades later". Fox 5. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Confederate flag found hanging from flagpole at La Plata High School". WJLA-TV. May 19, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Charles County Sheriff's Detectives Attempting to Identify the Suspects Involved in Raising Confederate Flag at La Plata High School". Charles County Sheriff's Office. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  15. ↑ Jennings, Jessica (February 20, 2025). "Charles County Plans For Indoor Natatorium At La Plata High School". TheBayNet. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  16. ↑ Williams, Ilana (December 16, 2025). "School system continues La Plata High School renovation plans". Southern Maryland News. Retrieved June 4, 2026.
  17. ↑ "La Plata High School". U.S. News and World Report. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  18. ↑ "Charles County Students Bring Home Fourth-Place Finish From Maryland Envirothon". The Bay Net. June 16, 2026. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  19. ↑ "Organizations". La Plata High School. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  20. ↑ Higgins II, David M. (November 28, 2019). "JROTC students learn about character, leadership". Southern Maryland Chronicle. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  21. ↑ Massie, Jerold (September 8, 2018). "SMAC Week 2 Varsity Football Scores". The Bay Net. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  22. ↑ "The La Plata High School Warriors Baseball Program". LeagueLineUp. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  23. 1 2 3 "La Plata High School Announces Inaugural Athletic Hall Of Fame Class Of 2026". The Bay Net. June 13, 2026. Retrieved June 23, 2026.
  24. ↑ "MARYLAND & VIRGINIA STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS". USBands. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  25. ↑ "La Plata High School Marching Band compete on a National Level". Charles County Public Schools. November 6, 2023. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
  26. ↑ "VAN T. MITCHELL". Maryland Manual On-Line. Retrieved May 1, 2026.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.