La Plata High School

La Plata High School
Location
6035 Radio Station Road

,
20646

United States
Coordinates38°32′46.1″N 76°57′1.4″W / 38.546139°N 76.950389°W / 38.546139; -76.950389
Information
Established1927
PrincipalDouglass Dolan[1]
Staff72.00 (FTE)[2]
Grades9-12
Student to teacher ratio15.39[2]
ColorsNavy Blue and White
Athletics conferenceSouthern 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]

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.[9]

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]

Notable alumni

References

  1. ^ "Administrative Team". Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "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. ^ 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.