Lanier Junior Senior High School

Lanier Junior Senior High School, formerly W. H. Lanier High School, is a public middle and high school located in Jackson, Mississippi, United States. It is part of the Jackson Public School District. The current principal is Valerie Bradley.^[5] There were a total of 872 students enrolled in Lanier High, then only a high school, during the 2006–2007 school year. The gender makeup of the district was 52% female and 48% male. The racial makeup of the school is 100% African American.^[6]

Lanier Junior Senior High School
Address
833 West Maple Street Jackson , Mississippi United States
Information
School type	Secondary
Motto	"Enhancing Today's Minds to Lead Tomorrow's Future."
Established	1925[1]
School district	Jackson Public School District
Superintendent	Cedric Gray[2]
Principal	MRS. STACEY WEBB BAILEY
Staff	72.37 (FTE)[3]
Enrollment	863 (2023–2024)[3]
Student to teacher ratio	11.92[3]
Color(s)	Maroon and white   [4]
Mascot	Bulldog
Feeder schools	Rowan Middle School
Website	Official website

History

Lanier was founded in 1925 as a junior and senior high school. It was named after William Henry Lanier (1855–1929), who was superintendent of black schools in Jackson from 1912 until his death.^[1] Due to segregation, Lanier was reserved for black students until 1969,^[7] when Jackson schools were integrated by law.^[8]

In 2023, Brinkley Middle consolidated into Lanier High.^[9]

Feeder pattern

The following schools fed into Lanier High School as of 2007.^[10]

• Middle schools
  • Brinkley Middle School
• Elementary schools
  • Dawson Elementary School
  • Galloway Elementary School
  • Johnson Elementary School
  • Smith Elementary School
  • Walton Elementary School

Notable alumni

• Lerone Bennett Jr., author and social historian
• Monta Ellis, former NBA player
• Daryl Jones (born 1955), (Democratic politician) in Miami, Florida
• Arvesta Kelly, ABA basketball player^[11]
• Gilbert Mason, family physician, civil rights leader, and author^[12]
• Richard Wright, renowned African-American author; attended Lanier but dropped out to earn money for his family^[13]

References

1. "School History". Lanier High School. Jackson (MS) Public Schools. Retrieved October 20, 2017. Lanier was first organized as a junior-senior high school in 1925 providing instruction for pupils from the seventh through the twelfth grades.
2. "Superintendent". Retrieved December 17, 2008.
3. "Lanier High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved December 18, 2024.
4. "MHSAA School Directory". Mississippi High School Activities Association. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
5. "Administration / Principal". http. Retrieved November 2, 2019.
6. "Mississippi Assessment and Accountability Reporting System". Office of Research and Statistics, Mississippi Department of Education. Archived from the original on March 23, 2007.
7. Dreher, Arielle (November 15, 2017). "How Integration Failed in Jackson's Public Schools from 1969 to 2017". Jackson Free Press.
8. Taylor, Ayana (May 12, 2004). "JPS, Then and Now". Jackson Free Press. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
9. Jackson, Torsheta (July 25, 2023). "Two Jackson Public Schools Merge, Creating the District's First 7-12 Institution in Years". Mississippi Free Press. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
10. Feeder Patterns Archived October 11, 2007, at the Wayback Machine – Jackson Public Schools.
11. [http://themississippilink.com/wp- content/uploads/2012/01/July-10-2014.pdf Jackson's 'Legends of Basketball' reunion brings together Brinkley, Jim Hill and Lanier high school players who 'ruled the court']
12. https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/dr-gilbert-r-mason-sr-39#:~:text=Mason%2C%20Sr.%2C%20“wade,Tennessee%20State%20University%20in%201949.
13. Rayson, Ann. "Richard Wright's Life." Modern American Poetry. Nelson, Cary and Brinkman, Bartholomew, eds. Department of English, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: 2001.

External links

• Official website

32°19′4″N 90°12′11″W