La Follette High School

Robert M. La Follette High School is a public high school located in Madison, Wisconsin, serving the city's far east side with its attendance boundaries including parts of the City of Madison, City of Fitchburg, Town of Blooming Grove, and Town of Burke, teaching students in grades 9-12. Founded in the fall of 1963, it is a part of the Madison Metropolitan School District, and is named after former lawmaker and 1924 presidential candidate Robert M. La Follette, Sr.

Renovations
A 2020 referendum approved extensive renovations to the school. Renovation planning occurred in 2021, with construction scheduled to last from May 2022 to August 2024.

The renovations to the athletic spaces include a new gym and weight room, and renovated locker rooms that can each be separated into two smaller rooms. The existing spectator gym, separated from the rest of the athletic facilities, is being turned into classroom space. The stadium was remodeled.

Academics
La Follette offers diverse academic opportunities, drawing upon its 14 academic departments and more than 150 faculty offering instruction in more than 250 courses in 100 different fields of study. Courses are taught in a variety of academic settings, from traditional classrooms to community-based service experiences. Additional opportunities for growth and leadership are offered through involvement in numerous student organizations. The school began offering American sign language as a foreign language in 1998, and other schools have modeled their programs after La Follette's.

Honors and advanced classes are part of the curriculum. Advanced Placement (AP) courses include Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Environmental Science, Statistics, French Language and Culture, Spanish Language and Culture, Music Theory, Psychology, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Modern European History, Computer Science Principles, and Computer Science A. Courses are available in advanced physics, advanced chemistry, anatomy, literature, composition, creative writing, and computer programming.

Academic departments

 * Applied Technology
 * Art
 * AVID/TOPS
 * Business, Marketing, and IT
 * English
 * Family and Consumer Education
 * Math
 * Multilingual Education (ESL)
 * Music
 * Physical Education and Health
 * Science
 * Social Studies
 * Special Education
 * World Languages

Clubs
La Follette offers nearly four dozen extra-curricular clubs, spanning a wide variety of student interests, including academic, athletic, social, fine arts, science, health and others, such as gaming clubs.

Club sports include basketball, rugby, bowling, ultimate frisbee, and volleyball.

Athletics
La Follette is part of WIAA Big 8 Conference. La Follette athletics include girls' volleyball, boys' volleyball, girls' soccer, boys' soccer, boys' basketball, girls' basketball, wrestling, boys' track & field, girls' track & field, football, girls' swim, boys' swim, boys' cross country, girls' cross country, dance, cheer, hockey, girls' golf, boys' golf, baseball, softball, girls' tennis, boys' tennis.

Arboretum
La Follette has one of the few on-ground arboretums in the state. It was designed to have three ecosystems, including prairie, woodland and pond.

Board of visitors
La Follette's board of visitors serves as an advocate for the school, and is the only school in the Madison area, and possibly the state, which has such a board. Drawing upon experiences and resources of alumni, parents and other patrons, the board's mission is to empower students and faculty while building community. The board assists in fundraising, business, community outreach, public affairs, student support and teacher support.

Business
In 2011, Summit Credit Union began operations at La Follette High School. In ensuing years, branches were opened at other Madison-area high schools. The branch is staffed by interns from the La Follette career internship class and is open during the lunch hour.

Presidential visit
On September 28, 2010, the school was visited by President Barack Obama, who made an unannounced stop ahead of a late-afternoon rally on the UW-Madison campus.

Publications
The Lance is the student newspaper for La Follette; its yearbook is known as The Statesman; The Lancer Legend is the parent newsletter.

Notable alumni

 * Ron Kanter, 1965; EMMY for Cinematography, 1987
 * Marc Behrend, 1979; former professional hockey player
 * Craig Brown, 1994; curler
 * Erika Brown, 1992; curler
 * Savion Castro, 2012; member of the Board of Education in Madison, Wisconsin
 * Chuck Chvala, 1973; former State Senate Majority Leader
 * Brian Detter, 1977; business executive and former defense official
 * Dianne Hesselbein, 1989; member of Wisconsin State Assembly
 * Tim Jordan, 1982; former professional football player
 * Peter Mueller, 1972; speed skater
 * Nicole Newman, 2014; softball player
 * Jeff Nygaard, 1990; Olympic beach volleyball player, 2004; U.S. Men's Olympic National Indoor team, 1996, 2000
 * Craig Smith, 2008; current NHL player for the Washington Capitals and former University of Wisconsin hockey player
 * Jonte Flowers, 2003; Professional Basketball Player