Lincoln High School is a public high school located in Leon County, Tallahassee, Florida. It offers an accelerated Advanced Placement (AP) program. In 2010, Newsweek ranked Lincoln High School as one of the top 100 high schools in the United States.
History
Lincoln High School was established in 1975 following the closure of the Old Lincoln High School in 1970 and relocation from its former location downtown to its current site in the southeast portion of the county.
Doug Frick was the first principal at Lincoln High School and served in that position until 1989. He was replaced that summer by William Montford, who had previously been the principal at Amos P. Godby High School. Montford served as Lincoln's principal until his election as the Leon County School Superintendent in the fall of 1996. Martha Bunch, an assistant principal under Montford since 1989, assumed the position of principal until the summer of 2008. In the 2008รข€"2009 school year, Merry Ortega served as interim principal until summer of 2009, when Allen Burch became principal. He is currently serving in that capacity.
Colors and mascot
Prior to the opening of Lincoln in September 1975, the entering students participated in the selection of green, gold, and white as school colors, signifying youth, vigor, merit, honor and wisdom. The mascot selected was the Trojan, which signifies personal strength, loyalty, courage, and leadership.
A six-foot statue of a Trojan, erected in the summer of 2007, stands in front of the main office.
Athletics
Lincoln High School's football program has been recognized at the national level as an elite high school program. Lincoln was named by Bleacher Report as the #4 top football factory in the nation for high school recruits. In 2012, Lincoln gained national exposure by beating St. Paul High School (Covington, Louisiana) in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome during the Allstate Sugar Bowl Prep Kickoff Classic. In 2013, Lincoln participated in a kickoff classic game on ESPN, defeating South Gwinnett High School.
Lincoln has won state championships in 1999, 2001, and 2010.
Lincoln was state finalist in 1999, 2001, 2008, 2010, 2012.
Lincoln was regional champion in 1989, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012.
Lincoln was district champion in 1989, 1990, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.
Lincoln was city champion of Tallahassee in 1989, 1990, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011.
Lincoln's football team won the 1999 6A state championship by defeating Miami Southridge High School at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. In 2001, Lincoln won their 2nd state title, this time in the 4A classification, by defeating St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Doak Campbell Stadium. In 2008, Lincoln finished as state runner-up, losing to Plant High School from Tampa. In 2010, Lincoln brought home the 4A State Championship with a win over Seffner Armwood High School in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. The 2012 Lincoln Trojans finished as state runner-up after being defeated by St. Thomas Aquinas High School in the Citrus Bowl.
Kevin Carter, Antonio Cromartie, Zach Piller, Boo Williams, PJ Alexander, Craphonso Thorpe, Pat Watkins, Padric Scott, Jawanza Starling, B. J. Daniels and Omari Hand have represented the Trojans in the National Football League.
After the 2009 football season, the school was named a "Nike Elite" program, which includes a multi-year contract with Nike and makes the Trojans the only Nike Elite school in northern Florida, one of only five schools in the state to earn the honor, and one of 45 in the nation.
The boys' soccer team won the 1996 Class 6A State Championship. They also were the 1995 State runners-up to Bloomingdale High School and the 2005 State runners-up to Auburndale High School. In 2010, they reached the Final Four.
In baseball, Lincoln has had eight players selected out of high school by the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft:
- 1965: Thomas Lomack was selected by the Cleveland Indians
- 1986: Reggie Jefferson, Cincinnati Reds
- 2003: Clegg Snipes, Pittsburgh Pirates
- 2004: Michael Criswell, Colorado Rockies; Joe Bauserman, Pittsburgh Pirates
- 2006: Cole Figueroa and J.C. Figueroa, Toronto Blue Jays
- 2012: Raphael Andrades, Kansas City Royals
In 2003, Lincoln finished as state runner-up in the 5A classification after losing the championship game to Lakewood Ranch High School.
In 2007 the boys' lacrosse team became the first public school team in Tallahassee to defeat the Maclay School Marauders. The team won its first district title during the 2009-2010 season by defeating Leon and Chiles. They finished the year as one of the last eight teams playing in the state, eventually falling to the Bolles School in the regional final.
Academic extracurriculars
Lincoln has won several Big Bend Brain Bowl championships in the past three decades. Their last championship in the Tallahassee Democrat-sponsored tournament came in 2011 with team members securing a $2500 top prize. Prior to this title, the Lincoln Gold team won the regional title in 2004 by going undefeated in the playoffs.
In 2006-2007 the Lincoln Gold team won first-place honors at the University of Florida fall tournament and the Rickards High School fall tournament. They took second place at the Chiles High School tournament and the Florida State University tournament. On March 12, 2007, the team finished in first place at the Tallahassee Democrat Bowl.
Lincoln's Mu Alpha Theta club finished in second place at the State Convention, and in third place at Nationals in 2003. In 2004, Lincoln again placed second and third at the State and National Conventions, respectively, with the margin between first and second places at the State Convention being the smallest in history.
That year, the Precalculus team became the first from Tallahassee to win a State title in any division. The 2006 Calculus Team was the first team from Lincoln to ever win a National title in their division.
In recent years, the Lincoln band has earned the Florida Bandmasters Association's Otto J. Kraushaar Award, which is awarded to band programs in the state of Florida that receive Superior ratings at all marching and concert evaluations throughout the year. The Symphonic Band, Lincoln's top concert ensemble, participated in the 2005 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, Illinois. The Symphonic Band also appeared at the 2004 CBDNA/NBA Southern Division Conference, the 2002 and 2009 National Concert Band Festival, the 2001 University of Florida Concert Band Invitational, the 1999 ABA Convention, the 1997 Southeastern Band Clinic, and 2011 University of Georgia Janfest.
Lincoln High students have participated in History Fair since 1987-1988, and have advanced to the National competition for 17 straight years, earning two national third-place finishes.
Advanced Placement programs
Lincoln High School offers Advanced Placement (AP) programs to its students. The courses include:
- English Language and Composition
- English Literature and Composition
- Macroeconomics/US Government and Politics
- European History
- Human Geography
- Psychology
- U.S. History
- World History
- Chinese
- French
- Latin
- Spanish
- Art History
- Music Theory
- Studio Art
- Biology
- Chemistry
- Environmental Science
- Physics 1
- Physics 2
- Calculus AB and BC
- Statistics
Demographics
The demographics for the 2015-2016 school year are as follows:
- Total: (2,200) 100%
- Black students: 37%
- White students: 51%
- Minority students: 12%
- Male students: 1,122
- Female students: 1,078
- Total number of faculty: 110
- Number of Black teachers: 12
- Number of White teachers: 98
Notable alumni
- Javorius Allen - Baltimore Ravens and former University of Southern California running back
- Kevin Carter - former NFL player/sports broadcaster
- PJ Alexander (football player) Offensive Line - Syracuse University former New Orleans Saints former Denver Bronco former Atlanta Falcons
- Antonio Cromartie - New York Jets DB
- B.J. Daniels - Seattle Seahawks, former University of South Florida quarterback
- Lisa De Pasquale - political columnist
- Kyan Douglas - TV personality
- Cole Figueroa - New York Yankees infielder
- Reggie Jefferson - former Boston Red Sox DH/1B/OF
- Zach Piller - former Tennessee Titans OL
- Jawanza Starling - former Houston Texans/University of Southern California S
- Craphonso Thorpe - former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver
- Pat Watkins - former Dallas Cowboys safety
- Boo Williams - former New Orleans Saints tight end
- Fred Rouse - Former Florida State wide receiver
- Faculty
- Jacquez Green - former NFL player; offensive coordinator and head track coach from 2010-2012; became the offensive coordinator again starting in 2014
- Dean Palmer - former MLB player; baseball coach