Lake Central High School

Lake Central High School (LCHS) is a high school in St. John, Indiana, for students in grades nine through twelve. Its students come from St. John Township which includes the towns of St. John and Dyer (north of 101st Ave), the entire town of Schererville, unincorporated Crown Point (north of 101st Ave), and the southeastern section of Griffith that is within St. John Township. It is the only high school in the Lake Central School Corporation.

History
The school opened in 1967. It includes an attached freshmen wing (Freshmen Center) which opened in 1994. The current high school succeeded Dyer Central High School. The Dyer Central Building became the building for Kahler Middle School which is still part of the Lake Central School Corporation. The Dyer Central building was demolished in 1993–94 as part of renovations made to Kahler Middle school.

Some Lake Central students and faculty were the subject of an October 20, 2012, Wall Street Journal front-page article on their collective work to track down and document Indiana's battle casualties. A similar story appeared during the CBS Evening News in 2013 showing teacher and students working on their Hero Project. The principal of Lake Central High School is Sean Begley.

Academics
Lake Central offers its students numerous Advanced Placement and Dual Credit courses in order for students to earn college credit hours. Lake Central is a state-accredited school and offers its students three different potential diplomas (Core 40, Core 40 with Academic Honors, and Core 40 with Technical Honors).

Demographics
The demographic breakdown of the 3,233 students enrolled for the 2015-2016 school year was:


 * American Indian - 0.6%
 * Asian - 3.3%
 * Black - 6.2%
 * Hispanic - 13%
 * Multiracial - 3.6%
 * Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander - 0.1%
 * White - 73.2%

In addition, 17.3% of the students qualified for free or reduced lunch.

Renovations
Lake Central High School underwent many renovations from 2011-2016. In November 2011, voters of the Tri-Town community passed a building referendum to renovate and rebuild the school. The referendum, in which Lake Central and the district's Protsman Elementary School was renovated and rebuilt, was for $160,000,000. All academic areas of the school were rebuilt or improved, followed by fine arts and many new athletic facilities to help bring the school up to modern standards. This renovation was the first major and most recent renovation to the school, which opened its doors in 1967.

Athletics
Lake Central is a member of the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) and the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC), and offers its students twenty different school-sanctioned sports. The nickname for Lake Central's athletic teams is the "Indians." The school has won seven IHSAA State Championships. These championships include: 1987 Boys' Swimming, 1992 Softball, 1994 Girls' Basketball, 2002 Softball, 2004 Softball, 2010 Boys' Soccer, and 2012 Baseball.

Fall sports

 * Boys' Cross Country
 * Girls' Cross Country
 * Football
 * Girls' Golf
 * Boys' Soccer
 * Girls' Soccer
 * Boys' Tennis
 * Volleyball

Winter sports

 * Boys' Basketball
 * Girls' Basketball
 * Girls' Gymnastics
 * Boys' Hockey
 * Boys' Swimming
 * Girls' Swimming
 * Wrestling

Spring sports

 * Baseball
 * Boys' Golf
 * Softball
 * Boys' Track and Field
 * Girls' Track and Field
 * Girls' Tennis

Notable alumni

 * Eric Gehrig – Current MLS defender playing for the Chicago Fire. Former player for the Columbus Crew
 * Rob Mackowiak – Former MLB utility player for the Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres, Chicago White Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates
 * Bobby Pesavento – Former Arena Football League quarterback for the Austin Wranglers and Colorado Crush
 * Glenn Robinson III – Current NBA player for the Detroit Pistons. Former teams include the Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, and the Minnesota Timberwolves
 * Jared Tomich – Former defensive end for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team. Formerly played in the NFL for the New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers
 * Al Pilarcik - Former MLB outfielder for the Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Athletics. Additionally, Pilarcik served as a faculty member at Lake Central High School for 33 years, retiring in 2001.