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Frequently Asked Questions
What and where is LASA High School?
Why should my child consider attending LASA?
How do students get to and from LASA?
Are there required courses for my child's freshman year?
What is the difference between Magnet and Topics?
What is a signature course?
How many classes do students take at LASA?
What is the amount of homework we can expect?
What extracurricular activities are available to my student?
What is the graduation expectation for LASA students?
What college application assistance is available to my student when he/she gets to that point?
What and where is LASA High School?
LASA is the Austin Independent School District's advanced academic magnet high school. It was created in 2002 when the Liberal Arts Academy and the Science Academy magnets merged thus creating a program that has advanced academics in every curricular area. LASA shares facilities with LBJ High School, the neighborhood comprehensive high school, at 7309 Lazy Creek Drive, Austin, Texas.
Why should my child consider attending LASA?
Rigor: The curriculum for every course -- Math, English, Science, Social Studies, and Art-- is written to go above and beyond state and district standards.
Community: Students take courses with teachers who are experts in their field and attend classes with students who enjoy the challenge provided by those teachers.
Inquiry: Many of our courses rely heavily on discussion and seminar style delivery of the course information. Other courses rely heavily on the use, interpretation, and delivery of research.
Excellence: Teachers, students, and parents recognize that these four years are only the preparation for the next level. Discussions of college selection, admissions, scholarships, letters of recommendation, and financial aid enter into conversations in the classroom beginning the freshman year.
How do students get to and from LASA?
LASA students receive free transportation on Capital Metro buses from all corners of the district. Students usually arrive at LBJ shortly after 7 a.m. and depart around 3:55 pm. Students who need to stay late for tutoring, athletics, band, or other activities can catch the late bus that leaves LBJ around 6:15 pm.
Are there required courses for my child's freshman year?
Entering freshmen must take English, Math, Social Studies, Science, a Language other than English, two LASA signature courses -- Science and Technology and Electronic Magazine -- and one elective.
What is the difference between Magnet and Topics?
Some of the LASA academic departments have two approaches to curriculum in our core courses.
The term Topics originally described the difference between the two levels of math offered by the Science Academy. If a student took Topics math, then they were on track to take BC Calculus before they graduated. Other Science Academy students were on track to finish with AB Calculus.
What is a signature course?
One of the cornerstones of LASA is the group of courses known as Signature Courses. These innovative classes are collaborative in nature and challenge the students to work together--in research, design, implementation and presentation of projects. LASA students take Electronic Magazine and Science and Technology as freshmen, and then take Planet Earth and Great Ideas as sophomores.
How many classes do students take at LASA?
The school day has eight periods. The school day starts at 8:00 am and ends at 3:40 pm. If a student takes a before school or after school athletic course or a dual credit course with ACC (of which the first six hours are free to students after completing sophomore year), those courses will increase the number of courses that the student will be enrolled. Due to the double-blocked nature of the signature courses for freshman and sophomores, these students will only have seven classes each semester.
What is the amount of homework we can expect?
Students should expect on average two hours of homework a night including weekends for an average of 14 hours a week. Topics classes may contain more material and therefore will require extra preparation. Comparing this amount to the standard for studying in college, two hours of studying for every hour of seat time, LASA students should expect to average studying 25 minutes for every hour of seat time.
What extracurricular activities are available to my student?
The extracurricular activities available can be classified into three areas: athletics, clubs and fine arts.
What is the graduation expectation for LASA students?
LASA students are encouraged to graduate with a magnet endorsement in addition to their diploma. The endorsement has three parts: graduating on the Distinguished Achievement Plan, Texas's most rigorous graduation plan; completing mathematics through precalculus; and being enrolled and earning credit in a math or science course in their senior year.
What college application assistance is available to my student when he/she gets to that point?
Beginning in Fall 2008, LASA was granted a Project ADVANCE facilitator (College Counselor) to help seniors and juniors and their families prepare for the college admissions process. This person will coordinate the college recruiter visits, the new Naviance college access system, secondary school reports, financial aid and scholarships. Additionally, each student at LASA is assigned a counselor who can assist in the college admissions process. In addition, the English IV classes have built into the curriculum the composition of college essays during the first semester. Also, the school hosts several nights in the second semester during junior year for parents to hear college, scholarship and financial aid information and then several nights during the senior year first semester for parents as a forum to ask questions and to ask for assistance.