Lathrop High School

Lathrop High School is a large, traditional public high school in Fairbanks, Alaska, serving 788 students in grades 9–12 as part of the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. The school currently holds a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger and ranks 40th out of 62 Alaska high schools, placing it solidly in the middle of the pack statewide.

Lathrop's academic profile is mixed, and its most pressing challenge is English Language Arts. Only 26.9% of 9th graders are proficient in ELA — down noticeably from 37.6% four years earlier — a figure that trails the state 9th-grade average of 31.2% by a wide margin. Nearby West Valley High School posts a 41.2% proficiency rate, nearly 15 points higher. Math, by contrast, is less alarming than it first appears: Lathrop's 19.0% 9th-grade proficiency rate is above both the district (17.7%) and state (17.9%) 9th-grade averages, and essentially tied with West Valley (19.2%). Science is a relative bright spot, with 39.3% of 10th graders proficient — comfortably above the state average of 33.0% and roughly in line with North Pole High School.

The school's strongest positive story is its graduation rate, which has climbed from 61.4% to 78.2% over three years. Still, that rate is the lowest among the district's traditional high schools — Hutchison High School graduates 83.8%, North Pole 86.1%, and West Valley 90.9%. Lathrop also serves a more economically disadvantaged population than its neighbors, with 32.2% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, which provides important context for comparisons. The school has seen notable improvement among its low-income students in recent rankings, a promising sign that supports are reaching those who need them most. Outcomes vary across student groups, however, and closing those gaps will be key as Lathrop looks to build on its graduation momentum.