SCAPA Bluegrass and Lafayette HS (Lexington, Clay: middle-class, high school, live)

[gimme it]

In my research, these arts programs look great. Are they very hard to get into, and for the high school, how is the overall environment outside of the magnet program?

[lexingtongal]

SCAPA is very competitive. Lafayette is not a bad school; not a great school. I would say it is safe and in a good area. I have heard that there are the fewest applicants (and hence better odds for admissions) in the creative writing field. It would be worth a call to the school to validate this but a parent whose child is now in SCAPA told me this.
When I was at UK I lived across the street from Lafayette. The kids drove better cars than I did!

[nlschr0]

Lafayette High has been called the "middle-class" high school. The area is safe, the school scores are ok (but not the greatest), there isn't a lot of diversity. It is, overall, an average, suburban, middle-class high school. Nothing spectacular, nothing horrible. Some parents complain about the administration being too distanced and unavailable.

SCAPA has a great program, especially considering the size of Lexington. There are some very talented students (and teachers) there. It is more difficult to enter the music and performing arts programs (from what I've heard). It also places a lot of emphasis on the arts, obviously. If your child has a strong interest in the arts (ie wants to seriously pursue them in the future) it is a great opportunity.

[Mogu23]

Lafayette is, as stated, the "middle-class" high school. It has a bit of everything in the curriculum, and a bit of every social group. Considering the options in Lexington, Lafayette might be one of the better choices due to the lack of harsh stereotyping.
Also, Lafayette features two programs for students: SCAPA and the Pre-Engineering Program. The Pre-Engineering program may not be as prestigious as Dunbar's Math and Science Program, but it does offer a lot of unique class options that become more in depth as the student gets older. SCAPA, on the other hand, has the best arts program in town. They offer studies in the performing arts, music, creative writing, and art. It becomes increasingly difficult to enter SCAPA as a student gets older, so if your child seems interested, they can audition and attend the school as early as the 4th grade.
Outside of the magnet program, the school itself is good. It's a bit above the average in studies, and you don't have to be in either program to be in specialized or advanced classes. However, the teachers will be different. There actually is quite a bit of diversity, and that's what sets Lafayette apart from the other Lexington schools. Most have large numbers of a single social group, and/or extreme stereotypes. It's a good choice.

[timelesschild]

I agree, Lafayette's diversity is good. Also, if you have a multi-talented child, s/he can actually attend both SCAPA and the Pre-Engineering magnet at the same time. It's really a good high school in a good location.

[teebird1012]

I'm not going to repeat the above posters because I would say exactly the same things. SCAPA is a great arts and music program and Lafayette's pre-engineering program is great. However outside of those programs, Lafayette falls behind, but not too much. I'd still look at Henry Clay (with the Academy program) or Dunbar (with the math and science program), if you're not interested in the pre-engineering or SCAPA programs.