Lanier High School

The story of Lanier High School is inextricably tied to the decades-old history of the original schools that served the uppermost regions of Gwinnett County. In 1958, North Gwinnett High School opened, combining the students from two long-standing schools— the Suwanee School (established circa 1890s) and the Sugar Hill High School (established 1915). The Suwanee and Sugar Hill schools continued to serve students in grades one through seven.

North Gwinnett High School grew beyond anyone’s imagination during the boom years of the 1990s. Rapid growth in the northern areas of the county resulted in the creation of three new clusters that each claimed students from North Gwinnett High. The clusters are Collins Hill, Peachtree Ridge, and Mill Creek clusters. The opening of Lanier High marked the fourth split of North Gwinnett High School, and brought the community of Sugar Hill full circle to having a high school located within its boundaries once again.

The long history of educational achievement on this site began with the opening of Lanier Middle School in 1973. The middle school resided on this site until it relocated to its new facility in August of 2008. Lanier High inherited its name from Lanier Middle which was named after poet Sydney Lanier, a Georgia native and namesake of Lake Lanier, a nearby landmark and northern boundary of the Lanier Cluster.

Lanier High School sits on a 66-acre tract that has been pieced together over the years from local land owners. The hometown spirit established in the cluster’s elementary and middle schools has laid the foundation for the family spirit that is genuinely embraced at Lanier High, where the focus is on providing personalized instruction to empower all students to Learn, Lead, and Succeed.

Just as the world is changing... so are high schools! Gwinnett County Public Schools is committed to providing students with more of the advanced skills they need to be successful, productive citizens in college, career, and life. An example of that commitment is the creation of Academies at seven Gwinnett high schools— including Lanier High School. The primary goal of the College and Career academies is to provide relevant, real-world experiences and opportunities for students to apply their learning outside the confines of the classroom. At Lanier High, the offering of Academy programs was a natural transition as the school already offered students opportunities through its Center for Design and Technology (CDAT) program. In addition to the CDAT Program, Lanier High students can participate in the Multimedia and Fine Arts Academy, Global Business and Leadership Academy, and the Life and Health Sciences Academy. These programs, along with the extensive Advanced Placement offerings, help to ensure that Lanier students are college and career ready. 

     Since opening, Lanier High School has earned a number of accolades including:

• Acknowledgement as an Advanced Placement (AP) Honor School in multiple categories;
• The establishment of the Lanier Cluster Education Foundation which supports academic endeavors for the Lanier Cluster schools;
• Fine Arts honors including “excellent” and “superior” ratings for band, chorus, and orchestra and students who have earned spots in the All-State Chorus and All-State Orchestra;
• Selection by Georgia Tech to participate in a National Science Foundation grant to promote computing using music technology;
• Recognition by Washington Post in its list of Most Challenging Schools;
• The Counseling Department has been recognized for its implementation of Gwinnett’s 21st Century Comprehensive Counseling Program;
• The Lanier High School Marketing Program was awarded Industry Certification;
• An LHS Robotics Team placed 1st in the State Robotics competition;
• Lanier’s Center for Design and Technology (CDAT) program earned STEM Certification from the Georgia Department of Education— it was the first traditional public high school (non-magnet, non-charter) program to earn this distinction;
• In athletics, Lanier teams experience success in competition and have earned recognition for sportsmanship;
• Lanier High and the Lanier Cluster earned a 2015 Innovation and Transformation Award from GCPS;
• Lanier was honored with the 2015 Southern Region Education Board (SREB) High Schools That Works Assignments Award.
• Lanier High School Principal Dr. Reuben Gresham has been awarded the Henk Koning Exemplary Educator Award by the National Career Academies Coalition (NCAC). The award recognizes an academy educator who has made a significant contribution to the success of a career academy. Dr. Gresham’s leadership has allowed the school’s four academies—the Center of Design & Technology (STEM), Life & Health Sciences, Global Business & Leadership, and Multimedia & Fine Arts, to thrive. He has helped foster and develop a stable leadership group that includes an academy coach and academy leads who work directly with administrators and counselors to ensure students are supported. 
• In November of 2017, the Lanier Cluster (which includes Lanier High School, Lanier Middle School, Sugar Hill Elementary School, Sycamore Elementary School, and White Oak Elementary School) was named one of this year’s P21 honorees, earning the designation of “Exemplar.” For over a decade the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21), has advocated for 21st century readiness for everyone. P21 brings together business, government, and education leaders and is focused on advancing evidence-based education policy and practice and making innovative teaching and learning a reality for all. Through the P21 Exemplar Program, the group seeks to identify, document, promote, and celebrate examples of 21st century learning initiatives that successfully prepare students for college, career, and life.