Lehman Alternative Community School • 111 Chestnut St, Ithaca, NY 14850 • Phone: (607) 274-2183 • Fax: (607) 274-2351

The Lehman Alternative Community School is a small middle school/high school whose 275 students are chosen by a random lottery. It is a public school, with no tuition or fees for district students, with alternatives to traditional curriculum and school governance philosophies. LACS staff, especially at the high school level, design schedules and curriculum to allow students to study subjects of particular interest to them in-depth. Middle curriculum tends to be broader in topics covered. LACS does not depend on report cards or letter grades, but rather written evaluations, which are part of the school’s “Graduation By Exhibition” (GBE) in which students are required to fulfill a variety of "essentials" to meet graduation requirements.

• Lehman - Dave Lehman is the founder of the school. He founded the school in 1974, and served as its principal until he retired in 2004.
• Alternative - We are an alternative to traditional schools, in our curricular and school governance philosophies.
• Community - We believe in being both a community within our school and being part of the larger Ithaca community.
• School - Well, we do learn here! LACS is a school devoted to preparing its students for a successful life.

-> Click here for an application to LACS. <-