The History of Marion L. Lasley Elementary School

Lasley Elementary School is named in honor of Marion L. Lasley,
the long time owner and farmer of the land where the school now rests.
The Lasley property was first owned by Dr. George Bancroft, who sold it
to the Kramm family. Marion L. Lasley purchased the land from Mr. Kramm.
The Lasley family raised alfalfa, hay, and grain. One well-remembered event
on the Lasley farm is the Thanksgiving Day turkey shoot held annually
for the area residents.

This ten acre plot of land was purchased by the Jefferson County
School District on July 15, 1957. Lasley Elementary School
opened on September 6, 1960 to 541 kindergarten, fourth, fifth,
and sixth grade students. The primary students attended
the Cloverdale Cottages. The original Lasley school contained
12 classrooms, a kindergarten room, offices, a library, a cafeteria,
and gym.

In 1963, an addition brought eight new classrooms to the school.
The cottage buildings (Lasley Main, I, II, III, and Bancroft) were ultimately
included under the Lasley name and administration.
Lasley reached its peak in enrollment in the 1969 - 1970 school year with
1,457 students. Another addition followed in 1996, with classes added for
the first and fourth grades. In 2000, a renovation to the school added
a kindergarten wing, a new gym, library, cafeteria, music room, and art room.
After this addition, the last of the Lasley Cottages were no longer needed
for classrooms.

First Principal at Lasley Elementary - David McDonald

Lasley celebrated our fifty-fifth anniversary in October of 2015.
John and Dottie Lasley were our special guests at the celebration. John
is the grandson of Marion Lasley.