Papillion-La Vista High School’s heritage dates back to September, 1876. Originally housed in a single brick building at the corner of Halleck & Adams Streets, Papillion’s only school served students in all 12 grades. In 1893 the school moved to a new brick building at 420 S. Washington Street (the present site of the district offices.). Papillion continued to grow, and in February, 1957, Papillion High School opened in a new building across Washington Street (presently Papillion Jr. High) to students in grades 7 through 12. Papillion’s steady growth continued. By the fall of 1971, the high school moved into its present location at 402 East Centennial Road, serving students in grades 9 through 12. In 1987, La Vista was officially added to the district and the high school’s name was changed to Papillion-La Vista High School.

Through the years, the building has been expanded to include a pool, auditorium, tennis courts, second gymnasium, more classrooms and larger parking lots. In an effort to best meet the needs of our students, the most current renovations enlarged the front entrance/offices, added classrooms; expanded the pool, industrial arts and the band areas, created a student entrance, updated the cafeteria, and added a Field Turf playing field.  In the fall of 2023, we moved into a new addition that houses 20 new classrooms for Freshmen, a larger cafeteria, more locker room space, flexible learning spaces, and an entire wing for our expanding STEM coursework.

Those of us here at the “Old School” are proud of our rich tradition of academic and athletic excellence that has grown through the last century. From the first recorded graduate, Bert Wilcox in 1888 to the 476 seniors in the Class of 2023, the Monarch tradition of excellence continues…