Rob Lyles is leading University Laboratory School into its next chapter by returning to its roots

Sponsored by University Laboratory School

Most days, Rob Lyles feels more like a parent than head of a school.

“It’s like being a father,” says Lyles, who just completed his first full year as director of University Laboratory School. “This place is such a close-knit community, it’s family.”

Lyles hasn’t just witnessed that special bond; he lived it for 13 years as a K-through-12 alum.

His parents attended. So did his wife, his brothers and his aunts. His two children walk the same halls their parents and grandparents once did.

When LSU tapped him to lead the school, it felt like a homecoming.

“I lead with that mindset and with that lens, that this is home,” he says. “And I believe in respecting your home, taking care of your home, nurturing it.”

That philosophy has shaped everything about year one. Lyles inherited a school with deep roots and a sterling reputation, but also one needing to, as he calls it, “Rebuild, Reconnect, Reset.”

The reconnect piece is particularly close to his heart. Lyles set about returning U-High to its identity as LSU’s premier laboratory for learning —a living, breathing demonstration of educational innovation on the flagship campus.

“We were founded as a demonstration school under the College of Education,” he says. “We’re supposed to be cutting-edge in innovation and research. That’s what I want to see out of here.”

To get there, Lyles forged partnerships across LSU’s colleges — Engineering for robotics, the Ag Center for a farm-to-school initiative, Computer Science for an AI curriculum.

Coming soon: an alliance with the School of Kinesiology for a sports medicine elective open to high school students.

“It’s reciprocal,” he says. “Our students get exposure and opportunities they wouldn’t have at a typical school. And LSU gets participants for research studies and first-hand exposure to educational best practices.

“That’s what it means to be a laboratory school.”

Those partnerships, Lyles stresses, are only as strong as the faculty behind them. This year, Lyles made three key administrative hires to strengthen the school’s K-12 framework, and he was clear about what he was looking for: experience, knowledge and a devotion to excellence.

“All of our teachers have master’s degrees, several are nationally board certified,” he says. “I want people to look at our brand and say, ‘That’s excellence at work.'”

Ask Lyles about the highlight of his first year and he doesn’t point to an athletic championship or an academic achievement or a fundraising milestone, although there were plenty of those to choose from. He points instead to that last week of school.

“With parents in and out, graduation, class celebrations and awards ceremonies … it’s the one time a year where the whole community is at school together to honor our students and their accomplishments,” he says. “That feeling is exactly why I agreed to take this job. That’s what we are: family and community. Every bit of the challenge is worth it for that moment.”

For families weighing their options, Lyles keeps it simple: “This is the place you want to send your kids. You’re going to get a phenomenal, well-rounded education—fine arts, athletics, college prep—built on an amazing faculty who genuinely love your children, with the LSU campus as your playground.”

“That tight-knit community is what makes U-High unique.”

For more information, visit uhigh.lsu.edu.