Highlands High School (Fort Thomas, Kentucky)

Fort Thomas Highlands High School, also known as Fort Thomas Highlands, is a public secondary school located in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. Operated by Fort Thomas Independent Schools, Highlands was founded in 1888. The school took its name from the original name of Fort Thomas, "The Highlands". It currently has around 900 students in grades 9-12.

History

Highlands High School was built in 1802. In 1937 the school added the north building, which is still in use today. In 2001, a new middle school building was built just north of the original site, and the high school took over the space previously occupied by the middle school. The gymnasium was added in 1956. The library, along with a separate addition, was built in 1971. In 2006, a renovation project started on the entire high school. Phase 1, which included renovating the north building, started in 2006 and was completed in 2009. Then phase 2 started in the summer of 2011 which included replacing the roof and the facade on the south building. The facade was replaced once before in 1978. Phase 2 was completed in 2012. Phase 3, which renovated the second and third floor of the south building was completed in 2013. And Highlands is currently building a field house complex with a weight room and dance studio that is expected to be completed in 2015.

Academics

In 2007, Highlands was ranked 832nd in the nation by Newsweek,^[4] and in the top 550 high schools by U.S.News & World Report. They boast ACT and SAT scores well above both state and national averages.^[5] Approximately 90% of the school's graduates go to college, and it is the only public high school in the state with a chapter of the Cum Laude Society. Highlands also has chapters of the National Honor Society, National English Honor Society, and Mu Alpha Theta. Twenty Advanced Placement classes are offered^[6] and the school is consistently a local leader in National Merit Finalists. Until 2009, Highlands won the We the People: The Citizen and the Constitution State Championships in six out of seven years, and placed in the top 25 at the National Finals in 2007.^[7]

The school was named a 2007 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School, the highest award that can be given to a school by the US Department of Education^[8] and received a national "High Schools That Work" Gold Achievement Award in 2008.^[9]

The Washington Post named Highlands the number one most challenging school in Kentucky in 2014.^[10]

Athletics

The school's nickname was "the Devils" until the 1920s, when the sports teams were renamed "the Bluebirds" due to public outrage from local churches concerning the use of "Devils." The school currently competes in the following sports:

With the exception of football, Highlands plays in the AA division. The football team currently plays in 4A and is consistently one of the top teams in the commonwealth of Kentucky. Prior to the realignment effected in the fall of 2007 that expanded the sport from four divisions to six, the football team played 3A.^[11]

Highlands' biggest rivalry is with Covington Catholic High School.

The Bluebirds football team won their 22nd state title in 2012, tying with Louisville Trinity for the state record and setting a new record for consecutive state football championships, six in a row.^[12] These are two of eight team state records that Highlands holds.^[13] Highlands is also ranked second nationally, and first in the state, in all-time wins with 842, and have finished the football season nationally ranked on eight occasions.^[13] The football team has had thirteen undefeated seasons, including 88 winning seasons out of a total of 98. The girls' soccer team won back to back state championships in 2005 and 2006,^[14] and the boys' soccer team was state runner-up in 2008. The girls' cross country team won three consecutive state championships in 2012-2014, 2002-2004, and in 1978-1980.^[15] and the girls' track team also won state in 2009. Highlands has 51 state titles across all sports.

Notable alumni

References

External links

• Official school site
• Official district site
• Historical Images of Fort Thomas Schools
• Site devoted to Highlands Football

Coordinates: 39°05′02″N 84°27′01″W / 39.08393°N 84.45019°W / 39.08393; -84.45019