| Highlands High School | |
|---|---|
| Motto | Tradition of excellence |
| Established | 1888 |
| Type | Public Secondary school |
| Principal | Brian Robinson |
| Asst. Principal | Matthew Haskamp |
| Faculty | approx. 70 |
| Students | approx. 800 |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Location | 2400 Memorial Pkwy, Fort Thomas, Kentucky, USA |
| District | Fort Thomas Independent Schools |
| Colours | Blue and White |
| Nickname | Bluebirds |
| Mascot | Bluebird |
| Average | ACT avg. 2010 - 23.3 [1], 2008 - 24.1 [2] |
| National ranking | Top 550 |
| Website | http://www.fortthomas.kyschools.us |
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 800 students in grades 9-12.
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Highlands High School was built in 1888. In 1937 the school added the north building, which is still in use today. However, the original south wing of the building was destroyed by fire in 1962, and was replaced by a new junior high school building. 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.
In 2007, Highlands was ranked 832nd in the nation by Newsweek,[3] 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.[4] 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[5] 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.[6]
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[7] and received a national "High Schools That Work" Gold Achievement Award in 2008.[8]
The school's nickname was "the Blue 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 5A. Prior to the realignment effected in the fall of 2007 that expanded the sport from four divisions to six, the football team played 3A. The football team plays two classes above the school's enrollment-assigned class.<http://www.highlands-bluebirds.com/>
Highlands' biggest rivalries are with Covington Catholic High School and Ryle High School, in Union, Kentucky.
The Bluebirds football team won their 20th state title in 2010, tying with Louisville Trinity for the state record.[9] This is one of six state records that Highlands holds. Highlands is also ranked third nationally, and second in the state, in all-time wins with 772, and have finished the football season nationally ranked on nine occasions. <http://www.highlands-bluebirds.com/> The football team has had eleven undefeated seasons, including 85 winning seasons out of a total of 96. The girls' soccer team won back to back state championships in 2005 and 2006,[10] and the boys' soccer team was state runner-up in 2008. The girls' cross country team won three consecutive state championships in 2002-2004 and in 1978-1980.[11] and the girls' track team also won state in 2009. Highlands has 49 state titles across all sports.