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Highlands High School (Kentucky)

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Highlands High School
Location
Map
2400 Memorial Parkway

Fort Thomas, Kentucky
41075

United States

39°05′02″N 84°27′01″W / 39.0839°N 84.4502°W / 39.0839; -84.4502
Information
TypePublic secondary school
Established1888; 138 years ago (1888)
School district
Fort Thomas Independent Schools
SuperintendentBrian Robinson[1]
Principal
John Darnell[1]
Teaching staff
58.40 (FTE)[2]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,019 (2024–2025)[2]
Student to teacher ratio
17.45[2]
ColorsBlue and white     [3]
MascotBluebirds[3]
RivalCovington Catholic High School
USNWR ranking
865 (2025)[4]
NewspaperThe Hilltopper
YearbookThe Highlander Yearbook
Websitewww.fortthomas.kyschools.us/o/hhs

Fort Thomas Highlands High School, also known as Fort Thomas Highlands or Highlands High School, is a public secondary school located in Fort Thomas, Kentucky.[5] It is the sole high school for Fort Thomas Independent Schools. Enrollment for the 2024–25 school year was 1,019 in grades 9-12.[2]

Image
Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, Kentucky

History

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Highlands High School was founded in 1888, replacing Highlands Central School. In 1891, the first graduating class consisted of four students.[6] A new high school was built in 1914, but was destroyed in a fire in 1962. The current building was built in 1936 adjacent to the old building.[7] The school took its name from the original name of Fort Thomas, "The Highlands."[8]

Awards and recognition

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In 2025, U.S. News & World Report ranked Highlands as the 876th best high school in the United States and 6th best in Kentucky.[4] According to the Kentucky Department of Education report card for 2024–25, the school ranked as blue, the highest of 5 possible color categories, overall and in each metric listed.[9]

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[10] and received a national "High Schools That Work" Gold Achievement Award in 2008.[11]

The Washington Post named Highlands the number one most challenging school in Kentucky in 2014.[12]

Extracurricular Activities

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Athletics

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The school's nickname was "the Devils" until the 1930s, when the sports teams were renamed "the Bluebirds" due to public outrage from local churches concerning the use of "Devils."[7]

The Highlands Bluebirds football team won their 23rd state title in 2014, the second-most among Kentucky high school football teams. As of 2024, Highlands holds the state records for most consecutive state football championships with six in a row from 2007 to 2012, and in number of undefeated seasons at 13.[13] Highlands is also ranked fifth nationally, and first in the state, in all-time wins with 943 as of 2024.[14] The girls' soccer team won back to back state championships in 2005 and 2006,[15] and the boys' soccer team was state runner-up in 2008. The girls' cross country team won four consecutive state championships from 2012 to 2015 and three consecutive from 1978 to 1980 and again from 2002 to 2004.[16] and the girls' track team also won state in 2009. Highlands has 51 state titles across all sports.

Notable alumni

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References

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  1. 1 2 Collier, Mark. "Highlands High School SBDMC Names New Principal, John Darnell".
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Search for Public Schools - Highland High School (210204000428)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  3. 1 2 "Highlands High School". Kentucky High School Athletic Association. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, KY". U.S. News & World Report. 2025. Archived from the original on November 30, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Highlands High School". Open Hose. Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Education. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  6. ↑ Collier, Mark (August 4, 2016). "Old Fort Thomas and Highlands Pictures". Link NKY. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  7. 1 2 "Fort Thomas Schools". Campbell County Views. Northern Kentucky Views. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Fort Thomas History". City of Fort Thomas Kentucky. Archived from the original on September 23, 2010. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Highlands High School". Report Card Dashboards. Kentucky Department of Education. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Archived: Selected 2007 Schools - No Child Left Behind-Blue Ribbon Schools Program". www2.ed.gov. United States Department of Education. 2007. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
  11. ↑ "Highlands High earns recognition". The Cincinnati Enquirer (cincinnati.com). June 24, 2008. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012.
  12. ↑ "America's Most Challenging Schools". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  13. ↑ "KHSAA Football Record Book" (PDF). KHSAA. September 3, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Football, Eleven-player Record Book". National Federation of State High School Associations. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Past KHSAA Girls' Soccer State Championship Results" (PDF). KHSAA. November 23, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Girls' Cross Country Team State Titles" (PDF). KHSAA. November 23, 2002. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  1. ↑ Staff report (August 29, 2019). "Newsmaker Awards go to these notable headliners: Boehne, Finan, Flora, Spaulding, Whitaker". Northern Kentucky Tribune. Kentucky Center for Public Service Journalism. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Catching up on Notre Dame grad Jac Collinsworth's rising star". ND Insider. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Gino Guidugli". FightingIrish.com. University of Notre Dame. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Ben Guidugli Stats, News and Video - TE". NFL.com.
  5. ↑ "Big Trouble for Big Ten". December 28, 1966. p. 15. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
  6. ↑ Brown, Kyle (August 8, 2025). "Jared Lorenzen, QB for New York Giants, UK and Highlands High School". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati.com. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Mike Mitchell". Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fam. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Marty Moore Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2006. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
  9. ↑ Collier, Mark. "FC Cincinnati signs Highlands '21 graduate to professional contract". NKY Link. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Camp Rebel Rolls On". UNLVRebels.com. University of Nevada, Las Vegas. August 10, 2010. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  11. ↑ Weber, James (June 11, 2024). "Former Bengals, Bearcats, Highlands football coach Homer Rice dies at 97". Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati.com. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  12. ↑ Dermer, Shelby (May 9, 2023). "Former Highlands High School pitcher Drew Rom promoted to MLB's Baltimore Orioles". Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati.com. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  13. ↑ Clark, Dave (November 12, 2020). "John Schlarman, Kentucky Wildcats assistant coach and former Highlands HS star, dies at 45". Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati.com. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  14. ↑ Hardin, Marc (September 30, 2024). "A century of gridiron history: Locally born NKY athletes who played in the NFL". NKY Links. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  15. ↑ "2005 Football Roster: Rob Smith". Tennessee Football. University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
  16. ↑ Scoggins, Jill (October 3, 2024). "Final Four coach Walz will walk The Julep Ball red carpet". UofL News. University of Louisville. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
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