Highlands High School (Fort Thomas, Kentucky)
| Highlands High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
2400 Memorial Parkway 41075 United States | |
| Coordinates | 39°05′02″N 84°27′01″W / 39.0839°N 84.4502°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public secondary school |
| Established | 1888 |
| School district | Fort Thomas Independent Schools |
| Superintendent | Brian Robinson[1] |
| Principal | John Darnell[1] |
| Teaching staff | 58.40 (FTE)[2] |
| Grades | 9–12 |
| Enrollment | 1,0 (2045–2025)[2] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 17.45[2] |
| Colors | Blue and white [3] |
| Mascot | Bluebirds[3] |
| Rival | Covington Catholic High School |
| USNWR ranking | 865 (2025)[4] |
| Website | fortthomas |
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]
History
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
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
Athletics
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
- Rich Boehne – American media executive[alum 1]
- Jac Collinsworth - Sportscaster[alum 2]
- Gino Guidugli – AFL player, coach[alum 3]
- Ben Guidugli – NFL player[alum 4]
- Chuck Kyle – CFL player[alum 5]
- Jared Lorenzen – NFL player[alum 6]
- Mike Mitchell – NFL player[alum 7]
- Marty Moore – NFL player[alum 8]
- Arquimides Ordoñez - Professional Soccer Player[alum 9]
- Jerry Reynolds – NFL player[alum 10]
- Homer Rice – NFL coach[alum 11]
- Drew Rom - MLB Player[alum 12]
- John Schlarman – Kentucky Wildcats football Player, NCAA football coach[alum 13]
- Derek Smith – NFL player[alum 14]
- Rob Smith – NFL player[alum 15]
- Jeff Walz – Louisville Cardinals women's basketball coach[alum 16]
References
- ^ a b Collier, Mark. "Highlands High School SBDMC Names New Principal, John Darnell".
- ^ a b c d "Search for Public Schools - Highland High School (210204000428)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
- ^ a b "Highlands High School". Kentucky High School Athletic Association. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
- ^ a b "Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, KY". U.S. News & World Report. 2025. Archived from the original on November 30, 2025.
- ^ "Highlands High School". Open Hose. Commonwealth of Kentucky Department of Education. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ Collier, Mark (August 4, 2016). "Old Fort Thomas and Highlands Pictures". Link NKY. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ a b "Fort Thomas Schools". Campbell County Views. Northern Kentucky Views. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ "Fort Thomas History". City of Fort Thomas Kentucky. Archived from the original on September 23, 2010. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ "Highlands High School". Report Card Dashboards. Kentucky Department of Education. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Highlands High earns recognition". The Cincinnati Enquirer (cincinnati.com). June 24, 2008. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012.
- ^ "America's Most Challenging Schools". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
- ^ "KHSAA Football Record Book" (PDF). KHSAA. September 3, 2021. Retrieved March 7, 2026.
- ^ "Football, Eleven-player Record Book". National Federation of State High School Associations. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ "Past KHSAA Girls' Soccer State Championship Results" (PDF). KHSAA. November 23, 2020. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- ^ "Girls' Cross Country Team State Titles" (PDF). KHSAA. November 23, 2002. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Catching up on Notre Dame grad Jac Collinsworth's rising star". ND Insider. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
- ^ "Gino Guidugli". FightingIrish.com. University of Notre Dame. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ "Ben Guidugli Stats, News and Video - TE". NFL.com.
- ^ "Big Trouble for Big Ten". December 28, 1966. p. 15. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Mike Mitchell". Kentucky Pro Football Hall of Fam. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ "Marty Moore Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards". databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on August 28, 2006. Retrieved December 18, 2007.
- ^ Collier, Mark. "FC Cincinnati signs Highlands '21 graduate to professional contract". NKY Link. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ "Camp Rebel Rolls On". UNLVRebels.com. University of Nevada, Las Vegas. August 10, 2010. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ Weber, James (June 11, 2024). "Former Bengals, Bearcats, Highlands football coach Homer Rice dies at 97". Cincinnati Enquirer. Cincinnati.com. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "2005 Football Roster: Rob Smith". Tennessee Football. University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved March 8, 2026.
- ^ 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.