Henry Clay High School

For other uses of the acronym HCHS, see HCHS (disambiguation).

Henry Clay High School
File:Henry Clay High School logo.png
Address
2100 Fontaine Road Lexington , KY 40502 U.S.
Information
Type	Public
Established	1928
Campus	Suburban
Color(s)	Blue; Gold
Nickname	Blue Devils
Information	+1 (859) 381-3423
Website	www.henryclay.fayette.k12.ky.us

Henry Clay High School (HCHS) is the oldest public high school in Lexington, Kentucky, opened on Main Street in 1928. It was named in honor of the Kentuckian and United States statesman, Henry Clay. The Main Street location now houses the main offices of the Fayette County Public Schools system. The school's present facility on Fontaine Road opened in 1973. The current Principal of Henry Clay High School is John Nochta. There are currently 2,154 students enrolled in Henry Clay High School.

History

In 1834, the first four-room public school was built in Lexington. It was sponsored by a man named William Morton. Seventy years later, the first four-year high school in Lexington opened on the corner of Walnut and Short streets. This school was named Morton High School. As population increased, it was necessary for a larger high school to be built.

In 1908, US$75,000 was given to build a larger facility on the grounds of the old Morton High School. Class sizes began to increase again, and in 1916, a US$400,000 bond was issued for new buildings. One of the buildings that came about in this bond was the building of Lexington High School on the corner of Limestone and Fourth Street. In 1918, the building was opened for classes.

In 1927, the Board of Education granted permission for a new school to be built on East Main Street. On July 6, 1928, the Board adopted the name Henry Clay High School, requested by the Daughters of the American Revolution.

That summer, Henry Clay was completed. The Herald Leader reported:

"New school is planned after those used in the larger cities."

Henry Clay was supposed to have all of the latest advances.

"Perforated ceiling in the music room, good acoustics in the auditorium, built-in lockers with combination locks, a fire gong on each floor, ventilating shutters in the doors, double lighting system, double faced clocks, and a moving picture machine and booth in the auditorium",

reported another source.

Henry Clay had been said to be one of the finest schools in the South. It had nearly 200 graduates by the end of 1929. Henry Clay High School was so successful academically and athletically that it was considered among the top 44 schools in the United States, according to the January 10, 1960 edition of The Lexington Herald.

In 1968, the Board of Education approved the plans for a 91-room location on Fontaine Road: US$6.45 million was to finance the project of the new Henry Clay. In 1999 the school underwent renovation, and in 2006 a connector building was completed, joining the cafeteria to the main classroom building.

Academics

HCHS offers courses from several departments including business, career educationEnglish, fine arts, health/physical education, mathematics, music, science, social studies, special education, and world languages.

Liberal Arts Academy

HCHS houses the Liberal Arts Academy for gifted and talented education.

The Liberal Arts Academy at Henry Clay challenges its students in all disciplines with required Academy and AP courses that are specially designed or adapted for the Academy's identifies Gifted and Talented population. These courses combine acceleration, differentiation, and enrichment to stimulate and extend student learning. The required Academy Seminars and Academic Mentoring offer opportunities for in-depth exploration and independent study outside the typical classroom.

For its freshmen class, the Liberal Arts Academy selects up to fifty qualified students each year. Success in the Liberal Arts Academy requires ability, interest, and maturity. The curriculum is rigorous. The school day is longer with a zero hour class required during the freshman, and junior years; the academic workload is more time consuming that that of other high school students. Academy students will, in fact, be expected to work at the college level in most of their courses. Admission procedures include submitting an application, parent questionnaire, and having the required test scores. Each year students and parents must sign and submit a contract outlining the Academy student responsibilities.

As a requirement for this program, each student must complete a total of four years of math, four years of science, four years of English, four years of a foreign language (or to the AP level), three years of social studies, two years of academic seminar, one year of arts and humanities, and a senior mentoring project. The Academic Mentoring Program is an advanced level independent study program which allows students to design their own class content from any subject area and to study under the direction of professional in the chosen field. The program’s purpose is to allow students to pursue an idea beyond the opportunities provided in the regular classroom.

2006 Academy graduates were awarded over US $4 million in college scholarship monies for their freshman college year. The graduating Academy class averaged the following: ACT, 31; SAT, 1420; GPA, 4.5. Each graduate completed an average of eight advanced placement courses as well. Each year, the Academy produces an average of eleven national merit finalists.

In 2006 Henry Clay established the world's first high school history lab in memory of Shelia Lewallen. This lab contains over 500 artifacts and primary sources. The lab uses core content connected lesson plans and an array of artifacts to bring real history to students.

In 2007 Stephen Fritz, an academy student and class of 2009, got third overall on Teen Jeopardy!.

Athletics

HCHS offers many varsity sports including:

• Football
• Basketball (boys' and girls')
• Baseball
• Volleyball (girls only)
• Softball
• Golf (boys' and girls')
• Cross country (boys' and girls')
• Wrestling
• Track and field (boys' and girls')
• Cheerleading
• Swimming and diving (boys' and girls')
• Soccer (boys' and girls')
• Tennis (boys' and girls')

HCHS also offers Hockey, Ultimate Frisbee, and Lacrosse only as club sports since they are not sanctioned sports with the Kentucky High School Athletic Association. In 2006, the Ultimate Frisbee team, Grapes of Wrath, fought their way to a city championship, led by captain and team MVP, Steven Myers.

Athletic State Championships	Year
Girls' Gymnastics	1975, 1976, 1978
Baseball	1973
Girls' Tennis	1986
Boys' Basketball	1918, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1924, 1983; National High School Champions 1922
Girls' Swimming	1990
Football	1981
Girls' Track	1993
Boys' Golf	1943, 2006
Girls' Golf	1989
Boys' Soccer	1991
Hockey	2004, 2006
Cheerleading	KAPOS--1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1993, 1998; NCA Nationals--1983, 1985, 1986, 1987; World Nationals--1993

Clubs and organizations

Student organizations include:

• Academic Team
• Amnesty International Club
• Anchor Club
• Anime club
• Art Club
• Beta Club
• Chess Club
• Computer Game Development Group
• Cultural Club
• DARE
• Dance Team
• Debate Team
• Drama Club
• Early Childhood Association
• Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA)
• Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA)
• Freshman Voice
• Future Educators of America (FEA)
• Gay Straight Alliance (GSA)
• Harambee
• History Club
• Hockey
• Interactive Multi Media Exercises (IMMEX)
• International Club
• Intramurals
• JETS/TEAM+S
• JROTC
• Kentucky United Nations Assembly (KUNA)
• Kentucky Youth Assembly (KYA)
• KEY Club
• Literary Magazine
• National Honor Society
• Newspaper
• Peer Mediation Team
• Philosophy Club
• Photography Club
• Quill and Scroll
• Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)
• Science Club
• Senior Prank Club
• Speech Team
• Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP)
• Student Council
• Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU)
• Y Club
• Yearbook
• Young Democrats
• Young Republicans

External links

• Henry Clay High School homepage