Henry Clay High School

Henry Clay High School is an American 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.^[6] The Main Street location now houses the main offices of the Fayette County Public Schools system. The school was ranked in 2022 by U.S. News & World Report as #18 of schools in Kentucky and #1,705 nationally.^[5] The school's facility on Fontaine Road opened in 1970.^[6]

Henry Clay High School
Address
Fontaine Road Lexington , Kentucky United States
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1928; 96 years ago (1928)
School district	Fayette County Public Schools
Superintendent	Demetrus Liggins[1]
Principal	Paul Little[2]
Teaching staff	120.70 (FTE) (2022–2023)[3]
Enrollment	2,031 (2022–2023)[3]
Student to teacher ratio	16.83 (2022–2023)[3]
Color(s)	Blue & Gold    [4]
Team name	Blue Devils[4]
USNWR ranking	#1705 (national) #18 (state)[5]
Website	henryclay.fcps.net

History

In 1834, the first four-room public school was built in Lexington. It was sponsored by a man named William Morton.^[6] 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.^[7]

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.^[6]

Demographics

The demographic breakdown by race/ethnicity of the 2,058 students enrolled for the 2021–2022 school year was:^[3]

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity

School Year	Enrollment	American Indian / Alaska Native	Asian	Black	Hispanic	Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander	White	Two or More Races
2018–19[8]	2,137	8 (0.4%)	127 (5.9%)	429 (20.1%)	206 (9.6%)	1 (0%)	1,279 (59.9%)	87 (4.1%)
2020–21[9]	2,054	1 (0%)	134 (6.5%)	391 (19%)	267 (13%)	1 (0%)	1,163 (56.6%)	97 (4.7%)
2021–22[10]	2,058	2 (0.1%)	140 (6.8%)	406 (19.7%)	280 (13.6%)	1 (0%)	1,118 (54.3%)	111 (5.4%)

Speech and debate team

The Henry Clay Speech and Debate team is currently^[when?] led by coach Ryan Ray. The Debate team has won the Kentucky State championship 13 times, in 1991, 1992, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. ^[11][12]

Athletics

HCHS offers many varsity sports including: Archery was added as a varsity sport in the 2012/2013 school year

• Football^[13]
• Baseball^[14]
• Volleyball (girls only)^[15]

HCHS also offers hockey, ultimate Frisbee, boys' volleyball, and lacrosse only as club sports since they are not sanctioned sports with the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, and the Blue Devil Marching Band in its own competitive arena. The HCHS Marching Band placed as Grand Champions in the Mid-states Band Association circuit for years 2005–2007, and reserved Grand Champions in 2008.^[16] In 2006, the ultimate Frisbee team, Grapes of Wrath, fought their way to a city championship, led by captain and team MVP, Steven Myers. The ultimate Frisbee team is currently enjoying a stellar 2008–2009 season which has included the City Championship and State Championship, as well as a top 10 national ranking by the UPA. Also the lacrosse team made it to the Division 2 State Championship in 2007 with an undefeated, 9–0 record. They lost to the Eastern Eagles in double overtime. In the 2012–2013 season, the Henry Clay men's lacrosse team posted an undefeated 18–0 record, defeating Lexington Catholic High School by a score of 10–4 to capture the Division 2 State Championship.^[17] During the 2012–2013 season the Henry Clay men's lacrosse team was ranked in the top ten nationally in goal defense and goal differential, while ranking eleventh nationally in goals scored.^[18]

Notable alumni

• Andy Barr – American politician (born 1973)^[19] – US Representative, Kentucky's 6th congressional district
• Andy Beshear – Governor of Kentucky since 2019^[20]
• Neil Chatterjee, former commissioner and chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
• Dominic Black – American wrestler (born 1969)^[21] – former American freestyle and folkstyle wrestler
• Pamela Brown – newscaster
• Walker Buehler – American baseball player (born 1994)^[22]
• Collin Cowgill – American baseball player (born 1986)^[23]
• Randy Fine – American politician (born 1974)^[24] – legislator, Florida House of Representatives
• Byron Ingram – American football player (born 1964)^[25]
• Gayl Jones – American poet^[26]

References

1. "Superintendent's Office". Fayette County Public Schools. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.^{[self-published source]}
2. "Staff Directory". Henry Clay High School. Retrieved January 12, 2023 – via Fayette County Public Schools.^{[self-published source]}
3. "Search for Public Schools - Henry Clay High School (210186000364)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
4. "School Directory - Henry Clay High School Directory Entry - (# 122)". Kentucky High School Athletic Association. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
5. "Henry Clay High School in Lexington, KY - US News Best High Schools - 2022 Rankings". US News & World Report. 2022. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved October 8, 2022.
6. "Maurice Leach collection on Lexington Schools - Kentucky Digital Library". Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
7. "Office of Clinical Practices & School Partnerships - Partner Network". Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
8. "Search for Public Schools - Henry Clay High School 210186000364 (2018–2019 School Year)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
9. "Search for Public Schools - Henry Clay High School 210186000364 (2020–2021 School Year)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
10. "Search for Public Schools - Henry Clay High School 210186000364 (2021–2022 School Year)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
11. "State Champs -- Teams". KHSSL, Inc. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
12. "KHSSL 2022 State Debate results" (PDF). KHSSL. March 2, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
13. "Henry Clay BlueDevils Football Home Page". HomeTeamsONLINE.^{[permanent dead link]}
14. "Henry Clay Varsity Baseball". Team Home Henry Clay BlueDevils Sports. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
15. "Henry Clay Girls Varsity Volleyball". Team Home Henry Clay BlueDevils Sports. January 23, 2020. Archived from the original on April 19, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
16. "2005 Recaps - AAA Championships". www.midstatesba.org. Archived from the original on November 19, 2008. Retrieved October 5, 2009.
17. "Lexington Henry Clay Blue Devils". Archived from the original on April 4, 2013. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
18. "National Goals Per Game". Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved March 13, 2016.
19. "About Andy". Retrieved January 15, 2024.
20. Beshear, Andy [@andybeshearky] (October 8, 2019). "Andy Beshear on Twitter" (Tweet). Retrieved October 8, 2022 – via Twitter. I'm [...] especially proud to be a Henry Clay High School graduate!
21. Dominic Black (2004) - WVU Sports Hall of Fame. wvusports.com. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
22. "Henry Clay senior Walker Buehler a standout on the mound and in the classroom". kentucky.com. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
23. "Cowgill went back to Kentucky home to mend". MLB.com. September 26, 2014.
24. "A Salute to Scholars Our No. 1's". Lexington Herald-Leader. June 17, 1992. p. Community 8 (48) – via Newspapers.com.
25. Fish, Mike (August 18, 1987). "Ingram is short, slow but making big effort". The Kansas City Times. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
26. Perry, Imani (September 17, 2021). "She Changed Black Literature Forever. Then She Disappeared". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 19, 2021.

External links

• Official website