Paris High School is one of the two public high schools in

Paris, Kentucky Paris is a home rule-class city in Bourbon County, Kentucky. It lies northeast of Lexington on the Stoner Fork of the Licking River. Paris is the seat of its county and forms part of the Lexington–Fayette Metropolitan Statistical Area. As ...

, United States. Paris High School serves roughly 200 students in grades 9–12.

About

Paris High School offers the following of AP classes, Art History, Biology, Calculus, and English Literature. Since 2012, the school hosts the Paris Academy of Health Sciences (AOHS). Paris High School has partnerships for extended learning with Maysville Community College, Racer Academy through

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, H ...

, and the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

. PHS' mission statement: "Paris High School is a learning community dedicated to developing well-rounded, productive, engaged citizens in a safe and supportive environment."

History

Pre-history and the Bourbon Academy

The Bourbon Academy, was formed in 1798 as an act of Kentucky Legislature and was the earliest school in the county. The Bourbon Academy was donated 6000 acres of land for its endowment; and opened for classes starting in May 1800, with teacher Isaac Tull and a tuition requirement. Its educational successes started the tradition and value of educating children in Paris and Bourbon County.

Paris City School

Paris City School was founded in 1865 as a segregated public high school for white students, under the leadership of principal Julius Herrick. The during the first year the class consisted of the principal, 3 teachers and 130 students, and was held in the former Bourbon Academy building on Pleasant Street. Classes were free for Paris residents, but Bourbon County residents had to pay a tuition. Other early principals at the Paris City School included George Varden from 1867 to 1868; W. H. Lockhart from 1868 to 1871; W. E. Clarke from 1871 to 1873; Ben D. Best from 1873 to 1874; Pukett from 1874 to 1880; and H. R. Blaisdell from 1880 to 1882. The building on Pleasant Street burned on January 18, 1889, and a new

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...

style building was finished by 1890 and located on 7th Street. On January 28, 1907, a faulty furnace burned down the school, classes were temporarily held in the courthouse basement until the new school building could be finished the following year. The new school building was much larger and could accommodate up to 750 students, it featured with four porch columns. In 1923, the second floor of the building was dedicated as the Paris Junior High School. In 1928, a gymnasium was added to the complex. The building was demolished in 1966. But the old gymnasium was later converted into a library in 1992, when they built a new gymnasium. After the U.S. Supreme Court case ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregat ...

'' (1954), the city integration committee was led by chair, Grover Baldwin, Jr. In 1963, four Black students from Paris Western High School were sent to attend Paris High School in efforts towards racially-integration. The following year in 1964, all of the African American students from Paris Western High School were moved into Paris High School.

Athletics

The Paris High School won three State football championships in 1973, 1981, and 1982. Notable former school athletes included

Basil Hayden Basil Ewing Hayden (May 19, 1899 – January 9, 2003) was an American college basketball player and coach. A Kentucky native, he began playing the sport in the sixth grade and, after a year at Transylvania University, transferred to the Universi ...

(1916),

Blanton Collier Blanton Long Collier (July 2, 1906 – March 22, 1983) was an American football head coach who coached at the University of Kentucky between 1954 and 1961 and for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL) between 1963 and 1970. H ...

(1928),

Bill Arnsparger William Stephen Arnsparger (December 16, 1926 – July 17, 2015) was an American college and professional football coach. He was born and raised in Paris, Kentucky, served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, and graduated from Mi ...

(1943), Beth Wilkerson (1979), and

Alvin Sims Alvin Sims (born October 18, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player. A 6'4" (1.93 m) guard from Paris High School in Paris, Kentucky, Sims played at the University of Louisville from 1993 to 1997, where he averaged 11.9 point ...

(1993).

References

{{authority control Public high schools in Kentucky Schools in Bourbon County, Kentucky Paris, Kentucky Educational institutions established in 1865