About Us

school building

When students enter Holmes High School they become part of a tradition that dates to 1853 when this great institution was founded as the first public high school in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Until then, free or public education stopped at eighth grade. The Covington school district traces its beginnings to 1825 when a group of residents felt that all children who wanted to get an education should be able to get one. 

Covington is now one of the largest independent school districts in the state of Kentucky, serving approximately 3,300 students. Our district consists of an early childhood center, five elementary schools serving kindergarten through 5th grade, a middle school serving grades 6 - 8, a high school serving grades 9–12 (includes a vocational school, and an alternative school), and an adult high school serving students ages 16 and above. 

We are the most diverse school district in Northern Kentucky, with students from an array of social, economic and ethnic backgrounds. 

We engage families, business leaders and community members to assist as students make their way through Covington Schools. We offer every student a roadmap to success for college or careers as individualized instruction and learning are integral to students reaching their destination. 

Covington has proud traditions in academics and athletics. We are the only district in Northern Kentucky that offers the prestigious International Baccalaureate program, where students can complete university-level work while still in high school. We are also home to the 2009 state boys’ basketball champions. 

"We offer every student a roadmap to success for college or careers as individualized instruction and learning are integral to students reaching their destination." 

The students served by our system are racially, economically, and educationally diverse. Our student population includes Caucasian, African American, Hispanic and Asian. 

We welcome parents, community members and business leaders to help us reach our goals, and to join us as we guide our students to Dream, Achieve and Succeed.

Curriculum

To ensure that every student in Covington Independent Public Schools is exposed to a rigorous and demanding curriculum, the district has instituted a program of work that every school must follow. The expectation for our schools is that every child has the opportunity to excel at or above their grade level each day. 

While the work is continuous, the curriculum was officially implemented in each school during the 2020-2021 school year.      

“We are making sure that every child has access to the same standards with high expectations," said Scott Alter, Covington’s assistant superintendent for instruction. “We are guaranteeing that kids get high levels of instruction and have access to Kentucky’s academic standards in all our schools.’’ Our primary goal is mastery of these standards for each and every child. 

"...our vision is that our kids can and will perform as well or better than any district around us or in Kentucky for that matter."

Besides assuring that all students have access to high-level standards, the districtwide curriculum has other benefits as well. Covington has a high mobility rate, meaning many students move and change schools several times throughout the school year. Because schools are teaching the same lessons at approximately the same times, changing schools allows students' transitions to be less disruptive and guarantees they will not miss new content. A districtwide curriculum also does not leave to chance what schools should be teaching and when it should be taught.

“This curriculum is going to challenge our kids," Alter said. “We know it will take a while before we gain traction and see some gains, but our vision is that our kids can and will perform as well or better than any district around us or in Kentucky for that matter.“

2 kids learning in activity