Our Mission:
The mission of Phelps High School is to provide our students with the educational and learning experiences they need to be successful in life. We plan to achieve this through visionary leadership, sound fiscal management, high expectations, and individualized instruction in a safe, orderly, and positive school climate.
The faculty and staff of Phelps High School are excited about the positive changes taking place at PHS. We believe that "Together WE Can Be...Today's Learners, Tomorrow's Leaders" with everyone taking responsibility for successful achievement.
Our Vision:
A caring, positive, and successful environment exists among the staff and student body of Phelps High School. With all stakeholders working together we will continue to be "Today's Learners, Tomorrow's Leaders."
About The School
From the Beginning . . .
Phelps High School is a small, geographically isolated school located in the remote easternmost part of Pike County, KY, in the coal fields of the Appalachian Mountains.
THE PAST . . .
Formal education in the Peter Creek and Phelps area began with a one-room elementary school. The earliest school in the immediate area was conducted in the Old Free School House located near the road in front of the present Presbyterian Church. This building, housing grades 1-8, was destroyed by fire in the early 1900's.
In 1904, the Matthew T. Scott Jr. Academy and Industrial School, under the direction of Reverend Alfred Erickson, a Princeton graduate, opened for classes. This school, which was composed of three buildngs - a domestic science building, a dormitory and a classroom building for academic purposes - was located on the hillside in Phelps where the Dollar General Store is now located. Although it was a boarding school, students from the community also attended. The first graduating class in 1916 was composed ot two students.
On April 6, 1929, a petition was enacted by the Pike County Board of Education establishing a high school at Phelps to be known as Wolford High School.
The first Phelps High School, a brick structure, was located on the campus of the former Phelps Elementary School near the hillside. It was constructed by the Pike County Board of Education in 1932 and was destroyed by fire in 1954. Classes were conducted in small wooden buildings until the new high school, which housed Phelps Elementary School from 1986 until 2013, was completed in 1956.
Groundbreaking for the current Phelps High School was done on Nov. 11, 1983 with Open House for the new building held on August 17, 1986. The McCoy Athletic Center, which houses the gymnasium, was completed in 1976 and donated to the community by Joseph and Leonard McCoy (hometown coal operators and philanthropists).
A football field was a part of the McCoy Athletic Center until 2011 when preparation for the new Phelps Elementary School began. PES was opened in the 2013-14 school year with the students from Majestic-Knox Creek Elementary School joining them in 2014-15 after their school was closed due to maintainence issues.
Unfortunately, the Class of 2015 will be known as the first group of seniors to graduate without ever playing a football, baseball or softball game on a home field. The process of building a sports complex to house those fields on the site of the old elemetary school has been a long, slow process with actual demolition of the buildings on that site not taking place until late October. We can now see progress and hope that everything proceeds smoothly going forward so our students can regain a 'home-field advantage' in the near future!
THE PRESENT . . .
The majority of the students who attend PHS live in the hollows created by the beautiful Appalachian mountains. Students living in the outermost part of the PHS service area travel in excess of 20 miles, one way, to attend school. On the narrow two-laned state highway, heavy with coal-truck traffic, the bus trip usually takes 45 minutes. This isolation creates many of the barriers that our students face.
While the geographic isolation creates unique obstacles for the students, PHS works diligently to find ways to address them. Various programs are in place to help the students overcome the educational obstacles they encounter on a daily basis.
The 2014-15 student population is comprised of 311 students (beginning of November).
Total population by gender:
Grade 7 - 33 males; 29 females (62 total)
Grade 8 - 14 males; 25 felmales (39 total)
Grade 9 - 27 males; 32 females (59 total)
Grade 10 - 28 males; 31 females (59 total)
Grade 11 - 22 males; 20 females (42 total)
Grade 12 - 30 males; 20 females (50 total)
Total Males - 153 / Total Females - 158
Total school population = 311 (down 22 students from the 2013-14 school year)
Ethnicity Breakdown:
White - 307 Black - 2 females/1 male 2 or more races - 1 male (1.29% total other races)
Phelps Elementary School is the only feeder school and is located on the same campus as Phelps High School.