Covington Latin School 1923-2023

This summer, Covington Latin School is celebrating its 100th anniversary! Visit the Local History Department at the Covington Branch this month to enjoy the selected Covington Latin School items on display. 

The Kenton Co. Public Library Local History and Genealogy Dept. received a collection of yearbooks generously donated by Covington Latin School, as well as access to class diaries and ephemera currently being digitized. When completed, the diaries/ephemera collection will be added to GenKY, our digital history collection.   

100 years ago, on July 15, 1923, Bishop Francis William Howard was consecrated Bishop of Covington. He had become nationally and internationally known for his dedication to education. As an eminent scholar, Bishop Howard made the state of Catholic education in his diocese one of his chief concerns. 

He observed several excellent academies for Catholic girls already existed in the region. But for boys, there was a need for a college preparatory school, especially for those academically gifted, college-bound students. He began work immediately on establishing one.

Bishop Howard modeled the concept of starting high school after sixth grade, after the European “gymnasium” school in which all children planning to pursue studies at the university level first attend a college preparatory school after the sixth year of elementary school.

Bishop Howard’s plan also borrowed from another European idea, that of the “Bishops’ Schools,” also called “Episcopal Schools” or “Cathedral Schools,” where bishops would personally train the students. Beginning with the 1992-93 academic year, Covington Latin School admitted girls as well as boys. The school’s motto is “Bonitatem et disciplinam et scientiam, doce me” (Teach me goodness and knowledge and discipline.) 

A Faces and Places Scanning Bee will be held on Thursday, August 10, 2023 at the Covington Library. We are looking to add images related to Covington Latin School to our photograph collection Faces and Places. Bring in up to a dozen originals and we'll scan and return them to you on the spot! Can't make this date or time? Give us a call at (859) 962-4070 to arrange a time to scan your photographs. In the mean time check out some of the pictures of Covington Latin School in Faces and Places. 

Written by Bobbye Winterberg, Library Associate in the Local History and Genealogy Department.