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About Clay HS
Clay Jr.-Sr. High School
The school year is divided into two semesters for grading and course scheduling purposes, with a three-day finals' schedule at the end of the year. The majority of the courses offered are year-long courses, but students have the opportunity to take a few courses on a semester basis. While student enrollment and class sizes are small (17:1), Clay offers many opportunities for its students including both curricular and extracurricular activities. These academic opportunities include, but are not limited to, AP courses, Art I-IV, band, Chemistry I & II, chorus, pre-engineering courses, economics, industrial arts, physics, Spanish I-IV, and web page design.
Recent graduates of CHS have attended/graduated from such universities/colleges as Berea College, Cornell University, Eastern Kentucky University, Marshall University, Miami University, Morehead State University, Ohio University, Ohio Northern University,Purdue University, Shawnee State University, The Ohio State University, Transylvania University, University of Cincinnati, University of Kentucky, Valparaiso University, St. Bonaventure University, University of Dayton, West Point, Wittenberg University, and Wright State University. Clay's graduating classes, which average about 35 students, have received in excess of $300,000 each year in scholarship money. Likewise, the CHS staff members have also attended/graduated from many of these same institutions. The CHS staff members have an average of 16 years of educational experience.
About Clay Athletics
Clay is a "small division" school in every Ohio High School Athletic Association sports' division. The school participates in eleven OHSAA sanctioned sports - baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' and girls' cross country, boys' golf, boys' soccer, girls' fast pitch softball, boys' tennis, track, and girls' volleyball. The district also fields boys' and girls' basketball and volleyball teams in our junior high. The district also has baseball, golf, and softball as sports at the junior high level even though these teams are not recognized as official school teams.
Frequently Asked Questions
These Frequently Asked Questions were
developed to help with general questions
and information regarding the Clay Local
School District. If you do not find the
question you are looking for or the
answer, please contact an administrator
in one of the three buildings.
About Clay
The Who? What? When? Where? and How? of the Clay Local School District
The Clay Local School District is located just north of Portsmouth, Ohio, in Scioto County--which is approximately 85 miles south of Columbus, Ohio; 50 miles west of Huntington, West Virginia; and 100 miles east of Cincinnati, Ohio. [SCIOTO CO. MAP] The district has three seperate academic buidlings. Clay Junior-Senior High School (7-12) is located on U.S. 23 approximately 3 miles north of the Portsmouth city limits. [MAP]
Academically, Clay is considered one of the "best" schools in Southeastern Ohio. While class sizes are small, Clay offers many unique opportunities for its students including both curricular and extracurricular activities, including AP courses, Chemistry II, economics, and physics. Recent graduates have attended/graduated from such universities/colleges as Berea College, Cornell, Dayton, Eastern Kentucky, Marshall, Miami (OH), Morehead State University, Ohio University, Ohio Northern, Purdue, Shawnee State, St. Bonaventure, The Ohio State University, Transylvania, University of Cincinnati, University of Kentucky, Valparaiso, West Point, Wittenburg, and Wright State. Our staff members have also attended/graduated from many of these same institutions. Clay's graduating classes, which average about 35 students, have received in excess of $300,000 each year in scholarship money. The 2007 Clay graduating class was offered close to $450,000 in scholarships. [ACADEMIC REPORT CARD][GUIDANCE DEPT.] [OPEN ENROLLMENT]
The Clay Local School District is a "small division" school in every Ohio High School Athletic Association sports' division. The school participates in nine OHSAA sanctioned sports--baseball, boys' and girls' basketball, cross country, boys' golf (co-ed), boys' soccer (co-ed), fast pitch softball, boys' tennis (co-ed), and girls' volleyball. We also field boys' and girls' basketball, golf, and volleyball teams in our junior high. Our enrollment, grades 7-12, is around 300 strong with approximately 170 students in grades nine through twelve. [ATHLETIC DEPT.]
There are ten school districts and eleven high schools in our county along with one parochial school as well several private and community schools. [SOUTH CENTRAL OHIO EDUCATIONAL SERVICE CENTER] Our athletic affiliation is with the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) and the Southern Ohio Conference (S.O.C.), which has sixteen member schools and is divided into two divisions (SOC I & SOC II) based on the schools' enrollment. The S.O.C. includes teams from four different Ohio counties--Jackson County (Oak Hill), Lawrence County (Symmes Valley), Pike County (Waverly, Eastern, and Western), and Scioto County (Clay, Franklin Furnace Green, Glenwood/New Boston, East-Sciotoville Community, Lucasville Valley, McDermott Northwest, Minford, Portsmouth West, Notre Dame, South Webster, and Wheelersburg). [History of the SOC]
In athletics, the Clay softball team has won three OHSAA State Championships--1980, 1981, & 1983. They were 79-1 in those three years under the direction of Carol Vice, a member of the Clay Hall of Fame. In 1979 and 1988, they were runner-up. The softball team has won (as of 2009) 23 league titles, 30 sectional titles, 22 district titles, and 10 regional titles along with their state championship banners. The softball team is the only team from Scioto County to ever win a state championship. In fact, the team was in the Final Four eight out of the 11 years from 1978 to 1988. Carol and Clay Vice and Teresa Ruby (2009), a former player and coach, have their names/stars on the Portsmouth Wall of Fame in honor of their success and contributions to the Portsmouth area.
Our girls' basketball team went to the OHSAA Final Four in 1980. They are still the only girls' Scioto County team and one of only two in the S.O.C. (Oak Hill being the other one) to reach that level. Terri Boldman, a member of the Clay Hall of Fame and current high school assistant principal, guided the girls to the OHSAA Final Four. They have won 3 league titles (1980, 2005, & 2005-06), 13 sectional titles, 2 district titles, and 1 regional title.
Our boys' basketball team made it that far in 1969 under the direction of Arch Justus, who is also a member of the Clay Hall of Fame and the Ohio Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame. They have also won 14 league titles (most recently in 2004-5), 23 sectional titles, 3 district titles, and one regional title.
While these three sports may have garnered the spotlight in years past, Clay teams have won numerous league, sectional, district, regional, and state titles. The boys' baseball team won the Regional in 1944. The volleyball team has won 7 league titles, 15 sectional titles, 4 district titles, and went to the regional as recently as 2007. Most recently, the golf team won its ninth straight league title and qualified for the state championships in 2004, 2005, & 2006. Individual players have also qualified for the state the last several years. In addition, the tennis team has captured three of the last four SOC titles (2005, 2007, & 2008). [CHAMPIONSHIPS] [CLAY HALL OF FAME] [ATHLETIC FACILITIES][MESSAGE FROM THE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR]
A new pre-K-12 facility was completed in 2011.
BOARD OF EDUCATION] [BOE MEETING NOTES] [DISTRICT MAP]
44 Clay High Street
Portsmouth, OH 45662
740.354.6645
740.354.5746 (fax)
Mr. Todd Warnock, Superintendent
Ms. Brandi Blackburn, Treasurer
CLS GFDL Info
Copyright (c) 2007 Clay Local School District.
Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts.
A copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU
Free Documentation License."
Message from the Superintendent
Welcome to the Clay Local School District
On behalf of the students and staff of the Clay Local School District, I welcome you to our website. If you take a few minutes to peruse the site you will see why we are so proud of our district. Academically, we are one of the highest achieving districts in Southern Ohio. Athletically, we have earned many conference championships as well as sectional and district titles in recent years. For example, our golf team qualified for the state tournament in 2004, 2005, and 2006.
We are a small school district with a “family” type atmosphere. One local parent recently described his child’s educational experience as being that of a “private school atmosphere at a public school price.” We pride ourselves in treating our students the way we would want our own children treated. We believe all people should be afforded dignity and respect. We teach our students this lesson not just with words, but by our actions.
We are a “GREAT” school district located in a “WONDERFUL” community! We are extremely proud and grateful for the tremendous amount of support we receive from our parents, businesses, and community members. Please visit our website again or even better, come and visit us in person.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments regarding our schools (740-354-6645). Thanks for your interest in Clay. Go Panthers!
Anthony E. Mantell
Superintendent
Message from the HS/MS Principal
Welcome to the Clay High/Middle School
Thank you for taking time out of our busy day to browse our website. As with all things here at Clay High School, many people, students, and staff have spent a lot of time in creating something excellent. In my mind this site serves a dual purpose. First and foremost it serves to educate our students on not only the technology in creating the site but also on the cooperation and hard work needed to do something right. Secondly, it seeks to involve and inform students, parents, community members, teachers and all other interested parties about our “family,” Clay High School.
At Clay we believe that our primary purpose is to serve all of our students in as many ways as possible. We believe that includes encouraging students to attain higher levels of academic achievement and providing them with a positive environment that fosters learning.
At Clay High School and in the Clay Local School District, we are truly blessed with some of the finest individuals I have ever met. These people are students, the students’ family members, school volunteers, community members, local businesses people, and a fabulous staff and faculty. When I see all of these individuals come together and work so diligently on behalf of ALL of the students of Clay High School, I must admit that I am very proud to be a part of this “family.”
I encourage you to spend some time looking at the site and finding out more about all of the wonderful things that go on in our schools every day. If in doing so you find something that you wish to know more about or have any other questions/comments about Clay High School, please contact me by e-mail (
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
) or by phone (740) 354-6644.
W. Todd Warnock
Principal, Clay Jr.-Sr. High School
CHS Graduation Requirements
The below PDF files discuss the Clay Local School District's policies for graduation. However, please contact the guidance department for specific information or if you have questions.
CHS Graduation Requirements
Noteable Alumni
While many of the coaches, faculty, and staff listed below have not gained notable recognition abroad, all of these individuals are well-known figures in the Porstmouth and surrounding areas and they have made considerable contributions to the Clay Local School District, to the educational field, to the sports' teams they coached, and to the athletes and students.
Dale Bandy - He is a 1956 Clay graduate and the son of long-time administrator, Carl Bandy. He went on to play baseball and basketball at Ohio University. He was an assistant under legendary OU basketball coach Jim Snyder before taking over the reigns in 1974 (1974-1980). He currently lives in Texas half of the year. The other half of the year he lives in Pennsylvania and is an assistant basketball coach for the California University of Pennsylvania Vulcans' squad under Bill Brown.
Terri Boldman - She was a member of the 1968 CHS graduating class. She has degrees from Ohio University and the University of Dayton. Ms. Boldman is a member of the Clay Coaches' Hall of Fame. During the years from 1974-1981 and from 1983-1985, she coached basketball, volleyball, and track at Clay. Before beginning her coaching career at Clay, she began the basketball and volleyball programs at both Rock Hill Senior High School in 1972 and began the same programs at Clay in 1974. Her volleyball teams won the league in 1979 and 1980; and won the sectional championship and the District Championship in 1978 and 1979. Her basketball teams won the SOC in 1980; won the sectional championship in 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1983; won the District in 1980 and 1981; and won the Regional in 1980. Her team in 1980 had the most wins in school history (24) and still holds the best record for a season by any team (24-2). She is still the only girls’ basketball coach in Scioto County and one of only two in the Southern Ohio Conference to advance her team to the state Final Four. She is currently the assistant principal at Clay Jr.-Sr. High School, her 35th year in education.
Marc Cottle - Mark was a member of the 198? CHS graduating class. After completing his degree at Ohio Wesleyan University, where he was a member of their baseball team, he returned to Portsmouth, Ohio. He is currently a financial advisor with American Express.
The Justus Family: Jeff Justus - He is a member of the 1974 CHS graduating class. He is a 1978 graduate of Rose-Hulman, where he was a member of two mean's basketball teams that won 20 games, three conference championships, and two national tournament berths. He later earned a Doctor of Osteopathy degree from Ohio University. As of 2007, he was in his ninth season as the head coach of the men's basketball team at Earlham College. John Justus - Sports Information Director at Wake Forest University. They are the sons of Arch Justus, former Panther coach and administrator.
Jay Prosch - He was a member of the 198? CHS graduating class. After completing his degree at Muskingum College, where he was a member of their baseball team, he returned to Portsmouth, Ohio. He currently works for Fifth Third Bank as a loan officer.
Teresa Ruby - Teresa was a 1980 graduate of Clay HS. She currently holds the overall scoring record for both the girls and boys basketball teams (1,846 points). She was a member of the 1980 girls' basketball team that made it to the OHSAA Final Four. Her basketball number (#14) was retired by the school. She currently holds four (4) girls' basketball records at Clay: Most Points - 1,846, Highest Free Throw Percentage - 70%, Highest Field Goal Percentage - 50%, and Highest Per Game Average - 21.2. She is the director of the Southern Ohio Medical Center Hospice and is the current Clay softball coach.
The Shaffer Family: Christopher Shaffer - He was a member of the 1998 graduating class of CHS and a 2002 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy--West Point. He is currently a captain in the U.S. Army. He has one tour of duty in Iraq. Sarah Shaffer - Sarah is a 2005 graduate and valedictorian of Clay High School. She was a Top 10 Female Finalist (Ohio) for the Wendy's High School Heisman Scholar-Athlete Scholarship. She is currently attending Miami University. Tim Shaffer - He is a 2002 graduate of CHS and a 2006 graduate of St. Bonaventure University. He is currently working on his post-graduate degree at the University of Dayton.
Cameron Thoroughman - He was a member of the 2006 CHS graduating class. While at Clay he was a member of two Southern Ohio Conference Division I golf championship teams. These teams made two trips to the OHSAA Division III state tournament (2004 & 2005). He was also on the 2005 Southern Ohio Conference Division I basketball championship team. He received a scholarship to play basketball at West Virginia University. He is currently redshirted.
Carol Vice - Mrs. Vice is a member of the Clay Coaches' Hall of Fame. During the years of 1978-1988 she coached volleyball, basketball, and softball. During her 11 years as a softball coach, her teams never lost a league title (9), never lost a sectional title (11), and never lost a district title (11). The teams also won 8 Regional titles; won 2 State Runner-up Titles (1979 and 1988); and 3 State Softball Titles (1980, 1981, and 1983). In 1980 and 1981 her teams were undefeated going 55-0 and her teams were 79-1 during those three state championship years. Under her guidance, Clay’s softball team was in the state final four 8 out of 11 years from 1978-1988. Clay’s softball team is still the only team from Scioto County and the Southern Ohio Conference to win a state softball title. Carol Vice is still the only coach from Scioto County and the Southern Ohio Conference to win a state softball title. Her overall record in softball was 261-20, never losing more than 4 games in any of her 11 years. She was also honored with a "star" on the Portsmouth area Floodwall of Stars, which highlights area people who have given to the Portsmouth community or who have made important contributions to our society. In addition, the school named its softball invitational the Carol Vice Classic to honor her contributions and efforts on behalf of the Clay softball program.
CHS Fight Song
"Clay High!
Clay High!
Three cheers for old Clay High.
Clay High!
Clay High!
For you we'll do or die.
Our hearts so true we give to gold and blue.
And so we pledge the best we have to you.
P
A
N
T
H
E
R
S
PANTHERS!
PANTHERS!
Panthers are the BEST!"
The words to the song were written by Wanda Lake, a Clay alumna.
Clay Legacy Scholarship Fund
Clay Legacy Scholarship Fund
Scioto Foundation (UCAN)
For additional information: http://www.sciotofoundation.org/brochure
Contact the Scioto Foundation
What is Ucan?
The Scioto Foundation values learning and the attainment of a college education for any and all in our community who chose to access it. A college education and its potential impact upon individuals and families can have a-far reaching effect upon the quality of life for the residents of the Scioto County area. In response to our lessons learned, our value of learning, and commitment to improve the quality of life for the residents of the Scioto County area, the Scioto Foundation has created the University College Access Network. UCAN is a program dedicated to providing financial assistance for our local youth to attend college.
The UCAN plan envisions the creation of a network connecting Scioto County school systems, families, community partners, local donors and the Scioto Foundation working together to achieve a mission that makes it possible for any child who wants to go to college to achieve that dream. The Foundation recognizes the need for flexibility in order to make UCAN suit each individual school system and welcomes input and suggestions on how to ensure its success.
Scioto Foundation UCAN
Cafe and Payment Accounts
Clay is in the process of implementing a new payment store for cafe and fees. Please check back later to access your balances and pay fees. Thank you!