Tates Creek High School: Home of the Commodores and FCPS's IB Program

Tates Creek High School is one of Fayette County's six traditional public high schools, founded in 1965 in south Lexington. The Commodores serve about 1,700 students at the Centre Parkway campus, with their most academically distinctive offering being the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme, one of the few IB programs in Kentucky. The school has built a notable athletic legacy with 63 state championships (team and individual) and a strong list of professional alumni in baseball and football, including 16-season NFL placekicker David Akers and 2019 World Series champion Trevor Gott. This guide covers Tates Creek's history, the IB program, other programs, athletics, notable alumni, and where it sits in Lexington's school landscape.

If you're researching FCPS more broadly, start with the Lexington Schools Guide. For other individual school pages, see Lafayette High School, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Henry Clay High School, Frederick Douglass High School, and Bryan Station High School.

Quick Facts

• Address: 1111 Centre Parkway, Lexington, KY 40517
• District: Fayette County Public Schools
• Founded: 1965
• Mascot: Commodores / Lady Commodores
• Colors: Maroon, white, and black
• Principal: Kristy Field
• Enrollment: Roughly 1,733 students
• Student-teacher ratio: Roughly 17 to 1
• U.S. News 2025-26 Kentucky ranking: #162
• Specialty programs: International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme
• Student newspaper: The Masthead
• Website: tchs.fcps.net

History

Tates Creek High School was founded in 1965 and built as the last of three schools on the Tates Creek Campus in south Lexington. The campus model groups Tates Creek Elementary, Tates Creek Middle, and Tates Creek High on a single shared site, an unusual configuration for Fayette County.

The school recently completed a major facility renovation. The modernized building features open-concept collaboration zones and "neighborhood" learning wings designed around contemporary educational philosophy about smaller, more focused learning environments within a large school.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme

Tates Creek's most distinctive academic offering is the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme, a globally recognized college-preparatory curriculum that is significantly more rigorous than standard high school and even many AP tracks. Tates Creek is one of only a few schools in Kentucky to offer the full IB Diploma.

The IB Diploma Programme is a two-year curriculum for grades 11 and 12 that requires students to study six subject groups (languages, sciences, mathematics, humanities, arts, and a second language), complete an extended research essay, take a Theory of Knowledge course, and participate in a Creativity-Activity-Service program. Graduates earn the IB Diploma, which is recognized by universities worldwide and often confers significant college credit and admissions advantages.

For families researching Lexington schools with international or rigorous college-prep priorities, Tates Creek's IB Programme is one of the strongest options in central Kentucky.

Other Programs and Academics

Beyond IB, Tates Creek offers:

• Advanced Placement (AP): Roughly 24% AP participation rate, with a broad selection of AP courses.
• Career pathways: Industry-focused tracks for students interested in trade and technical careers.
• Magnet school designation: Tates Creek is designated as a magnet school within FCPS due to the IB programme.

Athletics

Tates Creek athletics compete as the Commodores (boys) and Lady Commodores (girls). The school has accumulated 63 state championships in team and individual sports across its history, one of the higher totals in Fayette County.

Home venues:

• Roy G. Walton Stadium for football and outdoor sports
• Nolan Barger Gymnasium for basketball and indoor sports

Athletic rivalries: Tates Creek competes within the traditional Fayette County circuit alongside Lafayette, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Henry Clay, Bryan Station, and Frederick Douglass throughout the year.

The Commodores field teams in football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, volleyball, swimming, tennis, golf, track and field, cross country, lacrosse, wrestling, and cheerleading and dance.

Notable Alumni

Tates Creek has produced a remarkable list of professional athletes plus notable figures in college coaching:

David Akers. NFL placekicker who played 16 seasons (1999-2014). Best known for his decade-plus tenure with the Philadelphia Eagles (1999-2010), where he became the franchise's all-time leading scorer. After Philadelphia, he played for the San Francisco 49ers (2011-2012) and the Detroit Lions (2013). Akers was a six-time Pro Bowl selection and led the NFL in scoring in both 2010 and 2011. He appeared in three NFC Championship games and one Super Bowl (Super Bowl XXXIX with the Eagles, a loss to the New England Patriots in 2005).

Trevor Gott. Major League Baseball relief pitcher with a journeyman career across multiple franchises. Originally drafted by the San Diego Padres in 2013, Gott has played for the Los Angeles Angels, Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee Brewers, Seattle Mariners, and New York Mets. His career highlight came in 2019, when he was a member of the Washington Nationals team that won the World Series against the Houston Astros.

John T. Shelby. Major League Baseball outfielder from 1981 to 1991, nicknamed "T-Bone" during his playing career. Shelby is one of a small number of players to have won World Series championships with two different teams: the 1983 Baltimore Orioles (under manager Joe Altobelli) and the 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers (the historic Kirk Gibson home run team managed by Tommy Lasorda). He played for the Orioles, Dodgers, and Detroit Tigers across his career.

Javon Shelby and Jarren Shelby. Sons of John T. Shelby. Both played professional or high-level baseball, making the Shelby family a three-generation Tates Creek baseball story stretching from the 1983 World Series-winning Orioles into the present.

Darrin Horn. Head college basketball coach. Horn led Western Kentucky to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances during his tenure as head coach (2003-2008), then served as head coach at the University of South Carolina (2008-2012). More recently he has coached at Northern Kentucky University.

Devin Hairston. Baseball player drafted by Major League teams.

Which Neighborhoods Feed Into Tates Creek

Tates Creek serves south Lexington. Specific zoning varies by exact address.

The feeder area includes neighborhoods in the Tates Creek subdivision area, parts of Lansdowne, parts of Beaumont, and other south-side residential areas off Tates Creek Road, Man o' War Boulevard, and Nicholasville Road. These specific neighborhoods aren't currently covered on this site but they feed into Tates Creek by default zoning.

Because boundary lines vary by exact address and have shifted with recent rezonings, always verify your specific address with the FCPS SchoolSite Locator.

How to Learn More

To verify your specific address is zoned for Tates Creek, use the FCPS SchoolSite Locator.

For current programs, teachers, and recent news, visit the school website at tchs.fcps.net.

For the broader district context, see the Lexington Schools Guide.

For other individual school pages, see Lafayette High School, Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Henry Clay High School, Frederick Douglass High School, and Bryan Station High School.

For neighborhood research, the neighborhoods section of this site covers Lexington neighborhoods in detail.