Designed by William B. Ittner, the first Clayton High School building opened in September 1917 at 7500 Maryland Avenue.

[2] The building, which cost slightly less than $111,000 to construct and $14,000 to partially equip, included six main classrooms and a large study hall–library.

[3] Clayton has been ranked among the top public high schools by Newsweek and has won national and state-level awards for quality.

[9] Since the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2001, Clayton met the requirements for adequate yearly progress in communication arts in 2004, 2006, and from 2009 through 2011, and in mathematics from 2006 through 2010.

Staff members have been recipients of two Brasler Prizes (scholastic equivalent of the Pulitzer) and three Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award.