The school was established in September 1960 in Avondale, in the eastern section of Birmingham.

It is named for Dr. Carol William Hayes, the city's former "Director of Negro Schools".

The school added a twelfth grade in 1961, and the first seniors graduated in May 1962.

In 2003 it reverted to a high school, and graduated its first class in sixteen years in 2005.

Declining enrollment in the school system, however, led the board to close Hayes.