Druid Hills High School

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Druid Hills High School
File:DHHS Main Building Dec 2011.jpg
The main building as viewed from the school's picnic area, December 2011
Quality Teaching, Quality Learning
Location
Druid Hills, Georgia, Dekalb
United States
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Information
Type Public
Established 1919
School number 2055
Principal Brittany Cunningham
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 1,421[1]
Average class size 250 to 400[2]
Student to teacher ratio 16.8[2]
Campus Suburban
Color(s) Red and Black
         
Athletics Baseball, Basketball, Cheerleading, Wrestling, Cross Country, Rifle Team, Football, Golf, Soccer, Softball, Swimming, Lacrosse, Tennis, Track & Field, Marching Band, Volleyball, Ultimate, and Wrestling[3]
Mascot Red Devils
Newspaper The Spotlight
Yearbook SAGA
Website Druid Hills High School

Druid Hills High School is a high school operated by the DeKalb County School System. It is located at 1798 Haygood Drive, in the Druid Hills CDP in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States.[1][4] It serves the Druid Hills CDP, the North Druid Hills CDP, and the North Decatur CDP.

School Characteristics

Academics

Several levels of academics are offered at Druid Hills. From least to greatest difficulty, the course types available are online/DOLA classes, general classes, accelerated/honors/gifted classes, Advanced Placement classes, and International Baccalaureate classes. Dual enrollment options are also offered. All classes are in accordance with Georgia Performance Standards and students must take state-administered End-of-Course Tests (EOCTs), unless otherwise exempt. Graduates often enroll as first-year undergraduate students at the University of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Georgia State University, but many go elsewhere.

Druid Hills has had IB accreditation since 2004 as an IB World School, one of the very few in the area to have done so. At Druid Hills, AP classes are generally much larger and much more popular than its IB counterparts. Roughly 10% of the student body enrolls in the IB Diploma Programme, often with below 50 IB students per year in the same grade.

Schedule

Druid Hills runs on a block schedule, meaning that students normally take four classes per semester. Some classes last two semesters because of curriculum requirements, such as many Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes.[1] First and second period classes at Druid Hills are 90 minutes long. Third and fourth periods are slightly longer because of lunch and afternoon announcements.

Students in the IB Diploma Programme have special accommodations in regards to scheduling. Since more classes are required than the typical four given in a block schedule, many IB classes, especially higher level classes, alternate with A/B days to work with the block scheduling. Because of this, IB students of a particular class are divided into two groups for A days and B days. When alternating days, an IB student's lunch may or may not be the same as that of the previous day. All lunches are approximately 30 minutes long. Since lunch is during third period, which lunch a student goes to is determined by what class the student has during third period.[5]

Enrollment

Enrollment for the 2009–2010 school year was 1,421 students[1] in grades 9-12.

Accreditation

On December 17, 2012, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools announced that it had downgraded the DeKalb County Schools System's status from "on advisement" to "on probation" and warned the school system that the loss of their accreditation was "imminent." [6] Partially in an attempt to distance Druid Hills from the danger of disaccreditation and county mismanagement, parents and other contributors of Druid Hills High School began a petition to form a private charter cluster of five elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. This included Druid Hills High School, Avondale Elementary, Briar Vista Elementary, Fernbank Elementary, Laurel Ridge Elementary, McLendon Elementary, and Druid Hills Middle School. However, this charter was turned down by the Dekalb School Board on November 11, 2013 with a 5-4 vote against it, which was a final and non-appealable decision.

School media

Druid Hills has two primarily student-run media outlets: The Spotlight, the school newspaper, and SAGA, the school's yearbook. The Spotlight, founded in 1938, is the oldest school newspaper in DeKalb County and is published 5-6 times during the school year, funded mostly by advertising revenue and subscriptions from community members. Each student in the school receives a copy of "The Spotlight" for free. SAGA publishes yearly. The publications are run by classes rather than extracurricular clubs.

Alfred Uhry Theater

When the Druid Hills Theater was renovated under the non-profit Uhry Theater project organization, the modernized theater became known as the Alfred Uhry Theater after the playwright Alfred Fox Uhry, a Druid Hills alumnus from 1954.[7]

The Joseph C. Faulkner Library Media Center

The Joseph C. Faulkner Library Media Center was dedicated May 24, 2004 in honor of Joe Faulkner's retirement after 33 faithful years of teaching English and coaching cross country at Druid Hills.[8]

Baron's Hall

Baron's Hall is a tradition that was established in 1962 at Briarcliff High School and was maintained when Briarcliff merged with Druid Hills High School. This ceremony is held for the purpose of honoring seniors who have excelled in the areas of athletics, leadership, service, the arts, academics, and foreign languages. The National Beta Club of Druid Hills sponsors Baron's Hall.

Three anonymous judges for Baron’s Hall use a tally sheet to determine the awards. The judges give one tally mark for every year that a student participated in an activity. (example: football = 1 tally mark in the designated box). If a student has achieved letters/bars or has had a leadership position, one point is appointed for each. (example: football captain = 1 tally mark; a letter and two bars in cross country = 3 tally marks). The tally sheet is arranged by category; by the end, it is obvious which seniors deserve awards. Four to eight seniors are chosen per category.[9]

NJROTC

In 1993 Shamrock High School acquired its NJROTC (Navy Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps) program. In 1996 Shamrock graduated its last class and was converted into a middle school. With Shamrock's NJROTC still in its infancy, the decision was made to maintain the program. Since the US Government did not have a JROTC program at the public middle school level, the programme could not stay at Shamrock. Druid Hills at the time did not have a JROTC program of its own so the decision was made to move the program there, thus becoming Druid Hills NJROTC.[10][11]

Sports

Cross country

The Druid Hills cross country team enjoyed success in the 2008 season. Both the girls' and boys' teams made the state championship, placing 8th and 5th respectively.[12][13] Druid Hills' Nabil Hamid won the AAA state championship with a time of 15:49.82.[13]

Boys' basketball

Druid Hills high school has won three boys' basketball state championships: 1953, 1954, and 1957.[14]

Girls' basketball

Druid Hills high school won the girls' basketball state championship in 1960.[15]

Boys' lacrosse

Druid Hills fielded a club team from 2009-2011 and competed in the North Georgia Lacrosse League. The team was composed of Decatur, Chamblee, Druid Hills, and Lakeside High School students, all of whom played in the Decatur Recreational Youth Lacrosse League. In 2012, the Dekalb County School System sponsored lacrosse throughout the county, enabling Druid Hills to field a varsity lacrosse team. Rivals include Dunwoody High School, Lakeside High School, Avondale High School,and Decatur High School.

Boys' gymnastics

Druid Hills High School has won three boys' gymnastics state championships: 1956, 1964, and 1965.[16]

Boys' track

Druid Hills high school has won eight boys track state championships: 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, and 1963.[17] Long-time WSB-TV news anchor John Pruitt was a member of the 1960 state champion team.[18] 1980 US Olympic Track Coach Jimmy Carnes was the track coach at Druid Hills from 1957 to 1962. Carnes' Druid Hills track teams were a perfect 52–0 in dual meets and captured six Georgia high school state championships, and he was recognized as Georgia Coach of the Year six times.[2]

Girls' tennis

Druid Hills high school won the 1981 girls' tennis state championship.[19]

Renovation

Druid Hills High School recently underwent a major renovation, originally scheduled to be completed in August 2009, but due to many delays, the date was pushed back into October 2009. Changes made include:

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  • New restrooms on the second floor of the main building
  • Updates to the media center
  • Expansion of the girls’ locker room
  • A new two-story building to house science classes
  • Increased wheelchair accessibility[20]
  • New HVAC system
  • New digital clocks in the hallways

Construction scandal

Former DeKalb County Schools Superintendent Crawford Lewis was indicted in 2012, along with former DeKalb County Schools Chief Operating Officer Pat Pope, and others, on criminal charges related to a construction scandal, involving DeKalb County schools. The indictment listed four counts of racketeering, as well as theft by taking and bribery.[21]

Feeder schools

The following elementary schools feed into Druid Hills:[22]

  • Briar Vista Elementary School
  • Fernbank Elementary School
  • Laurel Ridge Elementary School
  • McLendon Elementary School
  • Avondale Elementary School

Druid Hills Middle School, formerly known as Shamrock Middle School, is Druid Hills' only feeder middle school.

Notable alumni

  • Josh Arieh (class of 1992) - World Series of Poker champion
  • Ron Blomberg (class of 1966) - Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees[18]
  • Brenda Boozer (class of 1966) - NYC Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano[18]
  • Jay Cromwell (class of 2009) - two-time first team All DeKalb County quarterback, Beerio Kart Champion 2015
  • Alvin M. Ferst (class of 1937) - known for expanding Rich's Department Store from its one downtown Atlanta location to many locations throughout the United States [23]
  • Hermann Flaschka (class of 1962) - award-winning mathematician[24]
  • Sam Massell (class of 1944) - former mayor of Atlanta[18]
  • Jerry McCumber (class of 1966) - mayor of Avondale Estates[23]
  • Robert Allison Pendergrast - chemical engineer who worked on the Manhattan Project in Oak Ridge Tennessee, contributing to the development of the atomic bomb; founded the Pendergrast Chemical Company in Atlanta [25]
  • John Pruitt - WSB-TV (channel 2) news anchor[18]
  • Dale Russell - Fox5 News (channel 5) investigative reporter[23]
  • Ray Stevens (class of 1957) - award-winning recording artist[18]
  • Herman Talmadge - former Georgia Governor (1947, 1948–1954) and former Georgia Senator (1956–1980)[18]
  • Alfred Uhry (class of 1954) - playwright[18]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ "Druid Hills CDP, GA." United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ ""DeKalb school district in 'conflict and crisis,' put on probation by accreditation agency."." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. December 17, 2012. Retrieved on December 19, 2012.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 18.7 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/new-indictment-former-dekalb-superintendent/nNNpb/
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ http://www.dhhs62.com/classlist.pdf
  25. ↑ http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/atlanta/obituary.aspx?pid=158765718

External links

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