Druid Hills High School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Druid Hills High School
Location
Druid Hills, Georgia, Dekalb, United States
Coordinates 33°47′37″N 84°18′58″W / 33.79356°N 84.31603°W / 33.79356; -84.31603Coordinates: 33°47′37″N 84°18′58″W / 33.79356°N 84.31603°W / 33.79356; -84.31603
Information
Type Public
Motto Quality Teaching, Quality Learning
Established 1919
School number 2055
Principal Mindee Adamson
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
DHHS Main Building Dec 2011.jpg
The main building as viewed from the school's picnic area December 2011

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.

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".[5]

Contents

School Characteristics[edit]

Schedule[edit]

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 Higher Level classes.[1] First and second period classes at Druid Hills are 90 minutes long. Third and fourth period are slightly longer because of lunch and the afternoon announcements. All lunches are 25 minutes long. Because lunch is during third period, which lunch a student goes to is determined by what class they have during third period.[6]

Enrollment[edit]

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

Accreditation[edit]

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." [7]

School media[edit]

Druid Hills has three primarily student-run media outlets: The Spotlight, the school newspaper; ‘‘SAGA’’, the school's yearbook; and WDHS, the in-school news network. The Spotlight, founded in 1938, is the oldest school newspaper in DeKalb County and is published monthly during the school year, funded mostly by advertising revenue and the PTSA. SAGA publishes yearly. The publications are run by classes rather than extracurricular clubs.

Alfred Uhry Theater[edit]

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.[8]

The Joseph C. Faulkner Library Media Center[edit]

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.[9]

Baron's Hall[edit]

Baron's Hall is a tradition that was established in 1962 at Briarcliff High School and was maintained when Briarcliff High School merged with Druid Hills High School. This traditional 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 then judge their applications.

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: Captain of football = 1 tally mark, a letter and 2 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.[10]

NJROTC[edit]

In 1993 Shamrock High School acquired its NJROTC (Navy Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps) program. In 1996 Sharmrock High School graduated its last class. Shamrock was coverted into a middle school. With Shamrock's NJROTC still in its inficy the decision was made to maintain Shamrock's NJROTC program. Since the United States Government did not have a JROTC program at the public middle school level the programe 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 moved the program to Druid Hills High School, thus becoming Druid Hills NJROTC.[11][12]

Sports[edit]

Cross country[edit]

The Druid Hills cross country team enjoyed success in the 2008 season. Both the girl's and boy's teams made the state championship, placing 8th and 5th respectively.[13][14] Druid Hills' Nabil Hamid won the AAA state championship with a time of 15:49.82.[14]

Boys Basketball[edit]

Druid Hills high school has won three boys basketball state championships: 1953, 1954, and 1957.[15]

Girls Basketball[edit]

Druid Hills high school won the girls basketball state championship in 1960.[16]

Boys Lacrosse[edit]

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

Boys Gymnastics[edit]

Druid Hills high school has won three boys gymnastics state championships: 1956, 1964, and 1965.[17]

Boys Track[edit]

Druid Hills high school has won eight boys track state championships: 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, and 1963.[18] Long-time WSB-TV news anchor John Pruitt was a member of the 1960 state champion team.[19] 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 the Georgia coach of the year six times.[2]

Girls Tennis[edit]

Druid Hills high school won the 1981 girls tennis state championship.[20]

Renovation[edit]

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

  • 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[21]
  • New HVAC system
  • New digital clocks in the hallways.

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.[22]

Notable alumni[edit]

  • Alvin M Ferst, Known for expanding Rich's Department Store from its one down town Atlanta location to many locations throughout the United States (Class of 1937)[23]
  • Sam Massell, Former Mayor of Atlanta. Class of 1944[19]
  • Ron Blomberg, Major League Baseball Player for New York Yankees. Class of 1966[19]
  • Brenda Boozer. NYC Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano. Class of 1966[19]
  • Herman Talmadge, Former Georgia Governor (1947, 1948–1954) and Former Georgia Senator (1956–1980).[19]
  • Alfred Uhry, Playwright. Class of 1954[19]
  • Ray Stevens, Award winning recording artist. Class of 1957[19]
  • Hermann Flaschka Award winning mathematician (Class of 1962)[24]
  • Jerry McCumber, Mayor of Avondale Estates (Class of 1966)[23]
  • John Pruitt, WSB-TV (Channel 2) News Anchor[19]
  • Josh Arieh (Class of 1992) World Series of Poker Champion
  • Dale Russell, Fox5 News (Channel 5) Investigative Reporter[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]

Feeder schools[edit]

The following elementary schools feed into Druid Hills:[26]

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

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Druid Hills". DeKalb County Schools. Retrieved June 3, 2010. 
  2. ^ a b "National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)". Retrieved February 28, 2010. 
  3. ^ "Sports". Druid Hills High School website. Retrieved March 18, 2010. 
  4. ^ "Druid Hills CDP, GA." United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 5, 2009.
  5. ^ ""DeKalb school district in 'conflict and crisis,' put on probation by accreditation agency."." The Atlanta Journal and Constitution. December 17, 2012. Retrieved on December 19, 2012.
  6. ^ "Druid Hills Bell Schedule". Retrieved July 5, 2009. 
  7. ^ ""DeKalb school district in 'conflict and crisis,' put on probation by accreditation agency."." The Atlanta Journal and Constitution. December 17, 2012. Retrieved on December 19, 2012.
  8. ^ "Uhry Theater". Druid Hills High School website. Retrieved November 27, 2007. 
  9. ^ "Library". Druid Hills High School website. Retrieved March 7, 2010. 
  10. ^ "Baron's Hall". Druid Hills High School website. Retrieved March 7, 2010. 
  11. ^ "History". Druid Hills High School website. Retrieved March 7, 2010. 
  12. ^ Pauling, Senior Chief Calvin B. (2004), "Druid Hills/Shamrock NJROTC History", In persion at Druid Hills high School 
  13. ^ GHSA. "GHSA Girls AAA Cross Country Results 2008". Retrieved August 1, 2009. 
  14. ^ a b GHSA. "GHSA Boys AAA Cross Country Results 2008". Retrieved August 1, 2009. 
  15. ^ GHSA. "GHSA Boys Basketball State Champions". Retrieved December 16, 2010. 
  16. ^ GHSA. "GHSA Girls Basketball State Champions". Retrieved December 16, 2010. 
  17. ^ GHSA. "GHSA Boys Gymnastics State Champions". Retrieved December 16, 2010. 
  18. ^ GHSA. "GHSA Boys Track State Champions". Retrieved December 16, 2010. 
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h "Druid Hills Famous Alumni". Retrieved November 18, 2007. 
  20. ^ GHSA. "GHSA Girls Tennis State Champions". Retrieved December 16, 2010. 
  21. ^ "Clifton Community Partnership". Clifton Community Partnership. Retrieved January 28, 2011. 
  22. ^ http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/new-indictment-former-dekalb-superintendent/nNNpb/
  23. ^ a b c "Druid Hills Famous Alumni". Retrieved July 6, 2012. 
  24. ^ http://www.dhhs62.com/classlist.pdf
  25. ^ http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/atlanta/obituary.aspx?pid=158765718
  26. ^ "DeKalb County Elementary Feeder Schools". June 12, 2007. Retrieved November 16, 2007. 

External links[edit]

GHSA Class AAA Region 5
Sub-Region A
Sub-Region B
External Links
Architects
Historic buildings
Historic districts
Institutions
People
Transportation
Other
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Druid_Hills_High_School&oldid=554945142"