Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Lexington, Kentucky)
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| Paul Laurence Dunbar High School | |
| Address | |
| 1600 Man O' War Blvd Lexington, Kentucky, 40513, United States |
|
| Website | |
| http://pld.fcps.net | |
| Information | |
| Religious affiliation | None |
| Principal | Anthony Orr |
| School type | Public |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Language | English |
| Area | Suburban |
| Motto | Where excellence is a tradition! |
| Mascot | Bulldog |
| Colors | Red █ and Black █ |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Enrollment | 2200 (2005) |
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (PLD) is a secondary school located at 1600 Man O' War Boulevard on the southwest side of Lexington, Kentucky, USA. The school is one of five high schools in the Fayette County Public Schools district.
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School is named after the famous 19th century African-American poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar. Opened in 1990, the school is the newest high school in Lexington, Kentucky. With an enrollment of over 2200, it is the largest public high school in Kentucky. It also houses the prestigious Math, Science, and Technology Center. The PLD student body, unlike that of most of the other schools named after Dunbar, has a substantial white majority, although African Americans make up roughly one fifth of the students.
Locally, PLD has earned a reputation of being an outstanding school, excelling in academics, athletics, fine arts and other student organizations. PLD's band and cheerleading programs have won national acclaim.
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[edit] History
The school name was part of a political deal made in 1965 with the city's African-American community. In the era of segregated schools, Dunbar High School, also named after the poet, was the city's lone surviving black high school and one of the main cornerstones of Lexington's black community. When Fayette County's schools integrated in 1967, Dunbar High was closed, with its students being bused to four previously white schools. Eventually, the county school board agreed that the next high school to open in Lexington would bear Dunbar's name. To the board's credit, it kept its word, even though a full generation had passed since the original agreement. To keep the schools differentiated, the new school was given the poet's full name, rather than just the last name as with the old school. As an additional tribute to the old Dunbar High School, the gymnasium was named the "S.T. Roach Sports Center" for basketball coach Sanford T Roach, who led the school to a 512-142 record from 1942 to 1965, and is a member of the National High School Sports Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. PLD adopted the red and black colors of the original Dunbar High, but did not adopt the former school's "Bearcats" nickname. A vote of the school's future students shortly before the school's opening favored "Bulldogs."
[edit] Academics
In the class of 2004, 25 seniors were named National Merit Semifinalists. It also ranks consistently as one of Kentucky's top high schools in terms of scores in the statewide testing program, CATS (Commonwealth Accountability Testing System).
[edit] Math, Science, and Technology Center
The Math, Science, and Technology Center, also known as MSTC, is a prestigious magnet program housed in Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. Since the program's establishment in 1991, it has produced 61 National Merit Finalists, has an average ACT score of 31 and an average SAT score of 1400. Seven MSTC students have scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT and one student has scored a perfect 36 on the ACT. MSTC graduates are offered an average of 5 scholarships from different schools, and have attended twenty of the top thirty universities and colleges in the country as ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
[edit] Athletics
Paul Laurence Dunbar offers many sports, including football, boys' and girls' basketball, soccer, baseball, softball, lacrosse, tennis, golf, track and field, cheerleading, swimming, and wrestling. The Students from PLD have a yearly impact on the KHSAA state championships.
[edit] Basketball
PLD boasted of a competitive boys' basketball program almost from the beginning. In 1993 the team lead by Darnell Burton, were State Runners-Up, losing at Rupp Arena. In 1994 the team repeated as State Runners-Up, losing at Freedom Hall. In 1997 the team again reached the Sweet Sixteen, losing in the first round.
[edit] Football
Unlike basketball, PLD Football got off to a slow start, hampered in part by the lack of a home stadium. For the first five and a half years, the team played their "home" games at other Lexington high schools. Midway through the 1995 season, PLD's football stadium opened, and that year the school advanced to the playoffs for the second time. The first playoff appearance was in 1992, only the school’s second year in existence. Unfortunately, their fate was to meet the eventual state AAAA champions in the first round. In 1996 they were the Kentucky 4A state runners-up, losing the championship game in overtime to Nelson County.
The football stadium was later named for Jon R. Akers, PLD's First principal.
[edit] Soccer
In 1992, 2002, and 2005 PLD Soccer were the State Champions. All three championships were under Todd Bretz who has been the head coach since the program's inception.
[edit] Cheerleading
PLD Cheerleading is nationally competitive. They have been UCA National Champions in the Large Varsity Division (all girls) in 1995, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007. UCA National Runners-Up in 2002 and 2003, Cheersports National Champions in 2003, and KAPOS State Champions in 2000 and 2003. They have been nationally ranked for twelve years and have been featured in The American Cheerleader Magazine. Donna Martin has coached the squad since the school opened in 1990. She has been elected to the Who's Who of Cheerleader Magazine and has coached cheerleading for 17 years. [1]
In 2001, MTV's True Life series prominently featured Dunbar's cheerleading team in the episode "I'm a Cheerleader."
On November 28, 2005, Lifetime Television announced a reality series featuring the PLD cheerleaders. [2] "Cheerleader Nation" premiered in early 2006.
[edit] Baseball
In 2003, PLD Baseball were state champions. [3] That year they also set a Kentucky record for the most wins in one season, winning 41 games and losing only 4. [4] It was Dunbar's first berth into the State Tournament and First State Title in the school's history. Josh Ellis went a perfect 12-0 in 2003, despite knee injury suffered in a PLD football game, and was named Kentucky's Mr. Baseball.
[edit] Track and field
In 2005, PLD girls' track and field tied as 3A state champions.
Both the boys' and girls' teams have won the Lexington City Championships each year since 2000.
[edit] Fine Arts
[edit] Band
The Paul Laurence Dunbar band, led by Jeff Hood and Brian Morgan have won national acclaim; they are one of a handful of programs that have been awarded the prestigious Sudler Shield twice. The school's commitment to a quality band program was clear from the beginning, when Craig Cornish, coming away from multiple consecutive state marching band championships, was hired as director. In 1998, Cornish left for the University of Nebraska, and assistant director Jeff Hood took over. The band have been state champions in 1991, definitely the high point in the school's history (Class AAA), 2003 and 2004 (Class AAAA), and 2005 (Class AAAAA); State Runners-Up in 1992, 1994, 1996, 2002 (all Class AAAA), and 2006 (Class AAAAA), and have been a state finalist 14 out of the last 15 years. In 2004 and 2005 they were a Bands of America Regional and Class Champion, at Middle Tennessee State University and Western Kentucky University. In 1995 and 1996 they were Grand Champions at the Contest of Champions at Middle Tennessee State University. Altogether, the band have been Grand Champions more than 20 times. The band averages about 8 to 10 All-State members each year.
[edit] Notable alumni
[edit] Basketball
- Darnell Burton (1990-93) - Scored 1,017 points in 1993 (9th all-time in Kentucky), starter at the University of Cincinnati.
- Cameron Mills (1990-94) - Played at the University of Kentucky.
[edit] Jeopardy! appearances
Dunbar students have an impressive history with the television game show Jeopardy!. In just 15 years since the school opened, three students have won the Teen Tournament, and one alumnus has won the College Championship.
- Fraser Woodford - Won 1993 Teen Tournament, appeared in 1993 Tournament of Champions
- Miguel Dickson - Participated in Fall 1999 Teen Tournament; was an alternate for the semifinals.
- John Zhang - Won 2003 Teen Tournament, appeared in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions
- Nathan Gordon - 2004 Played against Ken Jennings
- Kermin Elliott Fleming, Jr. - Won 2004 College Championship, appeared in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions
- Papa Chakravarthy - Won 2006 Teen Tournament [5]
