Dutch Fork High School

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Dutch Fork High School is a school in the Lexington & Richland County School District Five system, located in Irmo, South Carolina, United States. It has about 2,200 students and is growing at a rate of as much as 5% a year. Originally built to contain no more than about 1,200 students, it has been expanded to accommodate a little over 2,000, and has recently faced severe overcrowding. Portable classrooms have been installed starting in the 2005-2006 school year, and nearly twice as many have been for the 2006-2007 school year.

In Newsweek's 2007 List of the 1,300 Best Schools in the United States, Dutch Fork ranked #423, moving up from the rank of #434 in 2006.[1] [2]

Contents

[edit] Principal and Staff

The new principal of Dutch Fork High School was announced in the Spring of 2007 as Gregg Morton, former principal at Pine Ridge Middle School in West Columbia. Morton officially became the new principal of Dutch Fork High School as of July 1, 2007.

A total of 143 teachers and educators work at DFHS, most of which retain vast experience in their respective fields. Of the current teaching staff, 86% hold at least a master's degree in one field and 35 have National Board Certification. On average, teachers hold 14 years of experience.

[edit] Classes and Curriculum

Dutch Fork High School offers grade level, advanced, honors, and AP level courses, giving students a varied set of courses to work with their differing strengths and weaknesses. In addition, the STEM accelerated learning program offers numerous series of science and math courses for students to take an intensive AP/Honors curriculum before moving on to similar studies in college.

A total of 19 Advanced Placement courses are offered in both liberal arts and science/math fields. In addition, 3 college credit classes are offered in cooperation with the University of South Carolina and Midlands Technical College.

[edit] Athletics

DFHS offers numerous award-winning sports and athletic programs to students, as well as intramurals and in-school tournaments that change throughout the year. The school mascot is "Foxy" the Silver Fox and teams are known as the Dutch Fork Silver Foxes, with the exception of the district-wide hockey team: The District Five Fusion.

  • Soccer
  • Baseball
  • Basketball
  • Cheerleading
  • Cross Country
  • Football
  • Golf
  • Hockey
  • Softball
  • Swimming
  • Tennis
  • Track
  • Ultimate
  • Volleyball
  • Wrestling

[edit] Clubs and Organizations

Dutch Fork maintains a very extensive and open collection of student organizations, as well as chapters of state and national organizations such as Key Club, Beta Club, and Junior Civitan. In addition to the current offering, students are able to found school sponsored clubs in a fashion similar to many colleges and universities: attain a teacher willing to sponsor the group, write a group charter/constitution, and establish yourself with the Student Council office of Clubs & Organizations.

  • Academic Quiz Team
  • Amnesty International
  • Art Honor Society
  • Band
  • Beta Club
  • B.A.S.I.C.
  • Broadcast Journalism (The Silver Screen Report)
  • Chess Club
  • Chorus
  • CSA
  • Dazzlers
  • DECA
  • Debate Team

[edit] Feeder patterns

The following elementary schools feed into Dutch Fork High School:

  • Ballentine Elementary School
  • H. E. Corley Elementary School
  • Dutch Fork Elementary School
  • Oak Pointe Elementary School
  • River Springs Elementary School

6th grade students living in the DFHS attendance zone are zoned to CrossRoads Middle School.

7th and 8th graders in the DFHS attendance zone are zoned to Dutch Fork Middle School.

[edit] Sources

1. http://www.lex5.k12.sc.us/dfhs/
2. http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/15128268.htm

[edit] References

  1. ^ America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com
  2. ^ America's Top Public High Schools | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com

[edit] External links