Duncanville High School

Duncanville High School is a secondary school located in Duncanville, Texas, United States. The school is a part of the Duncanville Independent School District.

The school includes grades 9 through 12. The high school campus is the largest in the nation in terms of physical size, and enrolls approximately 5,720 students annually. As of 2008, the school executive principal is Mike Chrietzberg, school principal is Mr. Elijah Granger, and associate principals are Mrs. Bell (10th -12th) and Mrs. Judd (9th). The school serves most of the city of Duncanville, the Duncanville ISD portion of DeSoto, and the Duncanville ISD portion of Dallas.

Contents

History

In 2006 Duncanville built a 4,010 feet (1,220 m) security fence, which circles around the entire campus, to deter fighting on school grounds.[1]

Composition

As of 2005 Duncanville High School is the second-largest high school campus in the United States.[1] The 863,137 square feet (80,188.1 m2) campus is more than twice as large as the nearby Mountain View College, and it is over the size of four combined Wal-Mart Supercenters. The only high school in the United States physically larger than Duncanville is Adlai Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Illinois.[2]

57% of the students are on free or reduced lunch.

The racial breakdown for 2010 according to DallasNews.com, is as follows: <http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/graphics/0610/schoolrace/?isdSelection=duncanville&raceSelection=black>

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

The school mascot is the Panther. With the exception of softball, the school has won state titles in every major team sport, including football (1998), boys' basketball (1991, 1999, 2007), girls' basketball (1976, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1997, 2003), baseball (1975, 1976, 1990), volleyball (1995), boys' track and field (1999), boys' soccer (1985), girls' soccer (1986, 1989) and marching band (1986, 1990, 2002). Additionally, in May 2005, the school's athletic program was ranked #24 in the nation by Sports Illustrated out of over 38,000 other high schools surveyed in the United States.

The school's most notable success has been in girls' basketball, where it has won six state titles, including three consecutive from 1988-1990 while winning 134 consecutive games (a state record). In 2007, the boys' basketball team won the state title with and undefeated season after a 14-point win over Humble Kingwood.

No UIL Class AAAAA school has ever managed to win championships in all three major boys sports in the same season, but Duncanville came the closest during the 1998-1999 school year, winning both the football and basketball titles and losing to Bellaire High School in the baseball championship game.

Music Programs

Duncanville High School's band program is widely known as one of the best high school band programs in the United States. Duncanville is the only 5A band program in the history of the Texas Music Educators' Association Honor Band competition to win three Honor Band titles and to win back-to-back at the same time as one of its CCC middle schools, Byrd Middle School. 182 Duncanville students were named to TMEA All-State bands and orchestras between 1983 and 2010.[3]

The Duncanville High School Marching Band was awarded the Sudler Shield of Honor in 1997 as one of the outstanding marching bands in the U.S. The program has also been honored by the John Philip Sousa Foundation with the coveted Sudler Flag of Honor recognizing Duncanville as a Nationally Exemplary Band Program. Duncanville is one of only a handful of programs worldwide to hold both Sudler Awards for high school band programs.

The Wind Ensemble has been the Region XX Honor Band every year since 1980 and has placed in the state finals of Honor Band competition seven times culminating in their selection as the 1998, 2004, and 2008 TMEA 5A Honor Band. Reed and Byrd Middle Schools have placed in the state finals of Honor Band Competitions a total of 13 times. Reed Middle School was the 2002 CCC TMEA Honor Band and Byrd was the 1982 CCC Honor Band, 2004 CCC Honor Band, AND 2008 CCC Honor Band. Duncanville is one of a very few school districts in Texas of any size in which all competing organizations have been selected as Honor Band. The Duncanville High School Bands paced the state in gold medals at the Interscholastic League State Competition for 18 years earning the coveted UIL State Sweepstakes Award for Class 5A. The award was discontinued in 1999. Duncanville High School is Texas' only Class 5A Band to earn all three state championships.

Marching band

The Duncanville High School Marching Band has been the UIL state champion in 1986, 1990, and 2002. Duncanville is the only 5A school in Texas to be in the state marching finals every year since 1988, and has won a state marching title every decade since the 1980s. Duncanville is also the largest marching band to be crowned State Champions.

Wind Ensemble

The Duncanville Wind Ensemble was featured at the 1994 and 2005 Midwest Conference in Chicago, Illinois, where a new transcription of Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem debuted. The Wind Ensemble has also been the Featured Performing Group at the Music Educators National Conference and the All-Japan Band Directors Conference in Nemu-no-Sato in 1998. The Wind Ensemble has never earned less than a "Superior" rating in either UIL or invitational concert competition.

Journalism

The school is also known for its journalism program, which publishes the Panther Tale yearbook, Panther Prints newspaper, and the district's public relations publication, Class Magazine. The yearbook and newspaper have won numerous awards, including a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award (known as "The Poor Man's Pulitzer") and Gold and Silver Crown awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. For the first time in 2003, Duncanville received a Gold Crown for its newspaper and its yearbook, one of only two high schools in the nation to capture both honors that year.

School dress code

The Duncanville ISD has had a mandatory school dress code policy at all of its schools since the fall of 2006. While the uniform for the elementary, intermediate, and middle schools includes white, navy blue, black, and grey shirts with navy blue, black, and khaki pants or skirts, Duncanville High School requires white or navy blue shirts with navy blue, black, or khaki pants or skirts. All shirts must be collared and long enough to tuck into the pants, and full-length pants are required, with sagging prohibited. All students must wear a belt with a buckle no larger than a credit card. Shoes must be closed-toed and closed-heeled. No headwear is allowed. Hooded jackets must be in uniform colors with no extra decorations, and hoods cannot be worn during school. Jackets and hoodies with school logos are allowed.[4]

Notable alumni

Notable alumni include:

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Duncanville High builds fence to deter fights." Associated Press at Houston Chronicle. January 23, 2006. Retrieved on July 26, 2010.
  2. ^ Booth, Herb. "Raising the roof on campus size Is a big school always better? Duncanville: Teens under one roof, but critics say it's too impersonal." The Dallas Morning News. August 28, 2005. Retrieved on July 26, 2010.
  3. ^ Link TMEA_all_state_history
  4. ^ "Standard of Dress for Grades 9-12." Duncanville ISD. 2011. Retrieved on November 10, 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d "The other great places to watch high school hoops." USA Today. February 25, 2004. Retrieved on March 1, 2009.
  6. ^ Perry Jones HS Bio Page
  7. ^ {www.nfl.com/player}

External links

Dallas-Fort Worth portal
Schools portal