| Dutch Fork High School | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Irmo, South Carolina, United States | |
| Information | |
| Type | Public High School |
| Motto | "Enter to Learn... Go Forth to Serve" |
| Established | 1992 |
| School district | Lexington-Richland School District 5 |
| Principal | Greg Morton |
| Grades | 9-12 |
| Enrollment | 2,092 |
| Color(s) | Green and Silver |
| Athletics conference | 4A - Region V |
| Mascot | Silver Fox |
| Newspaper | The Renaissance |
| Yearbook | The Legacy |
Dutch Fork High School is a school in the Lexington & Richland County School District Five system, located in Irmo, South Carolina, United States. In 2009 it had approximately 1,956 students[1] and is growing at a rate of as much as 5% a year. Originally built to contain no more than about 1,600 students, it has been expanded to accommodate a little over 1,900, and has 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.
Current class breakdown is as follows:
Dutch Fork has been named in Newsweek's List of the 100 Best Schools in the United States for five years in a row. In 2009, Dutch Fork reached its highest ranking yet: #91.[2]
Dutch Fork High school is ranked 1 out of 244 in South Carolina, 2011.
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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.
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.
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. There are also district-wide lacrosse teams. The boys district lacrosse team is under the Irmo High School name and the girls lacrosse team is under the Chapin High School name. Both Irmo and Chapin High School are in district five.
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 Civitans. 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.
The following elementary schools feed into Dutch Fork High 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.