Dougherty Comprehensive High School

Dougherty Comprehensive High School
Address
1800 Pearce Ave.
Albany, Georgia
United States
Coordinates 31°34′02″N 84°06′06″W / 31.567274°N 84.101788°W / 31.567274; -84.101788Coordinates: 31°34′02″N 84°06′06″W / 31.567274°N 84.101788°W / 31.567274; -84.101788
Information
Type Public secondary
Motto "Dedicated to the Pursuit of Excellence"
Established 1963
Oversight Dougherty County School System
Principal Eddie Johnson
Grades 9–12
Enrollment 868
Campus Open
Color(s)          Maroon and white
Mascot Trojan
Nickname DCHS
Rival Monroe
Yearbook Dohiscan
Network Partnership with Albany State University
Website Dougherty High School

Dougherty Comprehensive High School is a four-year secondary school located in Albany, Georgia, United States. It is part of the Dougherty County School System, along with Albany High School, Monroe Comprehensive High School, and Westover Comprehensive High School. It was founded in 1963.

DCHS offers a variety of academic and career studies designed to encompass the abilities of all students. The administrators, faculty and staff seek to educate the complete student. Classroom activities are designed so that students focus on improving their oral, written, listening, and speaking skills.

DCHS enrolls about 869 students. The student body is 94% African-American, 4% Caucasian, and 2% of other races.

DCHS is a Title I school, with about 86% economically disadvantaged students and about 7% with disabilities.

Dougherty High is the first and only high school in the Dougherty County School System to be under the charter school system to implement the International Baccalaureate Program, starting in the 2008-2009 school year.

The school colors are maroon and white, and its mascot is the Trojan.

Early history

Dougherty High School was built in an effort to accommodate East Albany and the growing number of students from the two military bases located nearby. One was a SAC (Air Force) base, and the other was a Marine base. Construction started in 1964 and the first graduating class was in 1965. "Onward, upward we shall strive, senior class of 65" was the class motto.

This was before the comprehensive approach to education was adopted. Each grade was divided into three levels of achievement: above average, average and below average.

Dougherty High was an excellent school with above average teachers, most of whom had master's degrees and were tops in their fields. The graduation rate was 98%, which was greater than the state average of the period.

There was a broad spectrum of classes, including math, English, Physical Science, Social Science, Sociology and Psychology, Biology, Industrial Arts and Home Economics, mechanical drawing and shop, music and Language Arts and business administration. Sprots includes track, football, basketball, tennis, softball, soccer, cross country, wrestling, golf and cheerleading. Dougherty High has many clubs and organizations, such as Band, Civitans and Civinetts, Key Club, Anchor Club, Interact, Glee Club, Spanish Club, Future Homemakers of America, Future Business Leaders of America, FTA, Audio Visual and Allied Medical Student Council and Beta Club, Science Club, SkillsUSA and the Thespians.

The first black students to attend Dougherty High were Brenda Barlow and Shirley Carruthers, both 1966 seniors. The closing of the Air Force base and later the Navy base in the late 1960s provided an opportunity for the Douherty County School systems to move a large portion of Monroe High school's largely black student population to the relatively newer Dougherty High School. The three-tier class system could no longer be supported, so the Dougherty County School system changed to the comprehensive method of class dispersal. In other words, all the students of a particular grade were taught the same thing on the same level. Hence Dougherty High School became Dougherty Comprehensive High School.

Athletics

Football

The football team won the GHSA Class AAA State Championship in 1998.

Basketball

Dougherty won GHSA State Basketball Championships in 1997 (AAA) and 2001 (AAAA).

Extracurricular organizations

Phantom Trojan Marching Band

Since its reemergence in 1998 under the leadership of Darren Johnson, Sr., the band has participated in and won many prestigious marching band festivals and competitions in Georgia, Florida, and Alabama. Known as a diverse and entertaining band, the Phantom Trojan Marching Band (PTMB) has won in both traditional and corps-style competitions. The drumline, known as Phantom Phunq, were crowned grand champions three consecutive years (2001-2003) at the annual Battle of the Drumline in Columbus, Georgia. Under Johnson, band students received over a million dollars in scholarships to colleges and universities including Tennessee State University, Bethune Cookman University, Florida A&M University, Albany State University, and Morris Brown College.

In 2007, the leadership changed. Joseph Martin was named director of bands after Johnson accepted a position at Peach County High School. Under his music ability several members participated in honor bands on the county, district, regional, and state levels. Martin and his students maintained a traditional level of superior performances in both marching and symphonic bands.

Members of this band appeared in the movie Drumline.

Due to Martin accepting a position at Westside High School (Macon, Georgia), the leadership changed and Karalda Perkins was named the new director of bands in July 2016.

In May 2017, it was announced that Matthew Peters will be director of bands starting the 2017 school year.

Along with marching band, students participate in other ensembles such as symphonic band, concert band, jazz band, percussion ensemble, and other musical activities.

Chorale

DCHS chorale has won local and national awards and achievements and received praise and acknowledgment from the media. They received a Grammy Signature Award, and have won first place and overall winner awards of 15 national music festival competitions throughout the United States.

They performed for President Jimmy Carter in January 2005 at the National Annual Black Caucus Convention, in Washington, D.C. (for five years straight dating back to September 2003). They have performed with gospel artists Richard Smallwood and Vickie Winans, with classical composers James Mulholland and Moses Hogan, and with the Southeastern Symphony Orchestra.

The DCHS Chorale also released a record, ONE WORLD, in 2004, a compilation of choral music which includes a cappella motets, anthems, spirituals, inspirations, and gospel selections.

The chorale serves through public performances and charitable contributions throughout their community and country. They have presented benefit concerts for homeless shelters and disaster relief.[2]

Events

School renovations

Phase I of the construction of the fine arts hall is complete. This hall features two art rooms (2D and 3D), band room, orchestra room, choral room, backstage, and dance studio. Other additions and renovations include the new gallery area in front of the auditorium, black box theatre, renovated auditorium, special education classrooms and health classrooms.

Phase II is being executed by CGM Construction Inc. The work consists of constructing a new central plant, adding to the office and media center, adding a new drafting lab and mechanical spaces to the annex building, converting the breezeway to interior space, and enclosing the space between the main building and the annex building. The existing classrooms and support spaces in the main building will be renovated and modified to include new finishes (floor coverings, ceilings, interior wall finishes/systems, skylights), new mechanical/HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and fire sprinkler systems. The existing bituminous roof will be removed and replaced. The teachers' parking lot on the east wing of the building and service entrance behind the building will be paved. Other renovations and modifications include reconstructing and modernizing the gym, finishing the renovation of the auditorium, converting the auto mechanics garage to a shooting range for MCJROTC, and converting the construction garage to a health occupations lab. Construction began in September 2013, and was expected to be complete in the spring of 2015.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ Jobs for Georgia's Graduates
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ http://www.albanyherald.com/sports/dougherty-high-still-relishes-football-title/article_d6c6751d-827d-50ee-afd2-0acdf3c3b745.html
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