Durham Public Schools - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Durham Public Schools was formed in 1992 with the merger of Durham

Durham, North Carolina

Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...

's previous two school districts and is currently the 8th largest school system in North Carolina. There are currently 46 public schools in the system, consisting of 28 elementary (K-5), 8 middle (6-8), 2 secondary (6-12), 7 high (9-12), and 1 hospital school. Durham's schools are traditionally named after notable members of the local community (such as George Watts

George Washington Watts

George Washington Watts was an American manufacturer, financier and philanthropist. Alongside James B. Duke, he co-founded the American Tobacco Company, as well as Watts Hospital, the first hospital in Durham, North Carolina, which prompted the establishment of Duke University.-Biography:Born in...

or Rogers-Herr) or the area they are built in (such as Bethesda or Eno Valley).

Formation

In 1927, Hope Valley School was built for grades 1 through 11. It was the first government-run school in Southwestern Durham. Changes to the Hope Valley School facility were made in 1941 and 1952. the school was subsequently downgraded to an elementary school with the opening of Southern High School in the fall of 1956. In 1964, Jordan High School on Garrett Road was constructed.

Merger history

Prior to integration, it was commonly thought that the most prominent people attended the Durham City School System: white students attended Durham High School and black students attended Hillside High School.

In 1956, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...

spoke at Hillside High School, which was one of the Southeast's highest-ranked black high schools.

In 1957, the parents of Joycelyn McKissick and Elaine Richardson sued for their daughters to be reassigned to Durham High School of the Durham City School System.

In 1958, Rencher N. Harris became the first black member of Durham City Board of Education.

In 1959, the Durham City School Board allowed reassignment of eight black pupils to previously all-white schools. The first black students to integrate were Anita Brame and Lucy Jones at Brogden Junior High (now Brogden Middle School). In 1959, Joycelyn McKissick became the first African American student at Durham High School.

In 1968, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...

(NAACP) sued the Durham County School System in order to integrate its schools. The Durham County School Board's integration plan was accepted by the Federal District Court in Greensboro. The plan stated that all high schools and junior high schools would be integrated in the fall of 1969. The Federal District Judge gave an extra year for elementary schools due to space limitations and the need to purchase mobile units.

Durham County School System's principals had all been hired during legal segregation, so there was much discussion in the community about how successful integration would be in Durham County. One problem that existed was at Southern High School whose principal was Sidney Ray. Southern High School's mascot was the Rebel, and the high school used the confederate flag. The mascot was later changed to the Spartan. There was less concern about Jordan High School because it had been attended by more affluent families of all colors.

In 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court in Alexander vs. Holmes County Board of Education reversed the decision of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, ruling that continued operation of segregated schools in Mississippi was no longer permissible. The NAACP filed suit in the Court of Appeals in Richmond saying, based on Alexander-Holmes Decision, they wanted all of Durham's elementary schools integrated. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to hear the case in December. The judge stated that Durham County and City Schools had been given 15 years to accomplish integration and had failed. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled integration would happen immediately.

In the fall of 1969, all three high schools (Southern, and C.E. Jordan, and Northern) and junior high schools were integrated as ordered. Durham City Schools' high schools were Durham High School and Hillside High School, which were at this time were still the largest public schools in both the city and county of Durham.

In 1970, Durham County elementary schools were fully integrated. Durham City schools began to decline after integration. Middle- and upper-class began emigrating out

White flight

White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...

of the Durham City School System to the Durham County School System. The Durham City School System became populated with poorer people. Hillside High School, almost entirely black, maintained a good number of middle-class blacks. Due to immense migration, blacks began to control the Durham City School System and elected a majority black school board and a black superintendent

Superintendent (education)

In education in the United States, a superintendent is an individual who has executive oversight and administration rights, usually within an educational entity or organization....

.

A merger attempt of the Durham City School System and the Durham County School System was made in 1972. There were several more attempt that failed to gain support. Finally, in 1992 an agreement was reached. During the merger, the Durham County School System's junior high (grades 7, 8 & 9) and senior high (10, 11, & 12) format was abolished and the Durham City School System's format of middle schools (grades 6, 7 and 8) and high schools (grades 9, 10, 11 and 12) was implemented.

In 1992, the Durham County School System and the Durham City School System merged to form Durham Public Schools.

2010-2012 Board of Education

The chairman is Minnie Forte-Brown (District A). The vice chairman is Heidi Carter(District B). Board members are:

Leigh Bordley (At Large)
Omega Curtis Parker (District 1)
Fredrick A. Davis (District 2)
Nancy Cox (District 3)
Natalie Beyer (District 4)

Superintendents

1992

Kenneth Brunson

1992-1993

C. Owen Phillips

1994-1996

Theodore R. Drain

1997-2006

Dr. Ann T. Denlinger

2006-2009

Dr. Carl E. Harris

January - June 2010

H. Hank Hurd (as Interim Superintendent)

July 1, 2010

Dr. Eric J. Becoats

Statistics

Durham Public Schools employs 4,600 people (2,300 of them teachers) and had 32,551 students as of the 20th day of school in 2009.

Pre-Kindergarten: 426
Grades K-5: 15,394
Grades 6-8: 6,785
Grades 9-12: 9,946

Teacher salaries range from $29,750 to $65,440.

The government utilizes more than 300 school buses to transport over 16,000 students throughout Durham every day.

Demographics

As of the 2010-2011 school year there were 32,566 students enrolled in Durham Public Schools.

Durham Public Schools Student Demographics
	2003-04	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10	2010-11
Black	56.53%	53.86%	na	52.52%	52.12%
White	29.2%	22.60%	na	21.36%	21.13%
Hispanic	8.9%	17.11%	na	19.22%	20.97%
Asian	2.4%	2.60%	na	2.62%	2.44%
American Indian	0.3%	0.21%	na	0.22%	0.29%
Multi-racial	2.9%	3.60%	na	4.06%	3.05%
TOTAL	30889	32749	32499	32551	32566

Hillside

Hillside High School is a four-year government high school

High school

High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

. Of more than 300 historically black high schools that once operated in the state before desegregation

Desegregation

Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...

, only five remain today, with Hillside being the oldest. Hillside is accredited by the Southern Association of Schools & Colleges. The school mascot is the hornet. Hillside is known for performing arts

Performing arts

The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...

such as their award-winning Marching Band and Drama Department.

Jordan

Charles E. Jordan High School is located on Garrett Road near Hope Valley Road in southwest Durham. The school mascot is the falcon

Falcon

A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....

. Jordan students come from many area middle school

Middle school

Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...

s such as Shepard, Githens, Lowe's Grove, and Rogers-Herr.

Northern

Northern High School is a four-year government high school located in the northern part of Durham. Northern's current principal is John Colclough. Approximately 1633 students are currently enrolled at Northern. Northern is one of Durham's seven government high schools. Students take 4 classes each day. Northern's mascot is a knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

Riverside

Riverside High School is a four-year government high school located in Northern Durham. The current principal is Jackie Tobias. Opened in 1991, the school currently has approximately 1935 students and is one of seven high schools in the Durham Public School System.

Southern

Southern High School is a four-year government high school located in southern Durham. Southern is a 4A school, and has football, baseball, and basketball programs as well as the Symphonic Soul of the South Marching Band. There are currently 1105 students.

Middle College

Middle College High School is located on the campus of Durham Tech

Durham Technical Community College

Durham Technical Community College is a public two-year accredited institution of higher education and technical training school located in Durham, North Carolina, USA. Durham Tech's main campus is near to downtown Durham, Research Triangle Park, and Raleigh-Durham International Airport...

. This high school is only for juniors and seniors

Twelfth grade

Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...

. There are currently 120 students.

Other High Schools

Middle Schools (6-8)

Durham Public Middle Schools
Name	Principal	Mascot	Colors	Enrollment
Brogden	Renee Trapp	Dragon Dragon A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...	Green Green Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered... , White White White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...	844
Carrington	Holly Emmanuel	Cougar	Orange, Black Black Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...	1300
Chewning	James F. Key, II	Cardinal Cardinal (bird) The Cardinals or Cardinalidae are a family of passerine birds found in North and South America. The South American cardinals in the genus Paroaria are placed in another family, the Thraupidae ....	Red Red Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye... , White White White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...	750
Githens	Delvin Vick	Raider Raid (military) Raid, also known as depredation, is a military tactic or operational warfare mission which has a specific purpose and is not normally intended to capture and hold terrain, but instead finish with the raiding force quickly retreating to a previous defended position prior to the enemy forces being...	Blue Blue Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal... , Black Black Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light... , White White White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...	1025
Lowe's Grove	Kathy Kirkpatrick	Viking Viking The term Viking is customarily used to refer to the Norse explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored and settled in wide areas of Europe, Asia and the North Atlantic islands from the late 8th to the mid-11th century.These Norsemen used their famed longships to...	Maroon Maroon (color) Maroon is a dark red color.-Etymology:Maroon is derived from French marron .The first recorded use of maroon as a color name in English was in 1789.-Maroon :... , Gold Gold (color) Gold, also called golden, is one of a variety of orange-yellow color blends used to give the impression of the color of the element gold....	694
Neal	Jill Hall	Eagle Eagle Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...	Green Green Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered... , Gold Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a... , White White White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...	840
Rogers-Herr	Teresa J. Daye	Ram	Blue Blue Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal... , White White White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...	613
James E Shepard IB Middle	Ericka I. Boone	Panther Black panther A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...	Red Red Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye... , Black Black Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light... , White White White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...	439
W.G. Pearson Middle Magnet	Valerie Griffin-Puryear	Mighty Lion Lion The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...	Black Black Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light... , Gold Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...	350
Lakewood Montessori Middle School	Sheldon Reynolds	Lynx Lynx A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...	Green Green Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered... , White White White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...	300 in 2012-2013

Elementary Schools (K-5)

Durham Public Elementary Schools
Name	Principal	Mascot	Enrollment
Bethesda	Shaneeka Moore-Lawrence	Bulldog Bulldog Bulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose...	634
Burton Magnet	Takeisha Mitchell	Ram	325
C. C. Spaulding	Kecia Rogers	Bald Eagle Bald Eagle The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...	254
Club Boulevard Humanities Magnet	Teresa Rogers	Manatee Manatee Manatees are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows...	504
Creekside	Nathan Hester	Eagle Eagle Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...	865
Easley Year-Round	Timothy Gibson	Eagle Eagle Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...	642
Eastway	Kendral Flowers	Eagle Eagle Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...	567
E. K. Powe	Sherron Leplin	Eagle Eagle Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...	421
Eno Valley	Tonya Williams	Eagle Eagle Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...	638
Fayetteville Street	Rodriguez Teal	Lion Lion The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...	262
Forest View	Neil Clay	Falcon Falcon A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....	618
George Watts Montessori Magnet School	Patti Crum		398
Glenn	Dr. W. Renee Carmon	Koala Koala The koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....	700
Hillandale	Sandra Bates		627
Holt Year-Round	Star Sampson		613
Hope Valley	Micah Copeland	Eagle Eagle Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...	705
Lakewood	Cornelius Redfearn	Bulldog Bulldog Bulldog is the name for a breed of dog commonly referred to as the English Bulldog. Other Bulldog breeds include the American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge and the French Bulldog. The Bulldog is a muscular heavy dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose...	423
Little River	Thomas Seckler		668
Mangum	Cynthia Daniels		505
Merrick-Moore	Kia Eason	Lion Lion The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...	679
Morehead Montessori School	Cory Hogans		238
Oak Grove	Aisha Howard		556
Parkwood	Michael Somers	Panther Panthera Panthera is a genus of the family Felidae , which contains four well-known living species: the tiger, the lion, the jaguar, and the leopard. The genus comprises about half of the Pantherinae subfamily, the big cats...	604
Pearsontown	Dionne McLaughlin	Panda Panda Panda or Panda bear most often refers to:Giant panda, an animal in the Bear familyPanda may also refer to:Red panda, the only living member in the Ailuridae family-In biology:* Species related to the Giant panda...	900
R. N. Harris Magnet	Carolyn Pugh	Eagle Eagle Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...	401
Southwest	John McCain		695
Spring Valley	Barbara Parker	Stinger the Bee Bee Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...	640
W.G Pearson	Lynne Goodhand and Susan Wells	Tiger Tiger The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...	621
Y. E. Smith	Letisha Judd	Tiger Tiger The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...	347
Sandy Ridge Visual and Performing Arts	John Colclough		590

Durham School of the Arts

Durham School of the Arts (DSA) is a secondary (grades 6-12) magnet school

Magnet school

In education in the United States, magnet schools are public schools with specialized courses or curricula. "Magnet" refers to how the schools draw students from across the normal boundaries defined by authorities as school zones that feed into certain schools.There are magnet schools at the...

located in downtown Durham, housing 1431 students. Its focus is on visual

Visual arts

The visual arts are art forms that create works which are primarily visual in nature, such as ceramics, drawing, painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, crafts, and often modern visual arts and architecture...

and performing arts

Performing arts

. Offerings include extensive 3D

3D computer graphics

3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...

and 2D art, dance, guitar, strings, band, piano, acting, technical theater, and computer classes. Students are enrolled by a lottery

Lottery

A lottery is a form of gambling which involves the drawing of lots for a prize.Lottery is outlawed by some governments, while others endorse it to the extent of organizing a national or state lottery. It is common to find some degree of regulation of lottery by governments...

system and can enroll as early as the sixth grade.

Lakeview School

Lakeview School is an alternative school for grades 6-12 to teach those who have a history of misbehavior.

2008-2009 Central Office

Durham Public Schools Central Office Personnel

Click here to link to all central office staff: http://www.dpsnc.net/images/pdf/central-service-phone-directory/view

External links

Durham Public Schools Official website
Oral History Interviews with Josephine Dobbs Clement http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/C-0074/menu.html, http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/C-0031/menu.html from Oral Histories of the American South

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