The Durham Public Schools district is a public school district in Durham, North Carolina. Formed in 1992 with the merger of Durham's previous two school districts, it is 8th largest school system in North Carolina as of November 2020. There are 55 public schools in the system, consisting of 31 elementary (K-5), 9 middle (6-8), 2 secondary (6-12), 11 high (9-12), 1 alternative, 1 hospital school, and 1 virtual academy (K-12). [1] Durham's schools are traditionally named after notable members of the local community.
In 1927, Hope Valley School was built for grades 1 through 11. It was the first public 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.
Prior to integration, white students attended Durham High School and black students attended Hillside High School.
In 1956, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 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 (now Durham School of the Arts).
In September 1963, Charmaine McKissick among eight other minority youths were the first to desegregate into the Durham Public School system at the Elementary level. Along with her Floyd McKissick Jr, they entered into the North Durham Elementary School. Charmaine McKissick was the youngest to participate in the desegregation. She recalls, "My family prepared us all, every day, with the armor to return the next. [2] " Not many students are willing to talk about their experiences. McKissick-Melton also states, "It is too painful." [3] She goes onto write, "There are a few exceptions such as my good friend Janice Guess, whom I encouraged to write her story, and she did in, 'Little Black Girls Want Pearls Too.'" [4] The integration was a harsh burden for a lot of those children and families involved. McKissick also writes, "The hurt is so deep from the wounds of more than fifty years ago that they still feel the pain." [5] McKissick-Melton also write, "We had some difficult times but nothing compared to the older students, including my sisters before me. I had it easier because the kids had not had enough time to learn and display their hatred, racist and their bigoted behavior." [6] Charmaine McKissick-Melton, PH. D, has since then decided to give back to the Durham Community as an Associate Professor in the Department of Mass Communication at North Carolina Central University. She is also the daughter of the late Evelyn and Floyd McKissick, Jude Floyd B. McKissick, Sr.
In 1968, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (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, and that the community thought that part of town was the redneck part of town. 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. At Northern High School, there was a mix. The school had one of the toughest principals in the district. [7]
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, 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 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.
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.
Board members are: [8]
* DPS Board of Education District 3 Candidate Selection - March 16, 2023
Board members are: [9]
* swearing-in ceremony in July 8, 2022
Board members are: [10]
Board members are: [11]
Board members are: [12]
Board members are: [13] (The swearing-in ceremony took place on July 10, 2018) [14]
Board members are: [15]
Board members are: [16]
Board members are: [17]
Board members are: [18]
The chairman is Minnie Forte-Brown (District A). The vice chairman is Heidi Carter (District B). Board members are: [19]
Durham Public Schools employs 4,697 people (2,243 teachers) and had 33,035 students in the 2016-2017 school year. [22] Durham Public Schools is the third largest employer in Durham, NC [23]
Teacher salaries range from $39,375-$99,359 (includes local supplement and differential). [24]
The school system utilizes more than 300 school buses to transport over 16,000 students throughout Durham every day.
As of the 2017-2018 school year there were 33,072 students enrolled in Durham Public Schools. [25]
2003-04 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2016-2017 | 2017-2018 | 2023-2024 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Black | 56.53% | 53.86% | na | 52.52% | 52.12% | 46.7% | 44.7% | 37.2% |
White | 29.2% | 22.60% | na | 21.36% | 21.13% | 18.6% | 18.8% | 19.5% |
Hispanic | 8.9% | 17.11% | na | 19.22% | 20.97% | 30.1% | 30.7% | 35.1% |
Asian | 2.4% | 2.60% | na | 2.62% | 2.44% | 2.3% | 2.2% | 2.1% |
American Indian | 0.3% | 0.21% | na | 0.22% | 0.29% | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
Multi-racial | 2.9% | 3.60% | na | 4.06% | 3.05% | 2.8% | 3.2% | 5.9% |
TOTAL | 30,889 | 32,749 | 32,499 | 32,551 | 32,566 | 33,747 | 33,072 | 30,901 |
Hillside High School is a four-year public high school. Of more than 300 historically black high schools that once operated in the state before desegregation, only five remain today, with Hillside being the oldest. The school features the International Baccalaureate Program and the Business and Finance Academy. "Students may study electronics, engineering, and child care through the Workforce Development courses, as well as traditional business classes". [27] [28] The school mascot is the hornet. Hillside is known for performing arts such as their award-winning[ citation needed ] Marching Band and Drama Department. Hillside students come from many middle school areas such as Rogers-Herr, Githens, Lowes Grove, Shepard, Brogden, and Lakewood. Hillside enrolled 1370 students in the 2017-2018 school year. [29] The schools current principal is Dr. William Logan. [30]
Charles E. Jordan High School is located on Garrett Road near Hope Valley Road in southwest Durham. The school mascot is the falcon. Jordan students come from many area middle schools such as Shepard, Githens, Lowe's Grove, and Rogers-Herr. The school features career pathways in Agriscience/Biotechnology and Commercial and Artistic Production. Other components of the Jordan community that have won national and state awards include the marching band, show choir, DECA (marketing and business), Future Farmers of America, Future Business Leaders of America, the foreign language program, and the school newspaper. [31] Jordan enrolled 1,979 students in the 2017-2018 school year. [32] The schools current principal is Susan Taylor. [33]
Northern High School is a four-year public high school located in the northern part of Durham. Northern is one of Durham's seven public high schools. Students take 4 classes each day. Northern's mascot is a knight. Northern students come from some middle school such as Lucas, Brogden, and Carrington. Northern also offers specialty course programs like Culinary Arts, Astronomy, Sports Medicine, Mythology, and many more. [34] Northern enrolled 1,536 students in the 2017-2018 school year. [35] The schools current principal is Emmet Alexander. [36] It is in the process of being rebuilt on a new site approximately two miles away. [37]
Riverside High School is a four-year public high school located in Northern Durham. Opened in 1991, this school is one of seven public high schools in the Durham Public School System. Riverside students come from some middle school areas such as Carrington, Brogden, and Lucas. Riverside is SACS & NCDPI accredited, has the Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Engineering Magnet, and the Air Force JROTC Magnet. [38] Riverside enrolled 1,826 students in the 2017-2018 school year. [39] The schools current principal is Gloria Woods-Weeks. [40]
Southern High School is a four-year public 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. Southern students mostly come from Neal and Brogden. Durham Public Schools, with the support of the New Schools Project of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has reinvented the high school experience at Southern School of Energy & Sustainability. [41] Southern enrolled 1,429 students in the 2017-2018 school year. [42] The schools current principal is Jerome Leathers. [43]
Middle College High School is located on the campus of Durham Tech. This high school is only for juniors and seniors. There were 197 students during the 2017-2018 school year. [44] The current principal is Crystal Taylor-Simon
Name | Principal | Mascot | Enrollment (2021-2022) |
---|---|---|---|
Bethesda | Emory Wyckoff | Bulldog | 686 |
Burton Magnet | Tiffany Boss | Ram | 349 |
C. C. Spaulding | Robin Hill-Davidson | Bald eagle | 268 |
Club Boulevard Humanities Magnet | Greg Mitchell, Interim | Manatee | 494 |
Creekside | Victoria Creamer | Eagle | 889 |
Easley Year-Round | Jennifer Hauser | Eagle | 565 |
Eastway | Jackaline Teel | Eagle | 542 |
E. K. Powe | Michael Mattia | Eagle | 476 |
Eno Valley | Tounya Wright | Eagle | 509 |
Fayetteville Street | Ebony Hopkins | Lion | 287 |
Forest View | James Boyce | Falcon | 737 |
George Watts Montessori Magnet School | Jenn Aguilar | Wild Cats | 350 |
Glenn | Matthew Hunt | Lion Pride | 709 |
Hillandale | Michael Bloom | Hurricane | 653 |
Holt Year-Round | Donya Jones | Eagle | 656 |
Hope Valley | Jed Miller | Eagle | 626 |
Lakewood Elementary | Jeri Jackson | Bulldog | 450 |
Lyons Farm Elementary | James Hopkins | The Pride | 439 |
Mangum | Gwendolyn Dorman | Pirates | 307 |
Merrick-Moore | Vanessa Alford | Tiger | 607 |
Morehead Montessori School | Tyler Steketee | Meerkat | 226 |
Oak Grove | Kristin Tate | Cougar | 603 |
Parkwood | Kimberly Fearrington | Panther | 557 |
Pearsontown | Asia Cunningham | Panda | 809 |
R.N. Harris Magnet | Catherine Lucas | Eagle | 317 |
Southwest | Nicholas Rotosky | Seahawks | 636 |
Spring Valley | Gwendolyn Wilson | Stinger the Bee | 536 |
W.G. Pearson Elementary | Kendell L. Dorsey, Interim | Tiger | 478 |
Y. E. Smith | Otis Maben | Tiger | 386 |
Sandy Ridge Visual and Performing Arts | Lanisha Hinton | Stars | 597 |
Name | Principal | Mascot | Colors | Enrollment (2021-2022) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Little River School | Cory Hogans | Beaver | 474 | |
Name | Principal | Mascot | Colors | Enrollment (2021-2022) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Brogden | Anthony White | Dragon | Green, White | 718 |
Carrington | Holly Emanuel | Cougar | Orange, Black | 931 |
The School for Creative Studies (formerly Chewning) | Chaundra Clay | Gryphon | Blue, Green, White | 610 |
Githens | Sheldon Lanier | Raider | Blue, Black, White | 923 |
Lowe's Grove | Jessica Austin | Viking | Maroon, Gold | 601 |
Lucas | Sarah Sanchez | Leopard | Maroon, Black | 531 |
Neal | Terrence Covington | Eagle | Green, Gold, White | 759 |
Rogers-Herr | Tawauna Stewart | Ram | Blue, White | 633 |
James E Shepard IB Middle | Claude Archer | Panther | Red, Black, White | 452 |
Lakewood Montessori Middle School | Donald Jones | Lynx | Green, White | 295 |
Name | Principal | Mascot | Colors | Enrollment (2021-2022) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ignite Online Academy | Crystal B. Medlin | The Ignite! Flight Dragon | 500 | |
Hospital School at Duke University Medical Center | Michael Somers | 25 |
Name | Principal | Mascot | Enrollment (2021-2022) |
---|---|---|---|
City of Medicine Academy | Renita Griffin Jordan | ||
Early College High School | Lori Bruce | ||
Hillside High School | William Logan | ||
Durham School of Technology (formerly Hillside New Tech) | Lamont Dixon | ||
Jordan High School | Susan Taylor | ||
Middle College | Crystal Taylor-Simon | ||
Northern High School | Emmet Alexander | ||
Performance Learning Center | Kesha Futrell | ||
Riverside High School | Gloria Woods-Weeks | ||
Southern School of Energy and Sustainability | Jerome Leathers | ||
Name | Principal | Mascot | Enrollment (2021-2022) |
---|---|---|---|
Durham School of the Arts | L. Jackie Tobias | ||
The School for Creative Studies | Chaundra Clay | ||
Lakeview School | Theresa McGowan | ||
Durham School of the Arts (DSA) is a secondary (grades 6-12) magnet school located in downtown Durham, housing 1711 students. [45] Its focus is on visual and performing arts. Offerings include extensive 3D and 2D art, dance, guitar, strings, band, photography, piano, acting, technical theater, and computer classes. Students are enrolled by a lottery system and can enroll as early as the sixth grade.
Lakeview School is an alternative school for grades 6-12 to teach those who have a history of misbehavior.
The School for Creative Studies [47] is a year-round secondary magnet school (grades 6-12) located at 5001 Red Mill Road, Durham, 27704. This school opened with 300 students (Grades 6, 7, 9) on July 1, 2013 in the same building that used to house Chewning Middle School. The principal is Chaundra Clay.
Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, 402 U.S. 1 (1971), was a landmark United States Supreme Court case dealing with the busing of students to promote integration in public schools. The Court held that busing was an appropriate remedy for the problem of racial imbalance in schools, even when the imbalance resulted from the selection of students based on geographic proximity to the school rather than from deliberate assignment based on race. This was done to ensure the schools would be "properly" integrated and that all students would receive equal educational opportunities regardless of their race.
William Bradley Umstead was an American politician who served as a United States Senator and the 63rd governor of North Carolina from 1953 to 1954.
Jeanne Hopkins Lucas was the first African-American woman elected to serve in North Carolina's state Senate.
The Fairfax County Public Schools system (FCPS) is a school division in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. It is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. FCPS's headquarters is located in the Gatehouse Administration Center in Merrifield, an unincorporated section of the county near the city of Falls Church; the headquarters has a Falls Church address but is not within the city limits.
Massive resistance was a strategy declared by U.S. senator Harry F. Byrd Sr. of Virginia and his son Harry Jr.'s brother-in-law, James M. Thomson, who represented Alexandria in the Virginia General Assembly, to get the state's white politicians to pass laws and policies to prevent public school desegregation, particularly after Brown v. Board of Education.
The Dallas Independent School District is a school district based in Dallas, Texas (USA). It operates schools in much of Dallas County and is the second-largest school district in Texas and the seventeenth-largest in the United States. It is also known as Dallas Public Schools (DPS).
The School District No. 1 in the City and County of Denver and State of Colorado, more commonly known as Denver Public Schools (DPS), is the public school system in the City and County of Denver, Colorado, United States.
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Hillside High School is a four-year high school located in Durham, North Carolina. Hillside is one of seven high schools in the Durham Public Schools system. Of more than 300 historically black high schools that once operated in the state before desegregation, only five remain today, with Hillside being the oldest. Hillside is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is a school district that serves Detroit, Michigan and high school students in Highland Park, Michigan. The district, which replaced the original Detroit Public Schools (DPS) in 2016, provides services to approximately 50,000 students, making it the largest school district in the state. The district has its headquarters in the Fisher Building of the New Center area of Detroit.
The Wildwood City School District is a comprehensive community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade from Wildwood, in Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its headquarters are on the grounds of Wildwood Middle School and Wildwood High School.
Charles E. Jordan High School is located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. It is one of seven high schools in Durham Public Schools. It is located on Garrett Road near Hope Valley Road in southwest Durham. The school mascot is the falcon.
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Northern High School is a public secondary school located in northern Durham, North Carolina. Northern's principal Danny Gilfort, was succeeded by Emmett Alexander as of January 2024. 1536 students were enrolled at Northern for the 2017–2018 school year. Northern is one of Durham's seven public high schools. Students take four classes each day as a block schedule is currently in place. Northern's mascot for their male teams is the Knights and for the female teams, it is the Ladies.
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Floyd Bixler McKissick was an American lawyer and civil rights activist. He became the first African-American student at the University of North Carolina School of Law. In 1966 he became leader of CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality, taking over from James Farmer. A supporter of Black Power, he turned CORE into a more radical movement. In 1968, McKissick left CORE to found Soul City in Warren County, North Carolina. He was an active Republican and endorsed Richard Nixon for president that year, and the federal government, under President Nixon, supported Soul City. He became a state district court judge in 1990 and died on April 28, 1991.
Douglas E. Moore was a Methodist minister who organized the 1957 Royal Ice Cream Sit-in in Durham, North Carolina. Moore entered the ministry at a young age. After finding himself dissatisfied with what he perceived as a lack of action among his divinity peers, he decided to take a more activist course. Shortly after becoming a pastor in Durham, Moore decided to challenge the city's power structure via the Royal Ice Cream Sit-in, a protest in which he and several others sat down in the white section of an ice cream parlor and asked to be served. The sit-in failed to challenge segregation in the short run, and Moore's actions provoked a myriad of negative reactions from many white and African-American leaders, who considered his efforts far too radical. Nevertheless, Moore continued to press forward with his agenda of activism.
Hocutt v. Wilson, N.C. Super. Ct. (1933) (unreported), was the first attempt to desegregate higher education in the United States. It was initiated by two African American lawyers from Durham, North Carolina, Conrad O. Pearson and Cecil McCoy, with the support of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The case was ultimately dismissed for lack of standing, but it served as a test case for challenging the "separate but equal" doctrine in education and was a precursor to Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).
Palatine Community Consolidated School District 15, often initialized CCSD15, is a school district in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois with its headquarters in the Joseph M. Kiszka Educational Service Center in Palatine. It is the second-largest elementary-only school district and 19th-largest in Illinois by student enrollment. It serves all or portions of Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Hoffman Estates, Arlington Heights, Inverness, Schaumburg, and South Barrington.
Walltown is a historically African-American neighborhood in Durham, North Carolina. The neighborhood is located between West Durham Historic District and Trinity Historic District, north of Duke University East Campus. Historically, the neighborhood was a working class neighborhood for African-American employees of Duke University and local tobacco and textile mills in Durham. Walltown was named after George Wall, a former enslaved person, who was one of the first people to purchase a lot in the area. Members of the community were active in the civil rights movement and desegregation in Durham. Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, Walltown has been undergoing gentrification.