Durant High School (also known as Durant High and DHS) is a

public secondary school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

in Durant, Oklahoma, serving grades 9, 10, 11, and 12. The school is part of the

Durant Independent School District Durant Independent School District is a public school district based in Durant, Oklahoma, United States. Durant ISD takes some students in from places such as Calera, Armstrong, Mead, Silo, Caddo, and Atoka. In terms of enrollment, Dura ...

. Durant's

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

is the Lion. The high school has approximately 1,000 students, making it one of the largest high schools in

Southeastern Oklahoma Choctaw Country is the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation's official tourism designation for Southeastern Oklahoma. The name was previously Kiamichi Country until changed in honor of the Choctaw Nation headquartered there. The curren ...

History

The school first opened in 1919. In September 2016 about 200 students engaged in a walk-out to protest mold in the school building. The school district superintendent, Duane Merideth, stated that no mold is visible but that parts of the school are closed due to humidity issues.

National recognition

Durant High School was one of six schools nationwide to earn the recognition as a "Great American High School" in 2002. During the summers, the campus has been a testing site for teachers achieving National Certification.

Academics

The school offers numerous elective classes such as

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

agricultural education Agricultural education is the teaching of agriculture, natural resources, and land management. At higher levels, agricultural education is primarily undertaken to prepare students for employment in the agricultural sector. Classes taught in an ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and Choctaw languages (Durant is the capital of, and second-largest city in, the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United St ...

), forensics,

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

, various health and medical classes, keyboarding and computer applications, business technology, information technology,

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

, business, family & consumer sciences, career orientation,

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

, and also advanced placement for chemistry, biology, English, math, and physics.

Organizations

There are several organizations such as Academic Commitment To Education, Academic Team, BPA, Calculus Club, Chemistry Club, DECA, Drug Free Youth, Forensics Club, FEA, FCCLA, FFA, FCA, HOSA, Key Club, Literary Club, Physics Club, RCY, Show Choir, SkillsUSA, VICA, Young Democrats of Durant, Young Republicans, and Youth & Government.

Band

The band program consists of several bands: Marching Band: The marching band is made up of all high school band members. They compete in various competitions and festivals, perform at football games, and periodically get invited to national band events. Jazz Band: The jazz band is made up of any DHS band members who want to experience playing jazz music. They compete in the State Jazz competition each April. Basketball Band: The basketball band is made up of volunteer DHS band members who want to perform during home basketball games.

Athletics

There is

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

cheerleading Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense physical activity. It can be performed to motivate sports teams, to ente ...

, cross country, football,

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

, track & field, soccer, Softball,

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

, and wrestling. Approximately 700 are enrolled in at least one course with 980 for the entire district.

Demographics

The racial makeup of high school students is 33% Native American, 1% Asian, 3%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

, 1%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, and 61%

Caucasian Caucasian may refer to: Anthropology *Anything from the Caucasus region ** ** ** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region * * * Languages * Northwest Caucasian l ...

. There is over 88 personnel with approximately 30 on coaching staff. The student to teacher

ratio In mathematics, a ratio shows how many times one number contains another. For example, if there are eight oranges and six lemons in a bowl of fruit, then the ratio of oranges to lemons is eight to six (that is, 8:6, which is equivalent to the ...

is 1:17 and a full class is considered 1:24. The school has a contract with Dell.

New high school

On April 1, 2008, the vote to increase the city's sales tax cent for 25 years in order to provide funding for Durant's new high school passed. The tax is 9.125% on all items sold in Durant. Construction of Durant's new high school began in the fourth quarter of 2009 and completed in 2011. It was built in north Durant along U.S. 69/ 75, boasting a capacity of 1,200 students. The estimated cost of the new school is $40 million. Grades 7 and 8 filled the former high school building on 7th street, because of the aging and cramped school facility located on 6th street. The sales tax increase went into effect on July 1, 2008, and has an estimated end on June 30, 2033.

References

{{authority control Public high schools in Oklahoma Schools in Bryan County, Oklahoma 1919 establishments in Oklahoma