Druid Hills High School

Several levels of academics are offered at Druid Hills. From least to greatest difficulty, the course types available are online/DOLA, general, accelerated/honors/gifted, Advanced Placement, and International Baccalaureate classes. Dual enrollment options are also offered. All classes are in accordance with Georgia Performance Standards and students must take state-administered End of Course Tests (EOCTs), unless otherwise exempt. Graduates often enroll as first-year undergraduate students at the University of Georgia, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Georgia State University, but many go elsewhere.

Druid Hills has had IB accreditation since 2004 as an IB World School, one of the very few in the area to have done so. At Druid Hills, AP classes are generally much larger and much more popular than its IB counterparts. Roughly 10% of the student body enrolls in the IB Diploma Programme, often with below 50 IB students per year in the same grade.

Druid Hills runs on a block schedule, meaning that students normally take four classes per semester. Some classes last two semesters because of curriculum requirements, such as many Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes.[4] First and second period classes at Druid Hills are 90 minutes long. Third and fourth periods are slightly longer because of lunch and afternoon announcements.

Students in the IB Diploma Programme have special accommodations in regards to scheduling. Since more classes are required than the typical four given in a block schedule, many IB classes, especially higher-level classes, alternate with A/B days to work with the block scheduling. Because of this, IB students of a particular class are divided into two groups for A days and B days. When alternating days, an IB student's lunch may or may not be the same as that of the previous day. All lunches are approximately 30 minutes long. Since lunch is during third period, which lunch a student goes to is determined by what class the student has during third period.[6]

Enrollment for the 2009–2010 school year was 1,421 students[4] in grades 9-12. A later population size indicated was 1,459.[7]

On December 17, 2012, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools announced that it had downgraded the DeKalb County Schools System's status from "on advisement" to "on probation" and warned the school system that the loss of their accreditation was "imminent." [8] Partially in an attempt to distance Druid Hills from the danger of disaccreditation and county mismanagement, parents and other contributors of Druid Hills High School began a petition to form a private charter cluster of five elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. This included Druid Hills High School, Avondale Elementary, Briar Vista Elementary, Fernbank Elementary, Laurel Ridge Elementary,[9] McLendon Elementary, and Druid Hills Middle School. However, this charter was turned down by the Dekalb School Board on November 11, 2013 with a 5–4 vote against it, which was a final and non-appealable decision.

Druid Hills has two primarily student-run media outlets: The Spotlight, the school newspaper, and SAGA, the school's yearbook. The Spotlight, founded in 1938, is the oldest school newspaper in DeKalb County and is published 5-6 times during the school year, funded mostly by advertising revenue and subscriptions from community members. Each student in the school receives a free copy of The Spotlight. SAGA is published yearly. The publications are run by classes rather than extracurricular clubs.

The Druid Hills cross country team enjoyed success in the 2008 season. Both the girls' and boys' teams made the state championship, placing 8th and 5th respectively.[15][16] Druid Hills' Nabil Hamid won the AAA state championship with a time of 15:49.82.[16]

Druid Hills high school has won three boys' basketball state championships, in 1953, 1954, and 1957.[17]

Druid Hills high school won the girls' basketball state championship in 1960.[18]

Druid Hills fielded a club team from 2009 to 2011 and competed in the North Georgia Lacrosse League. The team was composed of Decatur, Chamblee, Druid Hills, and Lakeside High School students, all of whom played in the Decatur Recreational Youth Lacrosse League. In 2012, the Dekalb County School System sponsored lacrosse throughout the county, enabling Druid Hills to field a varsity lacrosse team. Rivals include Dunwoody High School, Lakeside High School, Avondale High School, and Decatur High School.

Druid Hills High School has won three boys' gymnastics state championships, in 1956, 1964, and 1965.[19]

Druid Hills high school has won eight boys track state championships, in 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, and 1963.[20] Long-time WSB-TV news anchor John Pruitt was a member of the 1960 state champion team.[21] 1980 US Olympic track coach Jimmy Carnes was the track coach at Druid Hills from 1957 to 1962. Carnes' Druid Hills track teams were a perfect 52–0 in dual meets and captured six Georgia high school state championships, and he was recognized as Georgia Coach of the Year six times.

Druid Hills high school won the 1981 girls' tennis state championship.[22]

Druid Hills High School has yet to win a state championship. They finished AAAA runner-up to Southeast Whitfield High School in 2017, losing in second overtime 3–2. Current coach Thomas Bodnar has created a Druid Hills Middle School team to develop chemistry and find talent early.

Druid Hills High School has never won a state championship in football. Druid Hills High School currently plays at Adams Memorial Stadium.