Destrehan High School

Destrehan High School
Address
1 Wildcat Lane Destrehan, Louisiana, 70047  United States
Coordinates	29°57′53″N 90°22′58″W / 29.9648050°N 90.3826934°W / 29.9648050; -90.3826934Coordinates: 29°57′53″N 90°22′58″W / 29.9648050°N 90.3826934°W / 29.9648050; -90.3826934[1]
Information
School type	Public
School district	St. Charles Parish Public School System
CEEB Code	190685
Principal	Mr. Stephen Weber
Teaching staff	104 (as of 2009-10)[2]
Grades	9-12
Gender	Co-Ed
Enrollment	1402 (as of 2009-10)[2]
Student to teacher ratio	13.49 (as of 2009-10)[2]
Campus type	Suburban
Color(s)	Garnet and Gray
Athletics conference	Louisiana High School Athletic Association District 6-5A
Mascot	Wildcat
Rival	Hahnville High School
Website	http://www.stcharles.k12.la.us/destrehan.cfm

Destrehan High School is a public high school located in Destrehan, Louisiana, United States. The St. Charles Parish school serves all students on the East bank of the Mississippi River in grades 9 through 12.

History

Destrehan High School, a public secondary school, is located on the east bank of St. Charles Parish in Destrehan, Louisiana, approximately twenty-five miles west of New Orleans.

In the same year as Calvin Coolidge was elected President and Native Americans were granted U.S. citizenship, the citizens of St. Charles Parish unanimously approved a bond issue for school construction. The year was 1923. On September 15, 1924, the Destrehan High School facilty received 234 pupils in grades one through eleven. Destrehan's first graduating class consisted of Placide Hotard and Eldridge Gervais. From this auspicious beginning, school growth has been continuous with the graduating classes of today totaling more than 300.

In 1969, Bethune High School was closed when a unitary system of education was organized in St. Charles Parish. Elementary-aged children attended schools as directed by court guidelines, and high school students became members of the the same student body at Destrehan High School.

With the opening of Destrehan High at its present location in 1975, located on Schexnaydre Lane, one part of the history of DHS ended and a new one began. The future of DHS continues to grow in education excellence and will be a solid part of the community for many years to come.

Mission

Destrehan High School's mission is to provide a nurturing community of teaching and learning in which all students will continuously improve to become responsible contributing members of society. Destrehan High School also continuously strives to provide teaching and learning experiences that truly enable our students to be responsible and contributing citizens. To achieve this goal, they have a clear vision of our ideal school. In their ideal school, all students would experience:

(1) A diverse, challenging, and relevant curriculum, rich in research-based instruction and varied assessments. This curriculum would prepare all graduates for post-secondary education, training, and the world of work. (2) A spirit of cooperation and communication where faculty and staff seek the input and personal involvement of parents, students, and community members in decisions that affect student learning. (3) A personalized environment where every student has a sense of belonging and at least one adult advocate in the school. (4) A school environment where all stakeholders teach and model trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. (5) A spirit-filled campus where all teachers and students are engaged together beyond the classroom setting through extracurricular or co-curricular activities. (6) A state-of-the-art infrastructure that provides a professional and secure environment for teaching and learning. (7) State-of-the-art technology that is seamlessly infused in all classrooms and is available to every student.

Principal's Message

"Our mission at Destrehan High School is to 'provide a nurturing community of teaching and learning in which all students will continuously improve to become responsible, contributing members of society.' The tradition of Destrehan High School has been one of academic excellence. To maintain this tradition our staff at Destrehan High strives to educate the ‘whole child’ - providing opportunities for participation in challenging academic clubs and extracurricular programs stressing teamwork, discipline, class, and character.

As a graduate of Destrehan High School I feel honored to have been chosen as Principal of the school. I believe Destrehan High School has always been the ‘flagship’ institution of St. Charles Parish – and I will strive to make Destrehan High School the best high school in the state. Our faculty and staff are committed to providing an environment where all students feel comfortable and safe; where teaching and learning is our core business, and academic excellence is the standard.

We’re proud of what we are accomplishing at Destrehan High School, but we will always strive to become better. Our faculty will strive to challenge our students to think and perform at higher levels. However, this can only be accomplished with all stakeholders taking responsibility for the task. Our Destrehan community will only operate at optimum levels with the support of parents and the surrounding community. With this in mind, please make it a habit to communicate with or visit our school. In addition, Destrehan High is asking for your involvement in the process of attaining our goals for academic excellence this year.

Thanks for your continued support. It’s important that you know that as a Destrehan Wildcat parent, you are a crucial part of our school community at Destrehan High School and all of us (administration, teachers, students, and parents) must communicate and be on the ‘same page’ as we strive to make the 2011-2012 school year one where ‘Teaching and Learning’ is the concentration, and excellence in education is the norm."

Extracurricular activities

Student groups and activities at Destrehan High School include Air Force JROTC, anime club, Beta Club, chess club, choir, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, literary club, National Honor Society, newspaper, peer support leadership, Pride of DHS Band, Quiz Bowl, student council, television production, webmastering, WISE Club, and yearbook.

The Destrehan High School athletic teams, known as the Wildcats, compete in interscholastic competition in baseball, basketball, cheerleading, dance team (Desty Darlings), football, golf, powerlifting, soccer, softball, swimming, tennis, track and field, and volleyball. In addition to winning the 2007 and 2008 state championships^[3], Destrehan High's football team had a 30-game winning streak from 2007 to September 2009.^[4]

Notable alumni

• Ed Reed, Safety for the Baltimore Ravens
• Darryl Richard, Defensive Tackle for New England Patriots
• Mike Scifres, Kicker/Punter for San Diego Chargers
• Craig Eugene, Wide Receiver for New Orleans Saints
• Jordan Jefferson, Quarterback for the LSU Tigers
• Beau Jones, Pitcher for Texas Rangers AA Team
• Rondell Mealey, Former Running Back for the Green Bay Packers
• Jeremy Parquet, Offensive Lineman for the Edmonton Eskimos
• Shelley Hennig, Miss Teen USA 2004

References

1. ^ "Destrehan High School". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:1629098. Retrieved 2009-10-01. 
2. ^ ^{a b c} "School Detail for Destrehan High School". National Center for Education Statistics. http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_detail.asp?ID=220144001139. 
3. ^ Lyons, Lori (2008-12-15). "Just enough, just right for Destrehan". Times-Picayune. http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports-4/1229322076298170.xml&coll=1. 
4. ^ Renois, Teddy (2009-09-12). "Thibodaux ends Destrehan's 30-game win streak with a 31-21 win". The Houma Courier. http://www.wwltv.com/sports/stories/wwl091209bhdestrehanloses.1724d6289.html. 

External links

• Destrehan High School