Dobyns Bennett High School

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**Dobyns-Bennett High School**
Motto	To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield
Established	1918
Type of institution	Public
Principal	Earl Lovelace
Enrollment	1822
Location	Kingsport, Tennessee, United States
Colors	Maroon (color) and grey
Mascot	Indian
Website	www.k12k.com/db

Dobyns-Bennett High School is a high school (grades 9-12) in Kingsport, Sullivan County, Tennessee, USA. As of 2006 it had some 1,822 students. The school's principal is Mr. Earl Lovelace, a 1963 graduate of Dobyns-Bennett. The school's assistant principals are Mr. Roderick Crockett, Mr. Chris Hampton, Mr. Jim Nash, Ms. Julie Peters, Mr. Mike Fulkerson, with Athletic Director Mr. Cary Daniels rounding out the administration.

As a part of Kingsport City Schools (the only high school incidentally), students must be city residents paying city taxes to attend. Students that are not residents of the city may pay a tuition fee to attend. This tuition is considered by many to be of good value as Dobyns-Bennett features a variety of programs for students of all academic levels. The many classes offered cater to many types of students who may want to attend technical schools or universities across the nation.

Although Dobyns-Bennett has been frequently listed as one of America's Top 700 High Schools, in 2003, Dobyns-Bennett was named a "target school" under the No Child Left Behind due to inadequate scores for economically disadvantaged students on English Gateway tests.^[1]. While Dobyns-Bennett spent only one year on the target list, the school's relative strength has declined markedly, with its rank declining from 662nd in 2003, to 883rd in 2005, all the way to 1191st in 2006.^[2] In particular, after a new administrative shift in 2003, the number of AP tests per student fell by over twelve percent.

Dress code, during the 2005-2006 school year, was a subject of controversy at Dobyns-Bennett, owing to the straitlaced enforcement of new policies:

All shirts (not just the innermost layer) must be tucked in.
No cargo pants or hoodies.
Belts must be worn at all times.
Logos are to be no larger than a quarter.

Random in-class inspections, hallway monitoring, and cafeteria surveillance are commonplace. The new code was ostensibly designed for the protection of the students and the elimination of distractions from the learning environment. These claims, however, did not silence critics who pointed out that weapons or drugs (a primary target of the new code) could still be smuggled in backpacks and transferred into classrooms Though violations still surface from time to time, many students have taken to new and creative fashions that comply with the new code. In August 2006, the dress code was revised, with some minor concessions to the student body. However, the majority of the provisions remained unchanged, and a similar version of the dress code was implemented at the two middle schools in the Kingsport City Schools system.

Recognized nationally, Dobyns-Bennett features a marching band that has participated in major events such as the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the annual parade at the Tournament of Roses Parade. It is estimated that band members comprise more than 25% of the school's population. The Dobyns Bennett High School Band was honored by the John Philip Sousa Foundation with the Sudler Flag of Honor in 2004 to recognize its high standards of excellence in its concert activities over several years. On Saturday, October 28, 2006, the Dobyns-Bennett Marching won the 35th Annual MTSU Contest of Champions marching band competition, naming the band the Tennessee State Champions. This is the first time in the band's history they have achieved this honor, and they are also the first band from East Tennessee to win the competition.^{[citation needed]}

1 School Clubs
2 Athletics
3 Famous Alumni
4 Notes
5 External links
6 See also

[edit] School Clubs

The students of Dobyns-Bennett High School can choose from many clubs and organizations, including the following:

Business Professionals of America - With business and computer skills, members compete at regional, state, and national competition levels. The 2005 E-commerce team, headed by Kevin Surgener, placed ninth in the national level. In 2006, the Network Design team placed 4th in the nation, which consisted of Travis Clamon, Ming Ng, Brandon Buchanan, and Adam Burnett.^{[citation needed]}

In addition to forensics, DB puts on two shows a year. Recently, House of Frankenstein and It's A Wonderful Life were well-received.

Skills USA - Students taking Automotive, Criminal Justice, and Cosmetology classes compete at the Local, State, and National Levels.

Impressions- The students in this club put together a literary magazine to be printed for sale toward the end of each school year. Anyone in the student body may submit a piece; the magazine includes students' art, poetry, and short stories.

[edit] Athletics

The school's mascot is the Indian; its athletic teams are known locally as The Tribe ^[1].

In 2006, the Dobyns-Bennett mens' basketball team reclaimed the national record for most wins from longtime rival Centralia High School.^[2] The Indians ended the season with 1,986 wins.^[3]