Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (Lexington, Kentucky)
Encyclopedia
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (PLD) is a secondary school
located at 1600 Man O' War Boulevard on the southwest side of Lexington
, Kentucky
, USA
. The school is one of five high schools in the Fayette County Public Schools
district.
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School is named after the 19th century African-American
poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar
, whose parents were from Kentucky. Opened in 1990, the school is the newest high school in the Fayette County Public Schools system. With an enrollment of over 2100, it is one of the largest public high schools in Kentucky
, and was the largest during the 2005-06, 2006–07, and 2007-08 academic years. It also houses the Math, Science, and Technology Center
. The PLD student body, unlike that of most of the other schools named after Dunbar, has a substantial white majority, although African Americans make up roughly one sixth of the students.
Dunbar's band and cheerleading programs have won national acclaim, while PLD has earned a local reputation as an outstanding school, excelling in academics, athletics, and fine arts.
schools, Dunbar High School, also named after the poet, was the city's lone surviving black high school and one of the main cornerstones of Lexington's black community. When Fayette County's schools integrated in 1967, Dunbar High was closed, with its students being bused to four previously white schools. Eventually, the county school board agreed that the next high school to open in Lexington would bear Dunbar's name, principally at the urging of the Rev. William Augustus Jones, Sr., senior minister of Lexington's oldest and largest black church and a civil rights leader whose five oldest children had graduated from Dunbar and embarked on careers of distinction. To the board's credit, it kept its word, even though a full generation had passed since the original agreement. To keep the schools differentiated, the new school was given the poet's full name, rather than just the last name as with the old school. As an additional tribute to the old Dunbar High School, the gymnasium was named the "S.T. Roach Sports Center" for basketball coach Sanford T Roach, who led the school to a 512-142 record from 1942 to 1965, and is a member of the National High School Sports Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. The new PLD adopted the original school colors of the old Dunbar High (which were red and black, but changed to green and white during the 1940s). The new high school did not, however, retain the former school's "Bearcats" mascot. A vote of the school's future students shortly before the school's opening favored "Bulldogs" and selected "The Victors
", by Louis Elbel, as the basis of the fight song.
The building of the original high school at 545 North Upper Street has since been converted to the Dunbar Community Center, which serves myriad cultural, educational and recreational needs for the city of Lexington. The Dunbar Community Center is operated by the city's department of Parks & Recreation.
a year, with 71 in the last four years. PLD also ranks consistently as one of Kentucky's top high schools in terms of scores in the statewide testing program, CATS (Commonwealth Accountability Testing System). In 2007 P.L.D. became the first school in the Fayette County Public High Schools to score an average of 90 on the CATS tests. Of the Class of 2008, 75% continued on to four-year colleges or universities, with another 17% attending two-year colleges or technical schools. As of 2009, Dunbar offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses in fourteen subject areas.
score of 31 and an average SAT
score of 1400. Seven MSTC students have scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT and three students have scored a perfect 36 on the ACT. MSTC graduates are each offered an average of 5 scholarships from different schools, and have attended twenty of the top thirty universities and colleges in the country as ranked by U.S. News & World Report
.
championships in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. In 2008, Dunbar's United States Academic Decathlon
team won the state division for the first time and proceeded to nationals.
, boys' and girls' basketball
, soccer, baseball
, softball
, boys' lacrosse
, tennis
, golf
, track and field
, cheerleading
, swimming
, dancing, wrestling
, and ice hockey
. Altogether, Dunbar's athletic teams have won 18 state championships (Boys' soccer, 3; cheerleading, 11; baseball, 2; girls' track and field, 1; girls' cross country, 1; boys' tennis 1) in the school's 19 years, and the cheerleaders have won 6 national championships.
The football stadium was later named for Jon R. Akers, PLD's first principal and the father of National Football League
placekicker David Akers
.
In 2001, MTV's True Life series prominently featured Dunbar's cheerleading team in the episode "I'm a Cheerleader."
On November 28, 2005, Lifetime Television announced a reality series featuring the PLD cheerleaders. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/pr.cgi?id=20051128lifetime01 "Cheerleader Nation
" premiered in early 2006. The television show had very high ratingsClarification needed.
Former Dunbar cheerleaders have gone on to cheer for the University of Kentucky
, University of Louisville
, Morehead State University
, Western Kentucky University
, Ohio State University
, University of Cincinnati
, Indiana University
, and many other colleges.
Both the boys' and girls' teams have won the Lexington City Championships each year since 2000. The boys placed second in 2007 to Henry Clay High School in a loss by 3 points. The girls won Region 5 AAA in 2001, 2006, and 2007.
. Dunbar's team went undefeated and won first place in the 2009 Bluegrass State Games, the first time lacrosse was included in the Games.
In the 2011 season, the Dunbar lacrosse team broke a 7 year streak of losses to Lexington Catholic in the second round of the state tournament. They went 12-2 and concluded their season with a 9-7 victory over Ballard in the D-II Championship game.
, was hired as director. In 1998, then-assistant director Jeff Hood took over. The band have been state champions in 1991 (Class AAA), 2003 and 2004 (Class AAAA), and 2005, 2007, and 2010 (Class AAAAA); State Runners-Up in 1992, 1994, 1995, and 2002 (Class AAAA) and 2006 and 2008 (Class AAAAA); and a finalist in 2009. Together with North Hardin High School and cross-town rival Lafayette High School
, they are considered the "Big 3" of Kentucky bands. In 2004, 2005 and 2008 they were Bands of America
Regional and Class Champions, at Middle Tennessee State University
, Western Kentucky University
and University of Louisville
. In 1995, 1996, and 2007 they were Grand Champions at the Contest of Champions at Middle Tennessee State University
. Dunbar has participated in the BOA Grand Nationals contest twice (1996 and 2006) placing in the top 20 both times. Altogether, the band have been Grand Champions more than 25 times. The band performed in the 2007 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
in New York City.
The symphonic band has performed as a featured ensemble for the KMEA Professional Development Conference in Louisville. All three concert bands consistently score a 1 ranking in adjudication for the district concert festival. There is also a jazz ensemble and orchestra. The band averages about 10 to 13 All-State members each year.
The Dunbar Colorguard is a world class guard that has ranked at National competitions, placing 12th in the 2005 World Colorguard Championships.
The current conductor/teacher is Mrs. Goff
Also, 3 students have now participated in the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange
to Germany.
Jeopardy!
. In 18 years since the school opened, three students have won the Teen Tournament
, and one alumnus has won the College Championship
.
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
located at 1600 Man O' War Boulevard on the southwest side of Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The school is one of five high schools in the Fayette County Public Schools
Fayette County Public Schools (Kentucky)
Fayette County Public Schools is a school district based in Lexington, Kentucky, United States.The district serves all of Fayette County, which is coextensive with the city of Lexington.-Board of Education:...
district.
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School is named after the 19th century African-American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
poet, Paul Laurence Dunbar
Paul Laurence Dunbar
Paul Laurence Dunbar was a seminal African American poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Dunbar gained national recognition for his 1896 "Ode to Ethiopia", one poem in the collection Lyrics of Lowly Life....
, whose parents were from Kentucky. Opened in 1990, the school is the newest high school in the Fayette County Public Schools system. With an enrollment of over 2100, it is one of the largest public high schools in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, and was the largest during the 2005-06, 2006–07, and 2007-08 academic years. It also houses the Math, Science, and Technology Center
Math, Science, and Technology Center
The Math, Science, and Technology Center, also known as MSTC , is a prestigious magnet program housed in Lexington, Kentucky's Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. It draws students from throughout the Fayette County Public Schools district. Since the program's establishment in 1991, it has produced...
. The PLD student body, unlike that of most of the other schools named after Dunbar, has a substantial white majority, although African Americans make up roughly one sixth of the students.
Dunbar's band and cheerleading programs have won national acclaim, while PLD has earned a local reputation as an outstanding school, excelling in academics, athletics, and fine arts.
History
The school name was part of a political deal made in 1965 with the city's African-American community. In the era of segregatedRacial segregation
Racial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
schools, Dunbar High School, also named after the poet, was the city's lone surviving black high school and one of the main cornerstones of Lexington's black community. When Fayette County's schools integrated in 1967, Dunbar High was closed, with its students being bused to four previously white schools. Eventually, the county school board agreed that the next high school to open in Lexington would bear Dunbar's name, principally at the urging of the Rev. William Augustus Jones, Sr., senior minister of Lexington's oldest and largest black church and a civil rights leader whose five oldest children had graduated from Dunbar and embarked on careers of distinction. To the board's credit, it kept its word, even though a full generation had passed since the original agreement. To keep the schools differentiated, the new school was given the poet's full name, rather than just the last name as with the old school. As an additional tribute to the old Dunbar High School, the gymnasium was named the "S.T. Roach Sports Center" for basketball coach Sanford T Roach, who led the school to a 512-142 record from 1942 to 1965, and is a member of the National High School Sports Hall of Fame and the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame. The new PLD adopted the original school colors of the old Dunbar High (which were red and black, but changed to green and white during the 1940s). The new high school did not, however, retain the former school's "Bearcats" mascot. A vote of the school's future students shortly before the school's opening favored "Bulldogs" and selected "The Victors
The Victors
"The Victors" is the fight song of the University of Michigan . It was composed by UM student Louis Elbel in 1898 following the last-minute football victory over the University of Chicago that clinched a league championship...
", by Louis Elbel, as the basis of the fight song.
The building of the original high school at 545 North Upper Street has since been converted to the Dunbar Community Center, which serves myriad cultural, educational and recreational needs for the city of Lexington. The Dunbar Community Center is operated by the city's department of Parks & Recreation.
Academics
Since opening, Dunbar has averaged more than 15 National Merit SemifinalistsNational Merit Scholarship Program
The National Merit Scholarship Program is a United States academic scholarship competition for recognition and college scholarships administered by National Merit Scholarship Corporation , a privately funded, not-for-profit organization. The program began in 1955...
a year, with 71 in the last four years. PLD also ranks consistently as one of Kentucky's top high schools in terms of scores in the statewide testing program, CATS (Commonwealth Accountability Testing System). In 2007 P.L.D. became the first school in the Fayette County Public High Schools to score an average of 90 on the CATS tests. Of the Class of 2008, 75% continued on to four-year colleges or universities, with another 17% attending two-year colleges or technical schools. As of 2009, Dunbar offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses in fourteen subject areas.
Math, Science, and Technology Center
The Math, Science, and Technology Center, also known as MSTC, is a magnet program housed in Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. The program accepts 40 students each year, selected from the 2500 incoming high school freshmen in Fayette County. Many MSTC courses exceed the comparable AP curriculum. Since the program's establishment in 1991, its students have received an average ACTACT (examination)
The ACT is a standardized test for high school achievement and college admissions in the United States produced by ACT, Inc. It was first administered in November 1959 by Everett Franklin Lindquist as a competitor to the College Board's Scholastic Aptitude Test, now the SAT Reasoning Test...
score of 31 and an average SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
score of 1400. Seven MSTC students have scored a perfect 1600 on the SAT and three students have scored a perfect 36 on the ACT. MSTC graduates are each offered an average of 5 scholarships from different schools, and have attended twenty of the top thirty universities and colleges in the country as ranked by U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
.
Academic Team
The PLD academic team has won numerous contests, including Governor's CupGovernor's Cup (Academics)
Governor's Cup is the prestigious academic tournament within the Commonwealth of Kentucky.-Participation:Governor's Cup involves approximately 20,000 students. The following chart depicts the membership fees of each grade level:-Operation:...
championships in 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010. In 2008, Dunbar's United States Academic Decathlon
United States Academic Decathlon
The United States Academic Decathlon is an annual high school academic competition organized by the non-profit United States Academic Decathlon Association. The competition consists of seven multiple choice tests, two performance events, and an essay...
team won the state division for the first time and proceeded to nationals.
Athletics
Paul Laurence Dunbar offers many sports, including footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, boys' and girls' basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, soccer, baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
, boys' lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
, dancing, wrestling
Scholastic wrestling
Scholastic wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially Collegiate wrestling with some slight modifications. It is currently...
, and ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
. Altogether, Dunbar's athletic teams have won 18 state championships (Boys' soccer, 3; cheerleading, 11; baseball, 2; girls' track and field, 1; girls' cross country, 1; boys' tennis 1) in the school's 19 years, and the cheerleaders have won 6 national championships.
Basketball
PLD had a competitive boys' basketball program almost from the beginning. In 1993 the team, led by Darnell Burton, were State Runners-Up, and in 1994, led by Cameron Mills, the team repeated as State Runners-Up. In 1997 the team again reached the Sweet Sixteen, losing in the first round.Football
The first football playoff appearance was in 1992, only the school’s second year in existence. For the first five and a half years, the PLD football team played their "home" games at other Lexington high schools. Midway through the 1995 season, PLD's football stadium opened, and that year the school advanced to the playoffs for the second time. In 1996 they were the AAAA state runners-up, losing the championship game in overtime.The football stadium was later named for Jon R. Akers, PLD's first principal and the father of National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
placekicker David Akers
David Akers
David Roy Akers is a left footed American football placekicker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Atlanta Falcons in 1997. He played college football at Louisville....
.
Soccer
In 1992, 2001, and 2005 PLD Soccer were the State Champions. All three championships were under Todd Bretz who has been the head coach since the program's inception. Zach Byrd also won a Kentucky Mr. Soccer in 2010 when Dunbar lost in the elite eight against Henry Clay.Cheerleading
PLD Cheerleading is nationally competitive. They have been UCA National Champions in the Large Varsity Division (all girls) in 1995, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2011. They are the only squad to ever be national champions 5 times in a row. UCA National Runners-Up in 1994, 2002, 2003 and Third Place in 1993 & 2009, Cheersports National Champions in 2003, and KAPOS State Champions in 1994, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008,2009, and 2010. They have been nationally ranked for twelve years and have been featured in American Cheerleader magazine. Donna Martin has coached the squad since the school opened in 1990. She has been elected to American Cheerleader's Who's Who of Cheerleading and has coached cheerleading for 17 years.http://teamspiritcheer.com/dunbar.cfmIn 2001, MTV's True Life series prominently featured Dunbar's cheerleading team in the episode "I'm a Cheerleader."
On November 28, 2005, Lifetime Television announced a reality series featuring the PLD cheerleaders. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/pr.cgi?id=20051128lifetime01 "Cheerleader Nation
Cheerleader Nation
Cheerleader Nation is a US television series based on the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School cheerleading team's ups and downs on the way to Nationals, of which they are the three time champions. The show also explains how cheerleading is a tough sport. It takes place in Lexington, Kentucky. The team...
" premiered in early 2006. The television show had very high ratingsClarification needed.
Former Dunbar cheerleaders have gone on to cheer for the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
, University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
, Morehead State University
Morehead State University
Morehead State University is a public, co-educational university located in Morehead, Kentucky, United States in the foothills of the Daniel Boone National Forest in Rowan County, midway between Lexington, Kentucky, and Huntington, West Virginia. The 2012 edition of "America's Best Colleges" by U.S...
, Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. It was formally founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier....
, Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
, University of Cincinnati
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
, Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
, and many other colleges.
Baseball
In 2003, PLD Baseball were state champions. That year they also set a Kentucky record for the most wins in one season, winning 41 games and losing only 4. Josh Ellis went a perfect 12-0 in 2003, despite knee injury suffered in a PLD football game, and was named Kentucky's Mr. Baseball. Dunbar was once again state champions in 2007.Track and field
In 2005, the girls' track and field team tied as AAA state champions.Both the boys' and girls' teams have won the Lexington City Championships each year since 2000. The boys placed second in 2007 to Henry Clay High School in a loss by 3 points. The girls won Region 5 AAA in 2001, 2006, and 2007.
Cross country
Laura Steinmetz was the girls AAA individual state champion in 2005 and 2006. The girls team were AAA state champions in 2005 and placed third in 2006.Lacrosse
Lacrosse is not sanctioned by the Kentucky High School Athletic AssociationKentucky High School Athletic Association
The Kentucky High School Athletic Association has been the governing body of Kentucky high school athletics since 1917. Located in Lexington, the organization sanctions competition in the following sports:*Boys and girls**Basketball**Bowling*...
. Dunbar's team went undefeated and won first place in the 2009 Bluegrass State Games, the first time lacrosse was included in the Games.
In the 2011 season, the Dunbar lacrosse team broke a 7 year streak of losses to Lexington Catholic in the second round of the state tournament. They went 12-2 and concluded their season with a 9-7 victory over Ballard in the D-II Championship game.
Ice hockey
Like lacrosse, ice hockey is not sanctioned by KHSAA. Dunbar's team began as a combination of travel and house league players in 2001, and are one of ten teams in the state of Kentucky. However, in 2002 the PLD Ice Hockey team went from being a "metro" team to a strictly all Dunbar student team with the help of PE/Health teacher Mr. Jonas. Dunbar ice hockey has played in both the "A" (varsity) and "B" (junior varsity) levels of Kentucky state hockey.Band
The Paul Laurence Dunbar band, currently led by Jeff Hood and Brian Morgan, has won national acclaim; they are one of a handful of high school band programs to receive the Sudler Shield twice. The school's commitment to a quality band program was clear from the beginning, when Craig Cornish, coming away from three consecutive state marching band championships at North Hardin High SchoolNorth Hardin High School
North Hardin High School, located in Radcliff, Kentucky, has a student population of approximately 1,500. The school was founded in 1962. The athletics teams are known as the Trojans...
, was hired as director. In 1998, then-assistant director Jeff Hood took over. The band have been state champions in 1991 (Class AAA), 2003 and 2004 (Class AAAA), and 2005, 2007, and 2010 (Class AAAAA); State Runners-Up in 1992, 1994, 1995, and 2002 (Class AAAA) and 2006 and 2008 (Class AAAAA); and a finalist in 2009. Together with North Hardin High School and cross-town rival Lafayette High School
Lafayette High School (Lexington, Kentucky)
Lafayette Senior High School is a public high school located in Lexington, Kentucky's Picadome neighborhood. The school is one of five high schools in the Fayette County Public Schools district. It is among the largest high schools in Kentucky....
, they are considered the "Big 3" of Kentucky bands. In 2004, 2005 and 2008 they were Bands of America
Bands of America
Bands of America , a division of Music for All, Inc., is an organization that promotes and organizes marching band competitions for high school students. Competitions include both Regional and Super Regional Championships as well as the Grand National Championships...
Regional and Class Champions, at Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University, commonly abbreviated as MTSU, is a public university located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States....
, Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University
Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. It was formally founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier....
and University of Louisville
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville is a public university in Louisville, Kentucky. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of the first universities chartered west of the Allegheny Mountains. The university is mandated by the Kentucky General...
. In 1995, 1996, and 2007 they were Grand Champions at the Contest of Champions at Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University, commonly abbreviated as MTSU, is a public university located in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States....
. Dunbar has participated in the BOA Grand Nationals contest twice (1996 and 2006) placing in the top 20 both times. Altogether, the band have been Grand Champions more than 25 times. The band performed in the 2007 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, often shortened to Macy's Day Parade, is an annual parade presented by Macy's. The tradition started in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States along with America's Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit, and four years younger than...
in New York City.
The symphonic band has performed as a featured ensemble for the KMEA Professional Development Conference in Louisville. All three concert bands consistently score a 1 ranking in adjudication for the district concert festival. There is also a jazz ensemble and orchestra. The band averages about 10 to 13 All-State members each year.
The Dunbar Colorguard is a world class guard that has ranked at National competitions, placing 12th in the 2005 World Colorguard Championships.
Orchestra
The Paul Laurence Dunbar Orchestra regularly places musicians in the All-State Orchestra. The program was built by Robyn Bourgois, who taught two orchestra classes at the school until retiring. After serving for two years as Principal Viola in the Atlanta-Emory Orchestra, Amos Jones, of Dunbar's class of 1996, played professionally for the Charlotte Philharmonic Orchestra.The current conductor/teacher is Mrs. Goff
Student exchange
Paul Laurence Dunbar currently operates an exchange program with Hillpark Secondary School in Glasgow, Scotland. Students from each school are chosen annually to live with host families of students from the other school. Additionally many French students participate in the Lexington Sister Cities exchange with Deauville, France.Also, 3 students have now participated in the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange
Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange
The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange is a youth student exchange program founded in 1983. The program, which is dually sponsored by the United States Congress and the German Bundestag, funds exchange programs for German and American students through grants to private exchange organizations in...
to Germany.
Baseball
- A.J. Ellis (1995–99) - A two-time first team All-City selection, A.J. was drafted by the Los Angeles DodgersLos Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
in 2003, has played for on all minor-league levels for the Dodgers, and made his debut for the Dodgers in 2008 as a pinch-runner for Nomar GarciaparraNomar GarciaparraAnthony Nomar Garciaparra is a former Major League Baseball player. After playing parts of 9 seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played third base, first base, and designated hitter for the Oakland Athletics, first base and third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and...
. He is the Dodgers' backup catcher in 2010. - Josh Ellis (2000–04) - Kentucky's Mr. Baseball his senior year, Josh was drafted by the Arizona DiamondbacksArizona DiamondbacksThe Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
in 2007 and has played for the Diamondbacks' minor-league affiliates since then.
Basketball
- Darnell Burton (1990–93) – Scored 1,017 points in 1993 (11th all-time in Kentucky), starter at the University of CincinnatiUniversity of CincinnatiThe University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
. - Cameron Mills (1990–94) – Played at the University of KentuckyUniversity of KentuckyThe University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
.
Soccer
- Sean Kelley (2002–06) - Named Kentucky's Mr. Soccer, an NSCAA HS All-American, and the Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior, while leading his team to a state championship. He is currently on trial with FC DallasFC DallasFC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
.
Jeopardy! appearances
Dunbar students and alumni have a history with the television game showGame show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
. In 18 years since the school opened, three students have won the Teen Tournament
Jeopardy! Teen Tournament
The Jeopardy! Teen Tournament is one of the traditional tournaments held each season on the TV quiz show Jeopardy! Contestants in this tournament are primarily high school students, and between the ages of thirteen and seventeen...
, and one alumnus has won the College Championship
Jeopardy! College Championship
The Jeopardy! College Championship is one of the traditional tournaments held each season on the TV quiz show Jeopardy! Contestants in this tournament are full-time undergraduate college students with no prior degrees...
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- Fraser Woodford - Won 1993 Teen Tournament, appeared in 1993 Tournament of ChampionsJeopardy! Tournament of ChampionsThe Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions is an annual tournament featuring the longest-running champions from the past season or seasons of the TV quiz show Jeopardy! The tournament began in the show's first season in 1964 during Art Fleming's tenure as host, and continued into the Alex Trebek era of...
- Miguel Dickson - Participated in Fall 1999 Teen Tournament; was an alternate for the semifinals.
- John Zhang - Won 2003 Teen Tournament, appeared in the Ultimate Tournament of ChampionsJeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of ChampionsThe Ultimate Tournament of Champions was a special fifteen-week single-elimination tournament that aired during the twenty-first season of the syndicated game show Jeopardy! that began airing on February 9, 2005 and concluded on May 25, 2005, covering 76 shows in all...
- Nathan Gordon - 2004 Played against Ken JenningsKen JenningsKenneth Wayne "Ken" Jennings III is an American game show contestant and author. Jennings is noted for holding the record for the longest winning streak on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy! and as being the all-time leading money winner on American game shows...
- Grayson Holmes - 2004 Appeared in three shows
- Kermin Elliott Fleming, Jr. - Won 2004 College Championship, appeared in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions
- Papa Chakravarthy - Won 2006 Teen Tournament
- Idrees Kahloon - 2010