School Resource Officer Training at Dutch Fork High!

On Thursday December 1, 2011, the Richland County Sheriffs Department will be conducting an Advanced School Resource Officer Site assessment on the campus of Dutch Fork High. The site assessment is designed to assess the safety and security of school buildings and grounds. This training will result in a large police presence on campus.

We are informing all stakeholders in an effort to eliminate any cause for alarm by students, parents, and/or staff members. This training will not interfere in any way whatsoever with normal school operations. Dutch Fork High is proud to partner with the Richland County Sheriffs Department in helping to further educate our law enforcement personnel.

Should you have any questions, please contact the school at 803-476-3300.

Dutch Fork High Students Excel In Wordmasters Challenge

Congratulations to Dutch Fork High students who recently participated in the Wordmasters Challenge. We received the highest honors, competing with 548 schools across the country. Our 9th graders tied for 12th place in the nation, while our 11th and 12th graders tied for 11th in the nation. The following students won high honors for individual achievement (and they will receive a copy of the press release with their names in it, as well):

Freshman Liam McGarry, sophomores Tyler Muehl,and Tulsi Patel, and senior Aubrey Leaman all earned near-perfect scores in the meet. They placed among the 65 highest scoring ninth graders, the 108 highest-scoring 10th graders and the 36 highest-scoring 12th graders in the country.  Juniors Taylor Larkin, Ir'raj Iftikhur and Caitlin Wagner placed among the 105 highest scoring eleventh graders at the same time. Freshmen Suzy Noblet, Aiden Barney, Tristan Yates, Austin Hays and Trista Knowles, and seniors Emily Condra and Kristy O'Keefe all earned honorable mention.

More than 54,000 students from across the country (and from four foreign nations) participated in the meet. We are so excited about their accomplishments and congratulate them on a job well done. They will participate in the second meet, held between Dec. 8 and 15. More information can be found on the Wordmasters website.

Dutch Fork High's November Teacher of the Month

Teachers are the backbone of our great school. They richly deserve all the recognition that we can give them. On that note, we are proud to announce November's Outstanding Teacher of the Month, Ms. Deborah Gascon from the School of Fine Arts and Humanities. Ms. Gascon teaches English and Journalism courses along with advising our yearbook staff and coordinating many of our school's social functions.


In her classes, students are rigorously challenged through meaningful and relevant instruction. When you visit her classroom, you will see very high levels of student engagement, an infusion of advanced technology, and an atmosphere where students are encouraged to take risks through project/problem-based learning as they work collaboratively towards content mastery.


Under her advisement, our yearbook is an annual winner of the "Best in State" award by the South Carolina Scholastic Press Association. She is an active member of the South Carolina Council of Teachers of English and regularly attends and presents at their conferences. Each year, she has initiated an annual "pancake breakfast" tradition for students on HSAP (High School Assessment Program) test days. Within her SLC, she develops brochures and newsletters for her school-of-study, and spearheads many initiatives that results in our continuous improvement.


We are extremely proud of Ms. Gascon! Her efforts continue to make Dutch Fork High one of the premier public schools in the country. 

By: Robert S. Jackson, Ed.S., Assistant Principal for Instruction

New National Board Recipients at Dutch Fork High

By: Robert S. Jackson, Ed.S., Assistant Principal for Instruction

Congratulations are extended to the following four teachers (Russell Young, Megan Estes, Kate Mewborne, and Hank Herring) for earning their National Board Certification. Also, six teachers (Karla Fulmer, Effie Howe, Amy Medlock-Greene, Sandy Rickenbaker, Elizabeth Sox, and Julie Vandiver) renewed their certification for the next ten years. This brings the total number of national board certified teachers at Dutch Fork High to fifty-two. 


We are extremely proud of these teachers and would like to thank them for all that they continue to do for our school. Their commitment towards excellence in the classroom is another example of the quality teaching staff at Dutch Fork High! 

Dutch Fork High Remains Excellent!

Recently, the school report cards were issued by the South Carolina State Department of Education. Again, Dutch Fork High has earned Excellent Absolute and Growth Ratings for 2011. Each school in the state receives an Absolute rating – Excellent, Good, Average, Below Average or At Risk – based on student test scores.  Report Cards also contain Growth ratings that compare student test scores from one year to the next. For the past five years, our absolute rating has remained excellent.  These results indicate our commitment to excellence while embracing a practice of continuous improvement. 

According to the statistics from Education Oversight Committee, School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties remains one of South Carolina's top performing districts.  Echoing the sentiments of Dr. Stephen Hefner (Superintendent), at Dutch Fork High, we are extremely proud of our teachers, administrators, support staff, students, and parents for their continued hard work and commitment to excellence in all academic and extracurricular offerings.  

By: Robert S. Jackson, Ed.S., Assistant Principal for Instruction

Bring Your Own Device Survey

School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties will be conducting a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) pilot program at Dutch Fork High School for the remainder of this school year and would like your feedback. We are sending this short survey to parents so that we are able to forecast the demand in future years. 

This pilot will allow current high school students the opportunity to bring their privately owned, WiFi enabled electronic computing device to school and connect to the district wireless network. By connecting to this network the student will have access to Internet based educational and research tools. 

Please take a moment to participate in the survey by

selecting the link below. You will be redirected

to the survey on the school's website. With your 

feedback we will be better able to understand what 

devices students have and potentially which types will 

be connecting to the district wireless network. 

Access Survey

Thank you taking your time to answer this short survey.