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August 10, 2009
Dear DCHS Parents and Students, Welcome back to the 2009-2010 school year at Douglas County High School. It is our hope that this will be an exciting year for all of our students both academically and through extracurricular activities. All students are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunities available to them whether these opportunities appear in the classroom, on the athletic fields, or in membership in our various clubs to ensure a well-rounded educational experience. DCHS extends a warm welcome to several new faculty members, including two new Assistant Principals. Assistant Principal Erika Cooper has been with DCHS for several years as a social studies teacher. Her new responsibilities will include testing and working with the eleventh grade class. Assistant Principal Terry Creech comes to DCHS via Yeager Middle School where he served as an Administrative Assistant for the past two years. Mr. Creech will supervise our CTAE Program and work with the tenth grade class. Our achievement goals for this school year will be centered around helping all students be successful in the areas of math, science, English, and social studies. To support this initiative, DCHS has created a Small Learning Community (SLC) for each grade level. Each of the SLC's will meet twice each month under the leadership of an assigned Assistant Principal and a Teacher Leader with the SLC's focus being to identify each student with needs (academic, attendance, or behavioral) and provide interventions to meet those student needs. Our focus will not be limited in that we want all students to achieve their highest potential. We encourage students to take either honors or AP classes whenever possible to support reaching for higher expectations. Parent involvement is crucial to the success of our Small Learning Communities. Therefore, parents should sign up for Parent Portal, which enables them to access their students' grades in all classes on a daily basis. When questions arise, parents should email teachers and/or request a parent/teacher conference as needed. Teachers in each SLC will be making frequent parent contact to keep parents involved as student needs surface. In order to support an environment conducive to learning, DCHS will include character education as part of our daily experience. We want to support students respecting one another and enjoying each other socially while having a true understanding of what school should be about. In conjunction with this, we expect students to comply with the dress code that appears on the handbook. Young men should have their shirts tucked in and pants should be worn at the waist. Young ladies should be appropriately covered according to the dress code found in the student handbook, and they should be aware that the required skirt length does not change when stockings are worn. Our slogan this year is "Collaboration is the Key - Parents, Teachers, and Students working together to make it happen." Therefore, I challenge all three parties to truly work together for the benefit of all of our students. Sincerely, Constance Craft Principal
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