8:50 a.m. – BOE member Karen Reed-Wright and WCSK’s Jeff Hall are ready to roll. Jeff will announce almost 500 student names this morning. Hope his voice is warmed up. 

8:45: a.m. – Dr. Hampton, getting final adjustments before we begin. 15 minutes to go!

8:40 a.m – D-B and KCS staff are lining up for the entry. Getting close now!



8:35 a.m. – The graduates-to-be are ready to go! 25 minutes to entry. 

8:26 a.m. – The award-winning DBAFJROTC is hard at work getting ready to present the colors! 

8:20 a.m. – Welcome to the We Are KCS live blog from D-B Graduation! The excitement is building here in the Dome, as family and friends are beginning to arrive. Stay tuned here for updates throughout the morning!

What an exciting day!  Today marks the biggest academic day in the Kingsport City Schools academic calendar, as the class of 2016 will graduate from Dobyns-Bennett High School.  This year’s class is an extraordinary group, with a tremendous list of accomplishments that rival some of the greatest classes in D-B history.

Today, let’s look at some of the accolades received by this phenomenal group of students.  They truly reflect what we mean when we use the term “World Class!”

1. This year’s class contained 8 National Merit Semi-finalists, 6 National Merit Commended Students, and 3 Presidential Scholar semifinalists.
2. 70 of this year’s graduates earned a GPA over 4.0.
3. There were 102 AP Scholars in the Class of 2016.
4. Graduating today will be 114 graduates with distinction (roughly 1/4 of the senior class).
5. The class of 2016 has been offered in excess 11 million dollars in scholarship money… and still counting!
6. This year’s graduates have been a part of one of the most successful years in the history of D-B.  For instance…

• This was the 10^th consecutive year the D-B AFJROTC program has been named a unit of distinction, which is exactly how long they have been in existence at D-B.
• More than a dozen Career and Technical state-level competition winners and national qualifiers occurred this year.
• In 2015-16, D-B had over 50 conference, district, and regional athletic titles, including several state champions and state tournament participants.
• This year’s graduating band class has performed on some of the biggest stages in Tennessee and across the country, while entertaining dignitaries from the mayor to the governor and even the President of the United States. They are recognized by many to have just completed the most successful four-year career for a high school band.
• Two D-B students earned a perfect score on the ACT this year.
• D-B has been named in the top 5% of all high schools in the country by Newsweek Magazine and US News and World Report and one recognized as of the most rigorous high schools in the nation by the Washington Post.

Wow, what a successful year for the students and staff of Kingsport City Schools!

Like our students, starting today, the KCS Saturday Six goes on summer vacation.  Be on the lookout for other We Are KCS blog entries over the summer, as well as the return of the Saturday Six next fall.  Have a great summer!

The 2016 Dobyns-Bennett graduation rehearsal is underway! Looking for a way to stay connected tomorrow? There are many ways that you can be a part of graduation day, even if you can’t make it to the Buck Van Huss Dome Saturday at 9 a.m. 

• Graduation will be live streamed, with links located on both the KCS and D-B homepage. Head to www.k12k.com or dbhs.k12k.com for all the action!
• We’ll be live blogging during graduation, right here at WeAreKCS.com. Updates and photos will posted throughout the morning. 
• Also follow along on all the KCS social media sites during the morning. We’ll be posting all types of news and info to keep you informed. 

It’s the biggest day of the KCS academic year. We hope you’ll follow along with us!

In this week’s Saturday Six, we give a special shout-out to our fantastic school nurses!  All across KCS, our health professionals do so much to care for our students and staff, while addressing urgent needs and also promoting healthy lifestyles.  This Wednesday was National School Nurse Day, an opportunity to say “Thank you!” to the staff that gives so much so that we can stay healthy:

• Suzanne Folkner, Adams School Nurse
• Carla Testerman, Jackson School Nurse
• Laura Jennings, Jefferson School Nurse
• Michelle Olinger, Jefferson Health Assistant
• Allison Shuppert, Johnson School Nurse
• Melinda Combest, Johnson Health Assistant
• Angie Lundy, Kennedy School Nurse
• Brandy Steffey, Lincoln School Nurse
• Cheryl Weston, Roosevelt School Nurse
• Angie Fowler,  Roosevelt Health Assistant
• Renee Blevins, Washington School Nurse
• Traci Bowen, RNR School Nurse
• Lorraine Chastain, RNR Health Assistant
• Joni Murphy, Sevier School Nurse
• Melissa Caldwell, D-B School Nurse
• Audra Bevins, D-B Health Assistant
• Crystal Hood, D-B EXCEL/Cora Cox Academy Health Assistant
• Tracy Dayton, Palmer Health Assistant
• Jana Messer, Palmer Health Assistant
• Susan Ausband, System-Wide School Nurse
• Vicki Johnston, KCS Nursing Supervisor

Did you know there are six key ways that school nurses can benefit the school culture?

1. Student Health – Identifying and treating accidents and injuries, managing students with chronic conditions such as diabetes and seizures to allow them to stay in class, significantly decreasing the amount of days missed due to asthma (a leading cause of school absenteeism), and counseling students about physical and emotional issues.
2. Student Attendance – School nurses improve attendance through health promotion, disease prevention and disease management.  Studies show that students with a full-time school nurse have about half the student illness- or injury-related early releases from school than where no school nurse is present.
3. Improved Academics – Improved attendance means a healthy student is in the classroom and ready to learn. School Nurses enable better performance, which also contributes to reducing drop-out rates.
4. Time – School nurses save time for principals, teachers and staff.  A school nurse in the building saves principals, teachers, and staff a considerable amount of time that they would have spent addressing health concerns of students.
5. Staff Wellness – School nurses improve the general health of staff.  According to studies, principals, teachers, and clerical staff are very satisfied with having school nurses in their schools so that teachers can focus on teaching, staff can spend less time calling parents and sending students home, and also because a healthy staff means increased attendance and productivity.
6. Accountability – School nurses help schools stay accountable by promoting compliance with federal and state laws, and by preparing for emergencies in order to saves lives and property.

Thank you to our awesome KCS health professionals!

DON’T FORGET!  The Saturday Six will be live-blogging from the D-B graduation next Saturday morning.  “Tune in” to WeAreKCS.com and the KCS social media feeds starting at 8:30 a.m. for a behind the scenes look at the graduation celebration.  It should be fun!

You’ll forgive us if the Saturday Six deviates a little from the norm today.  You see, this week marked the celebration of Employee Appreciation Week in Kingsport City Schools.  All across KCS, we stopped to thank the women and men that give so much to support the children of Kingsport.  All KCS employees are educators and support the vision of providing a student focused and world class education to students.

Join us this week as the Saturday Six stops to highlight and say “Thank you” to the many employees of KCS!  Warning:  Don’t count too closely… We won’t stop at just six.  🙂

Don’t ever forget… Educators, you make a difference every day.  Because of you, our students do great things!  Check out this great video that describes just how we feel about you.   Do you have something to share about a great KCS educator?  Add it in the comments below!

Preview:  Next week, we’ll highlight another great group of KCS employees, as we celebrate School Nurses Day.  Be on the lookout next Saturday for info on how our nurses work to positively affect the health and well-being of our students.

And finally, something special will come your way on May 21, as the final Saturday Six blogs LIVE from D-B graduation.  Make plans to attend in-person or virtually!