Today, Kingsport City Schools reaches the culminating event of the academic year as students and staff celebrate the seniors graduating from Dobyns-Bennett High School.  Through much hard work and dedication, these graduates have reached the pinnacle of their K-12 education and now prepare to embark on the next phase of their lives.

Graduation day is always a special time, as the entire KCS community comes together to mark this significant achievement.  One special aspect of D-B graduation is the annual participation of teachers and administrators from other KCS schools who take part in the ceremony.  By including staff from pre-k, elementary, middle schools, Cora Cox Academy, D-B EXCEL, and D-B, we signify that we are all vested in the education of KCS students and take district-wide ownership of supporting student success.  Though they may be graduating today from D-B, ALL KCS staff members have been instrumental in helping students reach their graduation day.

It’s quite a phenomenal group of young women and men!  This week, the Saturday Six celebrates this year’s graduates by sharing some of the fantastic accomplishments of the Class of 2017.

1. This year’s class contained four National Merit Semi-finalists, four National Merit Commended Students, and a Presidential Scholar finalist… one of the highest national honors attainable by a high school student!
2. Academically, this is one of the most successful classes to ever graduate from D-B.  There were 68 students with GPA over 4.0, 76 AP Scholars, and 110 Graduates with Distinction.
3. This year’s class reached unparalleled heights related to the ACT test.  There were 61 seniors with an ACT score of 30+.  61!!  Additionally, for the sixth consecutive year, a D-B student earned a perfect ACT score.  That’s incredible!
4. Success hasn’t just been limited to the classroom.  Graduates earned more than a dozen Career and Technical state-level titles and national qualifiers.  Athletes in this year’s class have earned over 60 conference, district, and regional athletic titles, with several state champions and dozens of state tournament participants.  In fact, several of today’s graduates will participate for TSSAA state titles in track, baseball, and tennis next week.
5. The Class of 2017 graduating band class has performed on some of the biggest stages in Tennessee and across the country while solidifying their place on the international stage for marching bands by becoming finalists at the esteemed Grand Nationals competition.  This year’s band class is recognized by many to have just completed one of, if not the most successful four year careers for a high school band.
6. Members of this year’s class helped earn the D-B Air Force Junior ROTC program, for the 10th consecutive year, the designation of Unit of Distinction.  Additionally, the year’s class contains four appointments to United States Service Academies, with several additional commitments to the US Armed Services.

And to top it all off, this year’s graduating class has currently been offered in excess of $15 million in scholarship funds, a record amount for a D-B class.  Congrats, Dobyns-Bennett Class of 2017!!

As hard as it is to believe, today marks the final Saturday Six for this school year.  Keep an eye out for the return of the Saturday Six next fall when we kick off the 2017-18 year!