It’s finally here!  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 into their future!

Graduation day is 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, we celebrate this year’s graduates by sharing some of the fantastic accomplishments of the Class of 2018.  There are WAY more than six items to highlight.  Thanks to D-B Principal Dr. Chris Hampton for sharing this great info. (click here to view the full photo album of graduation day photos)

The Dobyns-Bennett Class of 2018 contains:

• 5 National Merit Semi-finalists.
• 5 National Merit Commended Students.
• 3 Presidential Scholar Candidates (the most in school history).
• 90 students with a GPA exceeding 4.0 (the most in school history).
• 75 AP Scholars (the most in school history).
• 3 appointments to United States Service Academies.
• 120 Graduates with distinction (the most in the school history).
• Of the 131 D-B students ACT scores of 30+ this year, 75 are in the senior class and
  two of those recorded a perfect score (This is the seventh year in a row D-B has had at least one perfect ACT score).
• This is the 12th consecutive year the DB Air Force Junior ROTC program has been named a unit of distinction.
• More than a dozen Career and Technical state-level winners and national qualifiers.
• 40 students earning approximately 60 National Industry Certifications.
• Over 60 conference, district, and regional athletic titles.
• Several state tournament participants.
• This graduating band class has performed on some of the biggest stages in
  our state and country, while solidifying their place on an elite stage for
  marching bands by finishing 6th in the U.S. at the esteemed Grand Nationals competition.
• The band and orchestra also performed a joint concert at Carnegie Hall,
  one of the most famed concert halls in the world.
• This has been the most decorated year in history for the D-B Choral program, including being one of 12 choral programs in the world to be chosen to perform at the inaugural National Choral Festival.
• D-B has been named in the top 5% of all high schools in the country by US News and World Report and one of the most rigorous high schools in the nation by the Washington Post.
• The class of 2018 has been offered in excess 15 million dollars in scholarship money (and still counting).  This is the most scholarship money every awarded to a graduating class at D-B.

Congrats to the Dobyns-Bennett Class of 2018!!

Click here to view the full album of photos from this year’s graduation.

And so with that, another year of the Saturday Six comes to a close.  Thank you for sharing this year’s journey with Kingsport City Schools and learning more about our incredible students and educators each Saturday.  Keep on the lookout for additional KCS information at wearekcs.com, including more great video blogs to come!