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Dreher High School

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Coordinates: 33°59′56″N 80°59′37″W / 33.99889°N 80.99361°W / 33.99889; -80.99361
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Dreher High School
Address
Map
3319 Millwood Avenue

Columbia, South Carolina
29205

United States
Coordinates33°59′56″N 80°59′37″W / 33.99889°N 80.99361°W / 33.99889; -80.99361
Information
TypePublic high school
Established1938 (86 years ago) (1938)
School districtRichland County School District One
PrincipalDr. Kevin Hasinger
Staff74.00 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,184 (2018–19)[1]
Student to teacher ratio16.00[1]
Color(s)Royal blue and white
  
MascotBlue Devil
NewspaperThe Blueprint
Websitewww.richlandone.org/Domain/47

Dreher High School is a co-educational four-year public high school in Richland County School District One located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Dreher, established in 1938, is one of the oldest public high schools in South Carolina.[2] In 2020, Dreher was ranked the 6th best high school in South Carolina and 1,062nd in national rankings by U.S. News & World Report.[3]

History

D. Leon McCormac served as the first principal of Dreher from 1938 to 1947

In 1938, the third high school in Columbia was completed. It was built at 701 Adger Road on a ten-acre lot, which at one time was part of Governor Wade Hampton's estate, purchased for $25,000 from Burrell D. Manning. Construction of the new building was completed by the Mechanics Contracting Company at a cost of $239,306. The new school was named for Ernest S. Dreher, who served as the second superintendent of Columbia City Schools from 1895 to 1918. Mr. Dreher was also responsible for the building initiative that led to the construction of Columbia and Booker T. Washington High Schools.[2]

The first principal, D. Leon McCormac, and five faculty members formulated the organization of the new school. Doors to the first facility opened in 1938, with a faculty of 30 and 651 students in grades 9–12. The first 123 students graduated in 1939. A new auditorium, the south wing, was completed in 1954. With the completion of this wing, Dreher was an enclosed facility with a central courtyard. Through the efforts of several classes, the courtyard became a focal point of the school, complete with statuary and a fountain. From the air, the Dreher complex had a block “D” appearance.

In 1962, Dreher became the first school in Columbia to offer Russian as a foreign-language class. Two years later the first black students to enroll at Dreher were Oliver Washington and Brenda Fruster, as part of the Freedom of Choice plan in 1964. Both went on to graduate from Dreher in 1968.[2]

SCETV

thumb Dewey Gentry (L) observes Henry J. Cauthen (R), technical director, switching equipment of the closed-circuit ETV Experiment in 1958 at Dreher

Further information: South Carolina Educational Television

In 1958, the S. C. General Assembly authorized an experiment in use of television to teach with closed-circuit instructional productions originating from the library at Dreher High School. R. Lynn Kalmbach was principal. In one of the first programs, Dreher teacher, Lucille Turney-High taught French. The S. C. Educational Television Commission (SCETV) was created by the General Assembly in 1960 and SCETV moved from Dreher several blocks away. Dreher's principal was named its first president. R. Lynn Kalmbach died in 1965. SCETV's Columbia transmitter, WRLK was named for Kalmbach, as well as Dreher's original gymnasium until renaming in 2002.

New building

In November 2002, a $381 million bond referendum[4] passed for school construction in Richland District One.[5] The original Dreher High School complex had been in existence for sixty-four years. The condition of the physical plant, the inadequacies of space and classroom size, as well as the technological shortfalls of the old school made the construction of a new facility necessary.

Construction began in June 2005. Construction continued for two years followed by the demolition of the old school from June 7 until August 8. Occupancy of the new facilities took place on August 16, 2007, with a new address of 3319 Millwood Avenue.

The new $42,000,000[5] complex has 80,000 more square feet of floor space, a large commons area, a 2,000-seat air competition gymnasium, classrooms, meeting facilities, a Navy JROTC suite, arts facilities, an auditorium and a media center. Athletic facilities were added at Memorial Stadium. Parking for students and staff is provided on campus. The architecture reflects the tradition of the old school including an interior courtyard with the dolphin fountain and other artifacts. The new school incorporates a covered seating area, a wall built from bricks of the old building with some of its seals and plaques and a lamppost donated by alumni.[5] Additional reminders of Dreher's proud past include statuary and the extensive art gallery (professional and student works) that was accumulated through the efforts of various school organizations, graduating classes, and donations from many benefactors.[6]

The school has 1,302 enrolled student and is classified AAA by the SCHSL.

Student numbers

  • 1938 – 651
  • 1941 – 854
  • 1957 – 1,278
  • 2001 – 1,246
  • 2009 – 1,302
  • 2017 – 1,583
  • The smallest graduating class at Dreher came in 1948, when 41 students graduated.
  • The largest graduating class was 1960, when 453 students graduated.
  • In its first 60 years Dreher has graduated more than 15,000 students and produced more than 300 National Merit Scholarship Finalists.[2]

Academics

In 2000 Dreher's feeder school, Hand Middle School, was awarded by Time magazine one of three Schools of the Year and was favorably covered in a feature article.[7]

Academic honors

America's Best High Schools by Newsweek[8]

  • 2008, 2009, 2010

Red Carpet School

  • 2005

Flagship School of Promise

  • 2005

Non-athletic titles

Dreher has a tradition of excellence in Debate including former National Forensic League Debate championship by Jean H. Toal and Susan Copenhaver.

In 1997 Dreher's production of Waiting for the Parade starring Anna Camp won the South Carolina Theater Association competition and represented South Carolina at the South East Regional Theater Competition in Birmingham, Alabama.

Athletic titles

  • Boys' football
    • State Champions: 1951, 1956, 1957, 1959
  • Boys' basketball
    • State Champions: 1956, 1957, 1961, 1963, 1979
    • Region Champions: 1979, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009
  • Girls' basketball
    • State Champions: 1969, 1981, 1994, 2001, 2003, 2012, 2014
    • Runners-up: 2002
    • Region Champions:1969, 1977, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010
  • Track and field
    • State Champions: 2003, 2012
  • Girls' Soccer
    • State Champions: 2002, 2015
  • Boys' soccer
    • State Champions: 2019
    • Runners-up: 1999, 2006
    • Region Champions: 1968, 1976, 1977, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011
  • Boys' baseball
    • State Champions: 1969
  • Boys' wrestling
    • State Champions: 1988
  • Boys' swimming
    • State Champions: 2014

Notable alumni

Athletics

Arts and entertainment

Chris Potter, Class of 1989

Crime

Government

Kary Mullis, Class of 1962

Media

Scholar/education

References

  1. ^ a b c "Dreher High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d "Columbia Star".
  3. ^ https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/south-carolina/districts/richland-01/dreher-high-17700?int=bda6b8 [bare URL]
  4. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-07-31. Retrieved 2010-07-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. ^ a b c "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2010-07-26.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ http://dreherrcsd1.sharpschool.com/about_us/history_of_dreher_high_school/ [permanent dead link‍]
  7. ^ "Middle Schools Of The Year: Let Them Lift Us Up: Winner Hand Middle School/Columbia, S.C." Time. 21 May 2001. Archived from the original on October 30, 2010.
  8. ^ "America's Best High Schools: The List". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  9. ^ "Tramaine Billie #20". Scout.com. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  10. ^ "Alex English". NBA.com. Retrieved 21 November 2012.
  11. ^ "Coble Bio" (PDF). Central Midlands. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  12. ^ Dulaney, Cody. "NTSB chairman heads to Columbia, his hometown. He graduated from Dreher High, USC". Archived from the original on 2018-02-04.
  13. ^ "Chief Justice Jean Hoefer Toal". South Carolina Supreme Court. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
  14. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1993 - Kary B. Mullis, Michael Smith". Nobelprize.org. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
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