Accreditation Statement | DHS School Profile | School Seal | DHS Mascot | Principals | School Newspaper Archives | History of DHS

ACCREDITATION STATEMENT

Darien High School is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Inc., a non-governmental, nationally recognized organization whose affiliated institutions include elementary schools through collegiate institutions offering post-graduate instruction.
Accreditation of an institution by the New England Association indicates that it meets or exceeds criteria for the assessment of institutional quality periodically applied through a peer group review process. An accredited school or college is one which has available the necessary resources to achieve its stated purposes through appropriate educational programs, is substantially doing so, and gives reasonable evidence that it will continue to do so in the foreseeable future. Institutional integrity is also addressed through accreditation.

Accreditation by the New England Association is not partial but applies to the institution as a whole. As such, it is not a guarantee of the quality of every course or program offered, or the competence of individual graduates. Rather, it provides reasonable assurance about the quality of opportunities available to students who attend the institution.

Inquiries regarding the status of an institution's accreditation by the New England Association should be directed to the administrative staff of the school or college.

NEW ENGLAND ASSOCIATION OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
209 BURLINGTON ROAD
BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS 01730-1433
(718) 271-0022

2008-2009 School Profile for Darien High School
CEEB/ACT CODE 070145

SCHOOL COMMUNITY:

• Location: Darien, CT. 36 miles notheast of New York City. Middle to high income residential
• Population: 20,209
• Grades 9 - 12 Enrollment: 1,283
• Accreditation: New England Association of Schools & Colleges
• Faculty - 134 Certified Staff: 6 Doctorates, 119 Masters, and 9 Baccalaureates
• 2002 Per Pupil Expenditure: $13,804 (2006-07)
  

CLASS OF 2008 FUTURE PLANS

• 91.7 % to Four Year Colleges 95 % to Higher Education
• 2.9 % to Two Year Colleges 5.0 % Other (Travel, Armed Services, Employment, etc.)

CLASS OF 2008 HIGHLIGHTS

SAT I SCORE DISTRIBUTIONS (Participation Rate 96% Source 2008 College Board SAT Summary Report)

For more information you can download the DHS School Profile in pdf

The Seal of Darien High School

The seal is composed of an open book with the Latin "Veritas Vos Liberabit" written upon it
The Latin translates to "The Truth Will Set You Free"
Behind the book is a lit torch.
A burning torch is a common emblem of enlightenment.
These symbols are presented on a plain background and are surrounded by a series of rings.
Written in the widest ring is Darien High School and the date 1927.

This version of the seal is presented in Blue and White the official colors of Darien High School

It is not known who drew the original seal.

Download the seal as 150 x 150 BMP | 289 x 289 BMP | 578 x 578 BMP

If you need a larger size or need access to vector based artwork contact the DHS webmaster

The "Old School" Seal

Available for download in Gif | Png | Eps

School Mascot

The School Mascot is the Blue Wave aka Big Blue

Principals of Darien High School

Merle F. Hunt: 1926 - 1929
George Shattuck: 1930 - 1936
Hobart V. Jones: 1937 - 1944
Stewart B. Atkinson: 1945 - 1967
Gordon A. Bruno: 1967 - 1974
Salvatore J. Catania: 1974 - 1976
Donald C. Robbins: 1976 - 1983
Velma B. Saire: 1983 - 1990
Bruce M. Hall: (DHS Class of 1964)1991 - 2002
Lawrence Mayer: 2002 - 2003
Jerome Auclair: 2003 - 2007
Dan Haron: 2007- Present

The Archives of the DHS Student Newspaper: Neirad

Find out what was going on in halls and minds of the student body and Darien Community.

Visit the Neirad Archive Page to Read Issues Dating Back to 1939.

When possible the paper has been scanned at full size and processed with optical character recognition software to make the text fully searchable.

The History of Darien and its High School(s)

History of Darien Video Produced by IDEA Student Lindsay Tyler Class of 2011

If you have information regarding the history of DHS please contact the DHS webmaster

Darien, an area purchased by British colonists in Stamford from the Toquam Indians in the 1640's, "'quietly to possess and enjoye" (so an Indian deed read), won its name and independence from Stamford in 1820. But more than a century passed before the community acquired its own high school.

The first public high school in the United States opened in Boston in 1821. As late as 1900, however, nine of every ten American children left school before reaching that august level. For decades, Darien was content to send the comparatively few students who sought more learning to Stamford or Norwalk. First public mention of the possible need of a high school here, according to the files of the Darien Review, came in 1912. Then in the 1920's-decade of the high school's most rapid growth in this country-the daily pilgrimage of teen-agers from Darien became more than our burgeoning neighbors could handle. Stamford, accommodating 75 Darien pupils at $150 per pupil, and Norwalk. accepting three at $100 apiece, served notice in June, 1925 that these arrangements must terminate.

The 800 who jammed into the auditorium for the dedication ceremony on October 29, 1927, might have been excused for supposing that this $300,000 brick colonial structure bearing the proud title of the Darien High School would serve its purpose for a century to come. They had a school with a designed capacity of 400, more than ample, in 1927, for both junior and senior high schools.

Darien High School in 1927 - 1957

The cost of the project was $21,000 for the property and $300,000 for the building.

From the Darien Review: Volume 80 Number 32 Thursday, August 18, 1927

New High School Nears Completion: Contractors Confident of Having Everything Ready for Opening September 7

That the new Darien High School will be ready for business on the opening day, Wednesday, September 7, seems assured at this writing and everything is being done to have it ready for that date. The work of installing the furniture and fixtures is going on at this moment and unless something unforeseen occurs, everything will be ship-shape very soon. And what a splendid building it is! We venture to say that there is not a prettier or more suitable high school building within many a mile of this town. To be sure, there is still a great deal of work to be done, such as grading, completing the road and so forth, but the interior of the building is of first importance now and that is ideal.....

The corridor is wide and you will find at regular intervals, fire hose ready for contingencies which we all hope will never arrive; modern sanitary drinking fountains, built in lockers for the boys and girls, and notice, too, that there are folding iron gates at either side of the stairway which may be closed so as to prevent access to any other part of the building when it is being used for public purposes other than school affairs. On the first floor is the cooking room, fitted up with 24 gas burning stoves, where girls will learn, first hand, about the art of good cooking. Off the cooking room is to be a model dining room, and don't forget to notice the kitchen with its convenient built-in cupboard. Then there are book and supply closets of ample size to accommodate whatever are needed there .....

Read the entire Darien Review Article on the Completion of the "New" 1927 Darien High School (pdf)

Darien High School of 1960 - 2005

As the population increased, the town saw the need for further expansion of the schools. The first junior high school, Middlesex, was built in 1937. The 1927 Darien High School also received a $1,000,000 addition in 1952. Four years later, however, the additional space proved to be insufficient. The building became a second junior high school, Mather, which would later close in 1983, during a period of declining enrollments, and reopen as the new Darien Town Hall in 1985. The town again looked forward to a new Darien High School .

The new site, a 58-acre tract that was once colonial farmland, was acquired in 1957. The construction of this building was very different than the New England architecture of its predecessor. The building's singular function was to provide immediate classroom space for the burgeoning numbers of students born at the end of World War II. Two additions and minor renovations were made to the structure in 1962, 1975, and in 1982 when the ninth grade relocated to the high school.

Floor and ceiling - one and the same piece- is of a new kind of cellular steel, permitting efficient use of industrial type fluorescent lighting fixtures. Glass areas have been kept to a minimum to conserve heat and cleaning time: stock aluminum sash has been used to avoid painting: and vinyl asbestos flooring was selected for ease or maintenance.

In every classroom. the long dimension runs at right angles to the corridor making for shorter buildings and greater compactness. In the main washrooms. the equivalent of nearly an entire classroom was saved by installing circular wash fountains instead of rows of wash basins at considerable dollar saving.

If the emphasis is upon economy, that is because the people of Darien, as we have seen, decreed that it should be. All who had a part in building the School can take pride in the fact that they carried out this mandate without once impairing educational efficiency. On the contrary, construction savings have been invested. to the fullest extent possible to enhance the School as a center of learning.

• Read the entire DHS Dedication Booklet (pdf). that explains the process of building the school and the features of then New Darien High School

Double Sessions End

Occupancy of the new school ends double sessions started last fall in the secondary schools. The old senior high building on Renshaw Rd. now becomes a second junior high school allowing regular sessions in the two buildings. About 850 students use the new high school building. In reviewing advantages of the new building over the old school on Renshaw Rd. Dr Atkinson singled out the faculty offices for each of the school’s six departments, the roominess of the library and the cafeteria; and the functional aspects of the new guidance and administration set-up. The new faculty offices eliminate the practice of holding parent-teacher conferences in such impractical places as portions of the auditorium etc. Dr Atkinson pointed out, adding that the offices also may be used for work of a more private nature by the teachers. The closeness of the guidance and administration departments was described as “an efficient layout” by the principal. Overcrowded conditions in the old library have been overcome, and the new library should be able to handle the student needs for “many years to come,” Dr. Atkinson pointed out. He added that the new cafeteria will be able to handle 1,200 students, twice as many as were handled in the old cafeteria. Used by the students on opening day, the library has a blue-gray tile, is lighted through high vertical windows, and is equipped with blond furniture

• Read the entire Darien Review Article on the former "new" High School's Opening Day (pdf)

Photos of the "Old" Darien High School - Click to enlarge

Darien High School 2005 - Present

Construction of the G Building of Darien High School

A Tour of The New DHS

Download a PDF Presentation of the Buildings and Grounds of "The New" Darien High School

A Tour of DHS as Seen From the Courtyard