MASCOT: Sharks
SCHOOL COLORS: Royal Blue, Destin Beach Blue & White Sand
MOTTO: Class of 2024 will select school motto
ALMA MATER
“Out upon the emerald waters where the sun meets sky.
Stands our dear alma mater as the waves roll by.
Destin High School is our home and one that will stand true.
Hail to thee, our sharks of Destin. Fight on, white and blue!”
Written by students Tegan Seton and Hannah Baxley and teacher Julie Worth
FIGHT SONG
Fins Up! Fins Up! For Destin High School.
Here comes the Blue and White
Shark Attack with Speed and Power
Don’t give up the fight!
Feeding on our every prey, Pursue until defeat is nigh,
Thrashing through to victory, Sharks of Destin High!
DHS Woo! DHS Woo!
GOOOOOOOOO Sharks!
By the 1990s, Destin residents saw the need of a Destin High School. The growing population, coupled with an isolated location and deteriorating conditions at neighboring high schools, solidified the community’s resolve to turn a dream into a reality. As the voices of support grew in number, determination, and passion, the City Council approved the formation of the Destin High School Advisory Committee under the leadership of Dr. Prebble Q Ramswell in 2016.
The mission of Destin High School is to prepare students academically, physically, and mentally to become responsible, productive, empowered citizens. Embracing the area’s history as a tourist destination, military hub, and “world’s luckiest fishing village” and supported by strong public/private partnerships, our diverse and specialized programs will provide the foundation each student needs to secure a solid future.
We are committed to implementing a comprehensive framework for 21st century education that focuses on the skills, knowledge, and expertise students must master to succeed in work and life. Critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity will be embedded within the context of core subjects and interdisciplinary themes that will challenge our students, teachers, and school leaders to excel. A place-based approach to learning will take advantage of the local geography and community to create authentic, meaningful and engaging personalized learning for students
Destin High School (DHS) strives to meet the diverse needs of our local community by providing specialized programs and career academies in areas such as:
Applied learning opportunities will engage our students in place-based real-world problems and solutions, instilling in DHS students a profound understanding of their roles and responsibilities as citizens and leaders in their communities, both locally and globally.
Destin High School will be a model for innovation, providing unique educational opportunities for both college-bound and career-minded students living along Florida’s Emerald Coast.
Covering topics from classes to admissions and student organization events.
For the 2023-2024 school year: August 10, 2023
Yes. We have east side and west side pick-up and drop-off locations.
Destin High School is located at 4325 Commons Drive West in Destin.
Yes. In Florida, charter schools are public schools and are authorized and approved by the school district. The charter application was submitted February 1, 2019, and the Okaloosa County School Board approved the application. Our contract was finalized by unanimous vote of the school board on October 28, 2019. You can view these documents under “Charter.”
We already are a public school. Charter schools are public schools. They have the same requirements as a traditional public school, but are governed by an independent governing board and, as a result, have more flexibility.
In addition to offering the state-mandated core curriculum as a base, Destin High School meets the diverse needs of our local community by providing specialized programs and career-themed courses and academies. Our first year we offered four specialized programs, but plan on expanding to include opportunities such as:
For 2023-2024 DHS Will Offer Academies In The Following Areas:
Our educational programs offer unique hands-on learning opportunities through project-based learning (PBL) in preparation for students’ real-world and postsecondary success. Through PBL and the school’s programming, students will learn and apply leadership skills, and engage in mentoring opportunities to enhance the school community and students’ future successes.
Career Academy Courses Can Be Found In The Curriculum Guide. To Request Additional Information, Suggest A Career Academy, Or Express Interest In One Of Our Academies, Please Contact Principal Christine Cruickshank.
Yes. Charter schools are tuition-free public schools. Florida is second in the country for the number of charter schools (behind California) with more than 750 charter schools in 62 school districts.
The DHS Head of School, Principal Christine Cruickshank, accepts resumes and conducts interviews for all positions. Additional positions will be available each year as the school expands to its full enrollment.
Submitting an application to DHS does NOT obligate you to attend DHS. It is merely a submission of your interest and the securing of a your spot should you decide to attend. As such, we encourage you to submit an application even if you are undecided. However, confirming your seat following the lottery does serve as notice of your official intent to attend DHS and your records will begin transferring to DHS.
Note: The DHS system and the Okaloosa County School District system are not connected and do not know who has registered for the other. They are independent systems and registering or applying for one does not affect your application/ enrollment at the other.
Students applying during open application periods will have seven days to accept their spot following notification they have received a seat. Outside the application periods, seats are only available for open seats. Once capacity has been reached, a waiting list will be established for incoming applications.
No. No seats are guaranteed. However, as a recipient of the State of Florida CSP grant, the following Enrollment Preferences will be utilized, as permitted, for the period of time that DHS is a recipient:
Information extracted from the school’s Enrollment & Admissions Policy are available on the this website and include details related to processes for conducting a lottery. Please visit the Admissions/Enrollment page for additional information.
No. Once you are accepted, you do not have to re-apply. Current students must reaffirm their seat each year.
Yes! Starting the 2022-2023 school year, Destin High will welcome students in all four grades!
Yes! DHS proudly offers dual enrollment and has an articulation agreement with Northwest Florida State College.
Yes! In fact, our first year we were able to offer 22 sports! See all of the sports we currently have HERE
Destin High has all the activities you would expect at a high school, from traditional clubs such as Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Leadership, Yearbook and more. See more of our activities HERE