DeKalb County School District

A strong sports program is a vital part of student life and provides a balance with academics, which the students need for a well-rounded high school experience. Young bodies need physical exercise, and students also learn to work together as a team in many of the sports programs offered.

DeKalb offers 14 different high school athletic participation sports including baseball, basketball (boys and girls), cross country (boys and girls), football, golf (boys and girls), gymnastics (girls), lacrosse (boys and girls), soccer (boys and girls), fast-pitch softball (girls), swimming (boys and girls), tennis (boys and girls), track (boys and girls), volleyball (girls) and wrestling.

Basketball, football, track and cheerleading are offered at the middle school level, and eighth graders can participate on the junior varsity level at the high schools, if a sport is not offered for them in the middle school. DeKalb County Schools is home to 285 state championships dating as far back as the 1938 literary state title won by Lithonia. Clarkston won the first athletic state championship in 1940, as the boys basketball title came home to DeKalb County Schools. The school system went 11 years without a title until Druid Hills won the 1951 boys track title to start a string of 48 consecutive years with at least one state title coming home to DeKalb County Schools.

The streak ended in 1999 as no state titles were won, and a new streak began in 2001 as Lakeside won the boys tennis title to start the current streak of 13 school years. The 285 state titles have come from 23 different schools, (seven of which are no longer in existence) and the Adapted Sports Programs. Lakeside leads the way with 41 state titles, with Dunwoody a distant second with 26 state titles to the school's credit. Southwest DeKalb is third with 21 with Tucker fourth with 20 while Druid Hills holds 19 state titles and Columbia 18 to round out the Top five.

Boys' track has outshone the other sports in the school system bringing home 41 state titles, while girls' track follows with 28. Wrestling has third highest total with 29 followed by basketball (boys and girls combined) and girls' gymnastics with 20 each and boys' cross country round out the Top 5 with 19 state titles.

A high of eleven state titles for the school system came in 1981. The school system won 10 in a year twice, 1970 and 1983. The school system won six state championships three consecutive seasons in 2008, 2009, and 2010 and repeated the feat in 2012. DeKalb County Schools athletics continues to add to the trophy case in 2012-13, with four team state titles and 4 individual state champions