For many families, an acceptance letter from the enrollment lottery to DSA is a dream come true. But underneath the glamor is an ugly truth– DSA is slowly dying. From decaying walls filled with mold, rampant bus driver shortages, to the recent suicide of middle schooler Gabriela Ortega and the consequent resignation of Principal Dr. Tobias, these challenges feel like the beginning to an end for DSA.

Some may argue that the $240 million plan to construct a new building in north Durham and the enduring competitiveness of the enrollment lottery indicate that DSA will continue to survive. Coupled with the fact that the challenges DSA has faced so far are not unique, but have been experienced by schools all over the nation that have yet to shutter their doors, it’s fatalist to assume DSA will vanish.

But the death I speak of is not a literal death– it is a spiritual death. DSA is an artifact of Durham’s story– a story of artistry, diversity, and success– but that story can only be told by its writers, or the youth of our community. If we fail to support these youth, we will feel an immense loss for Durham’s culture and community that can never be truly healed. We, as members of this community, have the onus to support our youth and provide them with the best resources and opportunities we can offer so they may thrive, not just simply survive.

I say this as an alumna who attended DSA from grades sixth through twelve, 2016 to 2022. I have watched DSA change over the years, and now as an outsider, I believe the DSA that has been adored by the community for decades is quickly fading from Durham’s cultural zeitgeist.

Take, for example, DSA’s recent decline in its academic growth. For the first time in a decade, DSA only received a ‘met expectations’ grade of 80.7 for 2024, a stark difference to its historical scores of ‘exceed expectations’ or 90 and above. DSA earned a 78 for its performance grade in 2024– the last time it scored below an 80 was in 2014. For a school renowned for its prestigious curriculum, this downward trend is deeply concerning as a school’s most crucial metric of success is its academic performance.

Additionally, the latest increase in teacher attrition across the Durham Public Schools district will undeniably be problematic for DSA. According to data from the NC Department of Information Technology and the State Board of Education, teacher attrition rates have increased from 8.3% in 2021 to 12.9% in 2023 for the district. This will impact the quality of education and experience at DSA.

Outside of these statistics, current DSA students also face various issues that must be addressed. Bullying among students, for example, is a problem that has gone unnoticed by the public until recently, according to graduating senior Vasileios Gkoulioumis-Mantzoukas. He recalled several instances of misogyny, racial discrimination and weaponization of social media from students against their peers.

“There was a spreadsheet that went around and a lot of people on it were listed based on beauty, ethnicity, they were even described in sexual terms,” said Gkoulioumis-Mantzoukas. “And people were not really tolerant of ethnicities at times, which was really surprising. As a Greek, I’ve experienced a couple of times where some people were really not fond of my ethnicity and they made fun of that.”

“You’d expect to hear racial stereotypes from people who are Caucasian or White, but there are times where I hear the most ‘down bad’ remarks from people who are from Hispanic or African-American origins,” Gkoulioumis-Mantzoukas stated. “And I thought, ‘what the heck, I thought we were better than this.’ It’s not reflective of a close bonded community of equality.”

The most egregious instance of bullying, however, was through social media. Numerous Instagram pages dedicated to fights, mocking other students, and encouraging bad behavior were prevalent in the DSA student body, according to Gkoulioumis-Mantzoukas.

“It was such an issue that on the announcements, Dr. Tobias came on and had an issue with the DSA Instagram pages to the point that she wanted to put legal action or specialized tech to figure out who it was behind those pages,” said Gkoulioumis-Mantzoukas.

Alexandra Valladares, former board member of Durham Public Schools and representative of the Ortega family, believes that DSA must do better when it comes to supporting students with families with English as a second language.

“It’s better for our families to just show up and sometimes they want to talk to people, but sometimes the administration is like, ‘No, you need to write an email.’,” Valladares said during the Love Rally or “No Más Violencia” ceremony on Apr. 6, held in honor of Ortega and missing person Erendria Villeda Flores. “And that becomes a barrier because emails can get lost. It is cumbersome to some families to have to navigate this the Western way. And I say Western because there’s such an importance in Western society to just document everything and have this trail of emails.”

“That’s not how our families want to engage. They want to engage relationally,” said Valladares.

But what resources are available for students, their families, and faculty when it comes to addressing these issues? Crystal Kimpson Roberts, Director of Strategic Communications at Durham Public Schools, elaborates on the services available to DSA students, families, and faculty provided by the district.

“I’m pleased to say that Durham Public Schools has a student support services department,” said Roberts. “They have counselors, social workers and psychologists. There are resources for students who are housing deprived, who experience food insecurities– so there are many resources that we provide to ensure that our students have what they need.”

“Specifically for DSA, DSA has an assigned interpreter and also a bilingual administrator and counselor on staff. Those are two additional resources that DSA has right there, on site.”

As someone who benefitted from these resources during my time at DSA, I am living evidence of Roberts’ words: DSA truly changed my life. It was DSA that made it possible for me, a first-generation queer daughter of immigrants, to not only graduate from high school, but to attend college. And in the not-so-distant future? I will be the first female in my family to earn a bachelor’s degree.

But herein lies the question: how do we ensure that DSA’s legacy lives on and Durham’s future generations will have the same opportunities?

According to Roberts, communicating with Durham Public Schools directly is paramount.

“I can’t stress how important it is to me to hear from our students and staff. There are resources and people that are available at all times. If students feel that those resources and people are inaccessible, we want to know that,” said Roberts. “We’re committed to success for all of our students. If there’s a gap or barrier, we want to know what it is so we can address it.”

Gkoulioumis-Mantzoukas, on the other hand, calls for changing the current student culture at DSA.

“Words alone cannot bring the change that must be done,” said Gkoulioumis-Mantzoukas. “Like after the protest, people were making fun of each other and sharing malicious stuff, and I was like, ‘what was the point of the protest?’ I think people should work on being kind to each other, even saying ‘I like your hair’ or style, even that would make a difference.”

I concur. To preserve DSA for Durham’s future generations, we have a responsibility to protect its status as our community’s heart. In Valladares’ words, we– students, faculty, administration, parents and even Durham residents unaffiliated with DSA– are all one family. And we must protect this family by advocating for those unable to speak for themselves, uplifting the voices of those who need to be heard and ensuring that DSA continues to not just survive, but thrive. Because DSA needs Durham– and we need DSA.