under the leadership of Jesse Cannon II & De'Evin Johnson. In the same school year, the Assistant Choir Director, De'Evin Johnson was named a 2023 GRAMMY Music Educator Award Quarterfinalist. The A Cappella Men's Choir has twice performed at the National American Choral Directors Association Conference those invited performances occurred in 2012 and 2021. In 2021 the A Capella Men's Choir was also named a Foundation for Music Education- Mark of Excellence National High School Winner in the Open Class. Marching Band The Duncanville High School Marching Band has been the UIL state champion in 1986, 1990, and 2002. Journalism The school is also known for its journalism program, which publishes the Panther Tale yearbook, Panther Prints newspaper, and the district's public relations publication, Class Magazine. The yearbook and newspaper have won numerous awards, including a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award and Gold and Silver Crown awards from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. For the first time in 2002, Duncanville received a Gold Crown for its newspaper and its yearbook, one of only two high schools in the nation to capture both honors that year. Controversies A video of a student from Duncanville, 18-year-old sophomore Jeff Bliss scolding his social studies/history teacher, went viral in May 2013, and was picked up by media. CBS local news quoted the student: The video was caught on video on a cellphone, posted on YouTube, and picked up by Reddit, PhillyD and Gawker. The official reaction of the Duncanville Independent School District was not to discipline the student, but to offer private and public reminders that there are other ways to make a point. The district issued a statement, saying, in part: "He makes a number of valid statements about how classrooms across America need to change, and we view this as an opportunity to have more conversations about transforming our schools to better meet the needs of our students." A video of students protesting the school's strict dress code was sent to several of the local media outlets, who reported on the incident. The Duncanville Independent School District said about 170 students were found in violation of the school's dress code and sent home. The crackdown on students violating the dress code is what led to a spontaneous mass protest. Administrators responded to the protest with a large police presence on campus a day afterward, which remained until the last day of the