KDS Named One of Alabama's Semiquincentennial Schools

KDS DAR School has been officially named one of Alabama's Semiquincentennial Schools as part of the America250 Alabama Initiative. Joining this historic, statewide celebration as we approach America's 250th birthday helps ensure KDS students understand the significance of this once-in-a-generation milestone.

By teaching our students lessons on American history, the principles of democracy, and the responsibilities of citizenship throughout all ages and subject matter, Alabama students will gain a deeper understanding of their role in preserving and continuing the founding values that have shaped our state and nation. The intent of the Semiquincentennial Schools Program is to:

• Ensure that all K-12 students are familiar with the founding principles of our Declaration of Independence: That all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. Particular attention will be paid to defining what the Founders meant by "the pursuit of Happiness," based on a book by Jeffrey Rosen titled, The Pursuit of Happiness. Rosen focuses on the Founders' understanding of this phrase - a life of virtue, rigor, and discipline that benefits others as well as oneself.

• Identify how and why these principles have been important in Alabama's history (a potential shift to the efforts of the civil rights movement).

• Identify how these principles will continue to be important, not only to Americans and the United States but to people and nations around the world.

As an official America250AL Semiquencentennial School, KDS will receive an America250 flag along with a digital education toolkit for teachers. The toolkit is filled with engaging resources and activities that can be used throughout the year to inspire learning, patriotism, and creativity.