From its opening in 1982 through June 1987, FHS served as a junior/senior high school (grades 7-12) for the Pulaski County Special School District. In August 1987, FHS opened as solely a senior high school for the Little Rock School District, one of 14 schools annexed to enhance desegregation efforts. FHS became a magnet school in the fall of 2000. With construction completed in the spring of 2004, the school now has three new labs for the academy programs, along with two new classrooms, a new band room, and an expanded cafeteria.