Frederick Douglass High School (FDHS) was established in 1968 and is located in a neighborhood comprised of a high number of single and multi-family dwellings, elderly residents, and the largest government subsidized housing development in the metropolitan area. The current school population consists of students who come from feeder schools, students whose families recently moved into the neighborhood, and students from outside Douglass’s zoned area who are attracted to the Magnet Program. Douglass High has a school-wide Title I program and serves students in the: Gifted and Talented; English for Speakers of other Languages (ESOL); Program for Exceptional Children (PEC); and the Remedial Education Program (REP). Douglass has an enrollment of 1,835 students
Whole School Reform Design
Frederick Douglass was one of the foremost leaders of the abolitionist movement, which fought to end slavery within the United States in the decades prior to the Civil War.
A brilliant speaker, Douglass was asked by the American Anti-Slavery Society to engage in a tour of lectures, and so became recognized as one of America's first great black speakers. He won world fame when his autobiography was publicized in 1845. Two years later he began publishing an antislavery paper called the North Star.
Douglass served as an adviser to President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War and fought for the adoption of constitutional amendments that guaranteed voting rights and other civil liberties for blacks. Douglass provided a powerful voice for human rights during this period of American history and is still revered today for his contributions against racial injustice.