Frederick Douglass High School (Prince George's County, Maryland)

Frederick Douglass High School (FDHS), established in 1934 as Marlboro High School and renamed Frederick Douglass High School in 1935, is a public high school located in the Croom census-designated place of unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, with a mailing address of Upper Marlboro and near Upper Marlboro. Douglass is a part of the Prince George's County Public Schools system and is named after the famous abolitionist, journalist, and orator, Frederick Douglass.

Frederick Douglass High School
Address
8000 Croom Road

Upper Marlboro
,
Maryland
20772

United States
Coordinates38°46′54″N 76°46′59″W
Information
School typePublic, high school
Founded1934
School districtPrince George's County Public Schools
SuperintendentMonica Goldson
PrincipalEddie Scott
Grades9–12
Enrollment1,011
LanguageEnglish
CampusSuburban
Color(s)Burgundy and Gold    
MascotEagles
RivalGwynn Park High School
Feeder schoolsJames Madison Middle School
WebsiteOfficial website

The current principal is Mr. Eddie Scott. The July 2019 student enrollment was approximately 1,050-students in grades nine through twelve. The school hours are from 7:45am until 2:25pm. There is a mandatory uniform policy in effect at Douglass. The school features an International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Programme (MYP) a P-TECH program as well as a school-wide America's Choice School Design signature program.

History

What was then Marlboro (Colored) High School opened in September 1923,[1] in a four-room building previously designated for white high school students in Upper Marlboro.[2] It was the first high school for African-Americans in Prince George's County and was funded by a fundraising effort by PGCPS Supervisor of Negro Schools Doswell E. Brooks, which began in 1922.[1] Prior to the establishment of Marlboro, black students in Prince George's County attended high school in Baltimore or Washington, DC.[1]

The land was donated by Sheldon Sasscer.[1] The former white high school building was moved onto Sasscer's land so it could be used as the new school for black children. During the era of legal racial segregation in schools, white students in the Upper Marlboro area attended Upper Marlboro High School, which opened in 1921.[2]

In 1935 a new building serving elementary through high school opened,[2] and the school was given its current name.[1] The present Frederick Douglass High School opened in 1959.[1] The former building was converted into offices.[3]

In the period 1950 to 1964, Douglass served about 33% of PGCPS black high school students; the remainder attended Fairmont Heights High School, then near Fairmount Heights, which opened in 1950.[3] Circa 1964 PGCPS ended legalized racial segregation of schools.[4] When the late 1960s came, Douglass was a majority white high school because a lot of the black high school students were reassigned to schools closer to their houses. By 2000 Douglass returned to being majority black.[2]

In the early 1980s the former Douglass High was razed. As of 2000 there is no monument or marker on the former site.[2]

Campus

The school is the Croom census-designated place of unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland, with a mailing address of Upper Marlboro;[5][6] it is 4 miles (6.4 km) southeast of Upper Marlboro.[2] The school was previously defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as being in the Greater Upper Marlboro CDP.[7]

Around 2016 the official capacity of Douglass was over 1,400 students, but it previously had an official capacity of 1,283. The PGCPS operations officer, Monica Goldson, stated that the Douglass principal reviewed the new number and that the district took into account the total classroom space. Board member Sonya Williams advocated for the former capacity and feared that the school district could use the new capacity to officially state the school was under-enrolled and close it at a later time.[8]

In 2015 the school received a new tennis court and rubberized field; the upgrades to its athletic facilities totaled $317,270.[9]

The media center is named after former principal Robert F. Frisby, who had the nickname "Baldy".[2]

Student body

In the pre-1964 segregation era many of the students previously attended rural one and two schoolhouses and lived in rural residences with no electricity, telephone, and/or water services.[2]

Pre-1964 many students who graduated from Douglass matriculated to Bowie State University (previously Maryland Normal and Industrial School at Bowie, Maryland Teachers College at Bowie, and Bowie State College) and University of Maryland Eastern Shore (then known as Maryland State College), as well as Hampton University (formerly Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, and later Hampton Institute).[2]

Athletics

Pre-1964 Douglass entered in athletic competitions with Cardozo Education Campus (formerly Cardozo High School) in Washington, Carver High School in Rockville, Bel Alton High School in Charles County, and schools in Baltimore.[2]

Communities served

The school serves:[10] sections of the Croom and Rosaryville CDPs,[6][11] and all of the Marlton CDP.[12]

Notable people
  • Karen Handel - U.S. Representative from Georgia's 6th Congressional District and Former Georgia Secretary of State, 2007-2010
  • Elizabeth G. (Susie) Proctor[13] - Member of The Maryland House of Delegates since October 30, 2015 Democrat, District 27A, Charles & Prince George's Counties
  • Shawne Merriman - former American football linebacker in the National Football League, 2005-2012

References
  1. "About Us > The History of Frederick Douglass High School." Frederick Douglass High School. October 12, 2011. Retrieved on September 6, 2018.
  2. Meyer, Eugene L. (2000-09-28). "Douglass High: A School of Their Own". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  3. Wynter, Leon (1981-02-19). "Rebuilding a Legacy at Fairmont Heights". Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-09-05.
  4. "Fairmont Heights High School History". Fairmont Heights High School. 2018-09-04. Archived from the original on 2005-10-04. Retrieved 2018-09-04.
  5. Home. Frederick Douglass High School. Retrieved on August 28, 2018. "Frederick Douglass High School, 8000 Croom Rd, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772"
  6. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Croom CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on August 28, 2018. Pages: 1, 2, 3, and 4.
  7. "CENSUS 2000 BLOCK MAP: GREATER UPPER MARLBORO CDP." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on August 27, 2018. Pages: 1, 2, 3, and 4. 1990 U.S. Census maps of Prince George's County (index map) show Greater Upper Marlboro on pages: 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, and 31.
  8. Keyes, Candace Rojo (2016-05-18). "Board passes facilities plan, new school sites". Prince George's Sentinel. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  9. Clinkscales, Johnathon (2015-10-15). "9 Prince George's County high schools get new athletic facilities". The Enquirer-Gazette. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  10. "NEIGHBORHOOD HIGH SCHOOLS AND BOUNDARIES SCHOOL YEAR 2018-2019." Prince George's County Public Schools. Retrieved on September 2, 2018.
  11. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Rosaryville CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on September 2, 2018. The CDP previously had a different shape: "CENSUS 2000 BLOCK MAP: ROSARYVILLE CDP" with pages 1 and 2. The 1990 U.S. Census Bureau map for Prince George's County (index map) shows Rosaryville CDP on pages 23, 29, 30, and 35.
  12. "2010 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP (INDEX): Marlton CDP, MD." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on September 2, 2018. Pages: 1, 2, and 3.
  13. ELIZABETH G. (SUSIE) PROCTOR
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