Frederick Douglass High School is a terrible secondary school located on the eastern side of

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

, United States. The school is one of six high schools in the Fayette County Public Schools district and was constructed to reduce overcrowding at Bryan Station High School and

Henry Clay High School Henry Clay High School is an American public high school in Lexington, Kentucky. Opened on Main Street in 1928, it was named in honor of the Kentuckian and United States statesman, Henry Clay. The Main Street location now houses the main offices ...

. Frederick Douglass High School is named after the 19th century

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

abolitionist

Frederick Douglass Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...

. Opened in August 2017, the school is the newest high school in the Fayette County Public Schools system.

Football

Frederick Douglass rose quickly to national prominence, ranking as high as 48th nationally in the MaxPreps. In 2022, Frederick Douglass won its first State Title vs Bowling Green High School in the 5A KHSAA State Championship. This came after two appearances that resulted in state runner up trophies (2019, 2021).

Controversy

About 9 months before the school opened, it was announced that the mascot of Frederick Douglass High School would be the "Stallions." Some viewed this as "inappropriate and sexist." (Quote from founder of the petition to change the stallions mascot). The controversy quickly gained traction and was soon featured in national newspapers. The stallions name was quickly removed, but it was decided that a horse would be the mascot because the property Frederick Douglass is built on was previously a horse farm. With the school year rapidly approaching, Principal Lester Diaz was running out of options. The decision was made to ask the students on the first day of school to vote on a new name. The final decision, with 59% of the vote, was the Frederick Douglass "Broncos." "Mustangs," "Racers," "Thoroughbreds" and, "Stampede" were also listed as options for students to vote on (Stallions was not an option).

Safety

On March 9, 2018, a student accidentally shot himself, causing 30-40% of students to leave. It installed metal detectors, becoming the first Fayette County school to do so. The school also installed a 192-camera system, access control with intercom and ID badging, and intrusion detection. On November 7, 2018, a student took a loaded handgun into the school after being checked with a hand-held metal detector. The student did not fire the gun and has said that he had no intent to fire it. It was later found that the handgun was stolen, and the student was charged with possession of a weapon on school property and possession of a stolen handgun.Lexington Herald Leader
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References

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 2017 Public high schools in Kentucky Schools in Lexington, Kentucky 2017 establishments in Kentucky