Frederick Douglass Academy (also known as FDA), is a co-educational public school for grades 6-12 located in West Harlem, New York City. The school offers an SAT prep course program and a variety of Advanced Placement (AP) college courses that students can apply for starting in 10th grade. It is also one of the first high schools in Harlem to make wearing a uniform in a public school mandatory.

History

Frederick Douglass Academy was created in 1991 by Lorraine Monroe (a former Deputy Chancellor of Instruction for the New York City Board of Education) and several other members of the New York City Board of Education. The founding principal was Monroe, who left in 1997 and was succeeded briefly by Dorothy Haime prior to the appointment of Gregory Hodge in 1997. Hodge remained in the position until his retirement in 2011, to be succeeded by Joseph Gates. Ayisha Fullerton became principal in 2017, replacing Joseph Gates who stepped down in June 2017.

Academics

Frederick Douglass Academy is a college preparatory school that stresses academic achievement. It offers Advanced Placement courses which allows students to receive college credit. Some of these AP courses offered are: The school showed a 94% graduation rate giving FDA an "A" rating for College and Career Readiness on the 2012-2013 NYC Progress Report. It was a Daily News "top high school," in 2012.

Extracurricular activities

Frederick Douglass Academy offers a few extracurricular activities ranging from an anime interest club to robotics. As of 2010, it offers the following among many other activities: In 2006 FDA students launched The North Star school newspaper named after Frederick Douglass' newspaper.

Varsity sports

Partnerships

Frederick Douglass Academy's business partnerships include a variety of companies.

Legacy

Based on the success of Monroe's original model, the New York City school system created seven other "Frederick Douglass Academies" around the city: