Duncan U. Fletcher High School

Duncan U. Fletcher High School

Fletcher Crest
Motto We Run This Beach
Established 1937
Type Public
Principal Don Nelson
Administrative staff
 152
Students 5,000
Location Neptune Beach, Florida, USA
Campus Urban
Colors Purple      and white     
Nickname Senators
Mascot

Senator

hours = 7:15 A.M.-2:00 P.M.
Website http://www.duvalschools.org/fhs/

Duncan U. Fletcher High School is a public high school in the Duval County School District, located in Neptune Beach, Florida.

History

Former Jacksonville Mayor and U.S. Senator Duncan U. Fletcher obtained a federal grant to build the school which bears his name. It opened September 20, 1937 for grades 7-12. The school’s nickname, Senators, also comes from their namesake. The original building was located in Jacksonville Beach and contained 10 classrooms and began with 269 students from the area east of the ditch (Intracoastal Waterway), south of Mayport and north of Ponte Vedra Beach. The principal was Frank Doggett and there were 13 teachers.[1]

In 1964, the school was split into two schools, with Fletcher Junior High grades 7-8 staying in the original building and Fletcher Senior High grades 9-12 moving to its current location on Seagate Avenue in Neptune Beach, Florida. The Fall 1969 freshman class was the last 9th Grade class to attend the Senior High for over 20 years, as, beginning in Fall 1970, Fletcher Junior High retained the 9th Grade class along with grades 7-8. Fletcher was one of the first schools in Duval County to be integrated, doing so after the new building opened.

In 1991, the 9th grade was moved back from Junior High Schools to Senior High Schools, county-wide. Sixth grade was moved from Elementary Schools to Junior High Schools, which were renamed "Middle Schools". In 1997, Fletcher became a full service school, introducing a Beaches Resource Center on campus.[2]

In 2007, Fletcher tied with Lee High School as the most crowded in Duval County.[3] The high school obtained a new science lab in 2008,[4] a critical addition after a 2007 protest by parents about the high school's inadequate science facilities for its 2600 students.[5] Later in 2008, a new master plan for the school proposed the construction of a new wing to replace the school's portable classrooms.[3]

Academics

As of 2008, the school has a "A" on the Florida School Accountability Grading Scale.[6] It is ranked 79th among the 1300 high schools in Newsweek's Top Public High School list,[7] a list based on a "Challenge Index" derived for the magazine, which takes the total number of AP, IB or Cambridge tests given at a school in May, and divides it by the number of seniors graduating in May or June. The top 100 ranking was achieved after Newsweek's initial ranking for Fletcher was appealed by the principal.[8]

AP curriculum

Fletcher currently offers 27 Advanced Placement Program (AP) courses.

Notable alumni

References

  1. ↑ Florida Times-Union: Apr 7, 2007-Fletcher High School grads reach way back for a cause
  2. ↑ "Full service schools catch on; Fletcher joining in". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Officials presenting Fletcher master plan". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  4. ↑ "There's a chemical reaction at Fletcher". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  5. ↑ "This year, it's science that's in". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  6. ↑ "School Demographic, Assessment, and Accountability Data". Duval County Public Schools. February 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-16.
  7. ↑ "America's Top Public High Schools". Newsweek. June 2008. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  8. ↑ "Nease again ranked one of nation's top public schools". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved 2008-08-23.

External links

Coordinates: 30°18′28″N 81°24′05″W / 30.307793°N 81.401291°W