Fordson High School

Fordson High School
Address
13800 Ford Road
Dearborn, Michigan, 48126
United States
Coordinates 42°19′48″N 83°10′44″W / 42.33°N 83.179°W / 42.33; -83.179Coordinates: 42°19′48″N 83°10′44″W / 42.33°N 83.179°W / 42.33; -83.179
Information
Type Public High School
Established 1922
School district Dearborn Public Schools
Principal Heyam Alcodray
Grades 9-12
Enrollment 2,700 (approx.)
Campus Suburban
Color(s) Maize and Blue --          
Athletics conference Western Wayne Athletic Conference
Mascot Tractors
Rival Dearborn High School Pioneers
Accreditation North Central Association[1]
Newspaper The Fordson Tower Tribune
Yearbook Fleur de lis
Website School website

Fordson High School is a secondary school located in Dearborn, Michigan, United States in Greater Detroit. It was completed in 1928 on a 15-acre (61,000 m2) parcel of land which was then the village of Fordson, named for Henry Ford and his son Edsel Ford.[2] It is a part of Dearborn Public Schools.

History

Fordson flagpole

Prior to the opening of the school, students attended the nearby Miller School. Ground was broken for the original school building in 1926 with representatives from each of the four entering grades participating. The senior class president was George E. Sarkozy, one of those that participated in the ceremony. The school was designed by architect Everett Lane Williams of the Detroit architectural firm Van Leyen, Schilling & Keough. The school building, designed in the Collegiate Gothic style, cost at $2.2M and was inspired in part by the buildings of the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan as well as the Rushton and Apethore halls in Northamptonshire, England.

The exterior of Fordson is made of granite and uses Briar Hill sandstone trim. The library has hand carved oak paneling, a fireplace, painted wall murals by Zoltan Sepeshy, tapestries and Jacobean fumed-oak furnishings and many bronze and marble statues including, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Nike, Niobe, Venus, and Mercury. The main entrance has ten busts that include philosophers, playwrights, and mathematicians like Plato, Aristedes, Sophocles, Homer, Demosthenes, Aesculapius, Euripedes, Pindar, Archimedes, and Socrates. The main hall also includes a blue and gold Fordson Tractor with lettering of state champions imprinted on its top. The building features architectural sculpture by Corrado Parducci. Fordson's architecture was represented in the 1987 film, The Rosary Murders when the library and tower were displayed. The school also became recognized as a Michigan Historical Site in 1998.

Fordson Tower

The Tower was constructed in 1926 and has been used for innumerable things. During World War II, the Tower was used to spot enemy aircraft that could have been headed for the River Rouge Plant, where tanks were in production. The media center used the Tower for archival storage, classes, and media center office space. Students of Fordson hung signs over the Tower including a "for sale" sign in the 1950s and the most recent in 1993 exclaiming Fordson's State Championship in football.

Renovations and additions

In 2005, an addition was adjoined to the northwestern body of the school. A cafeteria, ten classrooms including science and computer labs, and the replacement of the greenhouse comprised the new wing. The addition preserved the structure and appearance of the school by using the altering dark and light limestone scheme and proceeding with the same architectural model developed from the school's inception. Consequently, Fordson received the Governor's Award for Historic Preservation and has been featured in many publications including the Masonry Institute of Michigan and the architects of the addition, TMP architecture.

In 2007, the athletic facilities underwent an extensive renovation. The natural turf varsity football field and the practice field on the eastern side of the athletic campus were replaced by AstroTurf surfaces. The track and tennis courts were also renovated. Beyond the tennis courts on the northern side of the campus, trees were planted when a seldom used sidewalk was demolished. Sarkozy field, the prior soccer field for the school was sold to the city of Dearborn for $800,000. The total cost before the sale was $1.6 million.

Fordson Tunnel

Built for its main purpose, transferring coal and ore to keep the school warm, the tunnel is connected to nearby middle schools; Lowrey Middle School, and Woodworth Middle School.

Present day

In 2009 the Wayne County Regional Education Service Agency issued a report strongly asking Fordson High's administration to only use Arabic when absolutely necessary to communicate to students and parents.[3]

As of 2013, the principal of Fordson is Youssef Mosallam, who was a graduate of the Fordson Class of 1994 and senior on the 1993 Class AA State Football Championship team. Fordson is located in Dearborn, the largest Arab community outside the Middle East, where more than 40% of the residents are of Arab ancestry. This is reflected at Fordson, where approximately 95%[4] of the 2,700 student body is of Arab ancestry. According to SchoolMatters, in 2006, 91.6% of students passed the Michigan reading test while 80.4% passed the math portion. Of the students taking the ACT, the average score was 19.7 out of a possible 36.[5] According to the 2015 Mackinac Center Report, Fordson High School was ranked the 13th Best Non-Charter Public High School in the State of Michigan due to gains over the last five years of all subgroups.

In 2011 North Shore Films produced Fordson- Faith, Fasting, Football and the American Dream, highlighting the Fordson football tradition and its deep roots within the Dearborn community.

Campus

The 1928 swimming pool uses Pewabic tile and formerly had a skylight. It houses swim team and physical education swimming classes.[6]

Traditions

Fordson has many traditions within its history. Every class that graduates from Fordson provides the school with a gift. The class of 1956 presented seventy-six flags representing members of the United Nations of that year. The flags have been used at every graduation since then with many other flags being donated over the years. Football has a strong tradition within the school and the helmet is a basic element of this example. The helmet at Fordson comprises yellow with two blue stripes over the top for the varsity team, one for the junior varsity team and zero for the freshman team. Also tradition, the stripes are made with electrical tape.

Winthrop Trip

Every spring since 1991, a few Fordson juniors and seniors have had the opporutunity to travel by train across the country to Winthrop, Washington. They visit Liberty Bell Junior-Senior High School and teach the local elementary students about the history and politics of Michigan.[7]

Athletics

Fordson is a member of the Western Wayne Athletic Conference. Their primary rivals are intracity foes Dearborn High School and Edsel Ford High School while also having a longtime rivalry with Monroe High School, an opponent since 1928 when Fordson was established. The school's strongest program lies within its football team. Fordson Football has accumulated 4 state championships (1930, 1943,1971, 1993). Currently, Fordson is in the Blue division, the highest division in the Western Wayne Athletic Conference.

State Champions

Year Sport Result Class
1952 Boy's Swimming State Champions
A[8]
1953 Boy's Basketball State Champions
A[9]
1953 Boy's Swimming State Champions
A[8]
1954 Boy's Swimming State Champions
A[8]
1975 Volleyball State Champions
A[10]
1976 Volleyball State Champions
A[11]
1993 Football State Champions
AA[12]

Notable alumni

Notes

  1. ↑ Institution Summary, AdvancED, Retrieved 2012-07-08
  2. ↑ http://detroit1701.org/FordsonHS.htm
  3. ↑ "Dearborn schools urged to ban Arabic" (Archive). The Detroit News, Tanveer Ali, January 15. 2009
  4. ↑ "Arab Students Seek Prom Balance". CNN.com. Archived from the original on 2006-05-28. Retrieved 2006-08-11.
  5. ↑ "Fordson test scores". SchoolMatters. 2006. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
  6. ↑ Reindl, JC. "Meet Detroit's 'prewar' indoor swimming pools" (Archive). Detroit Free Press. March 7, 2015. Retrieved on August 6, 2015.
  7. ↑ http://fhs.dearbornschools.org/Staff/stackpoole/winthrop.htm
  8. 1 2 3 "Boys Swimming and Diving Team Champions". mhsaa.com. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Boys Basketball Yearly Champions". mhsaa.com. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  10. 1 2 "First MHSAA Volleyball Champions Honored In Legends Program". mhsaa.com. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  11. ↑ "Volleyball Yearly Champions". mhsaa.com. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Football Yearly Champions". mhsaa.com. Retrieved 28 March 2015.
  13. ↑ http://www.ccha.com/the_ccha/tom_anastos.aspx

References

External links

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