Ferndale High School (Michigan)

Ferndale High School
Location
881 Pinecrest Drive

Ferndale
,
Michigan
48220

United States

42°27′10″N 83°08′54″W / 42.4528°N 83.1483°W / 42.4528; -83.1483
Information
TypePublic high school
School district
Ferndale Public Schools
Principal
Michael Griffin
Teaching staff
42.50 (FTE)[1]
Enrollment739 (2024–2025)[1]
Student to teacher ratio
17.39[1]
ColorsBrown, white and gold
      [2]
Athletics conference
Oakland Activities Association
NicknameEagles[2]
AccreditationNorth Central Association of Colleges and Schools
Websitewww.ferndaleschools.org/o/fhs
[3][4][5]
Student assessments
2021–22 school
year[6]
Change vs.
prior year[6]
M-STEP 11th grade proficiency rates
(Science / Social Studies)
Advanced %14.6 / 9.2
Proficient %19.5 / 22.7
PR. Proficient %14.6 / 52.1
Not Proficient %51.2 / 16.0
Average test scores
SAT Total918.5
(Decrease −81.5)

Ferndale High School is a public high school in Ferndale, Michigan. It is under the jurisdiction of the Ferndale Public Schools.[7]

History

Ferndale Central School was the first building to include the city's high school. Its first graduating class was in 1918.[8]

Lincoln High School, the predecessor of Ferndale High School, opened in 1921 on the corner of 9 Mile and Livernois Roads. Despite several additions, it had a 1,500 student capacity and could not handle the enrollment of 2,081 seen in 1958. Classes were held in all corners of the building, even basement custodial rooms. The cafeteria was so crowded that some students gave up on lunch.[9] During the 1946–47 season in the National Basketball League, the Detroit Gems used Ferndale High School as one of their home venues alongside the Holy Redeemer High School Gymnasium and the Detroit Olympia (when playing in doubleheader matches alongside the Detroit Falcons of the newly created Basketball Association of America) in their only season as a team.[10][11]

On November 21, 1955, property owners in the district approved a $6.5 million bond issue to build a new high school.[12] Dearborn architecture firm Jahr, Anderson, Machida presented plans in January 1957, and construction began later that year.[13] The building was designed for a capacity of 2,850 students and originally had 106 classrooms and separate male and female pools. Classrooms opened in November 1958[14] with full completion of the building in 1959.[15]

With the opening of Ferndale High, Lincoln became a junior high school.[16]Lincoln Junior High housed grades 7 and 8 until it closed in 1976.[17]

As part of the district's 1995 bond issue, the high school media center was expanded and rebuilt with a wall of windows looking over the courtyard. The new space opened in 1998.[18][19]

Following a district restructuring, middle school grades joined the high school building in fall 2002. The schools maintain their own identities within the same building.[20][21]

Athletics

The Ferndale Eagles are a member of the Oakland Activities Association. The school colors are currently brown, white and gold. The following MHSAA sanctioned sports are offered:[5]

  • Baseball (boys)
  • Basketball (boys & girls)
    • Boys state champions - 1963, 1966, 2023
  • Bowling (boys & girls)
  • Cheerleading (girls)
  • Cross country (boys & girls)
  • Dance (girls)
  • Football (boys)
  • Golf (boys)
  • Soccer (boys & girls)
  • Softball (girls)
  • Swimming (boys & girls)
  • Tennis (boys & girls)
  • Track & field (boys & girls)
  • Volleyball (girls)
  • Wrestling (boys)

Notable people

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Ferndale High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
  2. 1 2 "Ferndale High School". Michigan High School Athletic Association. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Search for Public Schools - School Detail for Ferndale High School". ed.gov. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  4. ↑ "AdvancED - Institution Summary". advanc-ed.org. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  5. 1 2 "MHSAA > Schools". mhsaa.com. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  6. 1 2 "MI School Data Annual Education Report". MI School Data. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Ferndale Public Schools". ferndaleschools.org. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ Wilcox, Harold B. (December 10, 1930). "History of Local Public Schools". The Ferndale Gazette. p. 10.
  9. ↑ Brown, Nancy (September 24, 1958). "Crowded students eager for new school to open". The Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, Mich.). p. 12.
  10. ↑ https://nbahoopsonline.com/teams/LosAngelesLakers/History/DetroitGems/index.html
  11. ↑ https://probasketballencyclopedia.com/season/detroit-gems
  12. ↑ "Ferndale school vote: Bonds for Ferndale School District OK'd". Detroit Free Press. November 23, 1955. p. 4.
  13. ↑ "The Producers' Council, Inc" (PDF). Monthly Bulletin, Michigan Society of Architects. May 1959. p. 45.
  14. ↑ "Better schools, better students?". Royal Oak Tribune. December 12, 1958. p. 4.
  15. ↑ "Fifth new high school" (PDF). Royal Oak Tribune. March 20, 1958.
  16. ↑ Ferndale Historical Society. "Ferndale Chronology". Retrieved February 1, 2025.
  17. ↑ Justia US Law. "United States v. School Dist. of Ferndale, Mich., 460 F. Supp. 352 (E.D. Mich. 1978)". Retrieved February 3, 2025.
  18. ↑ Bondi, Nicole (February 7, 1999). "Out with the old, in with the new at Ferndale district". Detroit Free Press. p. Oakland County 4B.
  19. ↑ "Ferndale High School". Schooldesigns.com. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  20. ↑ Higgins, Lori (November 30, 2001). "Ferndale schools to be overhauled". Detroit Free Press. p. 3B.
  21. ↑ Editorial staff of Ferndale High School yearbook. Transitions 2003 (Ferndale High School 2003 yearbook). p. 27.
  22. ↑ Hinds, Julie. "Metro Detroit native's new novel 'The Pessimists' considered fall must-read". Detroit Free Press.
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