Henrico County runs a system in which each high school contains a specialty center, a separate but integrated entity within the school that functions as a magnet program. The centers offer advanced courses to students who have clear interests and specific educational and/or career goals.[3] Douglas Freeman High School's center is the Center for Leadership, Government and Global Economics. The Students learn the complexities of political, social and economic life. The also learn to analyze through modern lens and ambiguates of modern life.[4]
Athletics
Freeman is a member of the Virginia High School League. It competes in the 5A Central Region and 5A Colonial District. The school colors are blue and gray and the teams are nicknamed the "Mavericks".[5] The colors and mascot were devised as a tribute to Douglas Freeman's extensive study of the Civil War. The school's nickname was the "Rebels" until being changed in 2020.[6]
Virginia High School League AAA State Championship teams
The boys' volleyball team were VHSL AAA State semi-finalists in 2011 and 2012. The girls' soccer team was in the state tournament in 2013. The baseball team won the last Central Region championship in 2013, and as a result advanced to the state tournament. The girls' tennis and lacrosse team have won state championships every year since 2021.[7]
Media
The school publishes a newspaper (The Commentator), a literary magazine (The Educator), and a yearbook (The Historian).
Douglas Freeman High School was mentioned in a Washington Post article referring to the school's revival of the historic "Rebel Man" mascot.[8]
Rich Landrum – Well known radio and TV announcer for WXEX (now WRIC) TV, as well the weekly syndicated (World Wide Wrestling TV show) www.midatlanticgateway.com
Sheri Holman – bestselling novelist, screenwriter, and founding member of The Moth
Elliott Yamin – third-place finisher on the fifth season of the TV show American Idol;[11] was a student at Freeman High but never graduated[12]
In popular culture
James E. Ryan's book Five Miles Away, A World Apart: One City, Two Schools, and the Story of Educational Opportunity in Modern America explores the issue of economic school segregation by comparing Freeman to nearby Thomas Jefferson High School, located in the city of Richmond. Arguing for more freedom in school choice, Ryan cites findings that "high-poverty" schools (like Thomas Jefferson) consistently under-perform "low-poverty" schools (like Freeman) academically, regardless of the financial resources allocated to them. He concludes: "The truth is that separating the poor and politically powerless in their own schools and districts is antithetical to the idea of equal educational opportunity."[13]
References
^ abc"Freeman High". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
