F.D.A. takes the full range of students. These are not the brightest kids in Harlem. This is not an elite school, but it gets elite results. It opens up the potential that exists throughout Harlem. Still, Frederick Douglass does get to pick its students.
Administrators review applicants' past performance on standardized math and reading tests.
They must write an essay and sit for an interview with a panel of teachers, counselors, and, sometimes, parents. We ask that they develop their skills and develop self- respect, and we ask that they be the best they can in whatever endeavor they choose. Once students are enrolled, poverty and cultural deprivation are not accepted as excuses for failure. Some students come from single- parent homes so poor that cheap cold cuts are the main course most nights. A few come from families in which one or both parents are addicted to drugs.