J. F. Drake Middle School

Infobox Education in the United States
name= J. F. Drake Middle School


imagesize= 200px
motto=
location= 655 Spencer Avenue
Auburn, Alabama, 36832
streetaddress=
city=
state=
zipcode=
country= USA
url= http://www.auburnschools.org/drake
schoolboard=
district= Auburn City
superintendent=
principal= Debra Beebe
assistant_principals=
staff= 57
type= Public
schooltype= Middle school
grades= 6–7
language= English
communities=
feeders=
campus= Suburban
mascot= Wildcats
colors= Blue and gold color box|bluecolor box|gold
founded= 1957
enrollment= 826
enrollment_as_of= 2007
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free_1=
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free_3=
bgcolor_section= #99CCFF
bgcolor_label= #99CCFF
bgcolor_value= #EEEEEE
bgcolor_address= #EEEEEE
bgcolor_url= #EEEEEE

J. F. Drake Middle School is a public middle school in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The school enrolls 826 students in grades six and seven in the Auburn City School District. [Auburn City Schools, [http://www.auburnschools.org/School_Info/Calendar%20Information/40-Day%20Reports/2007/2007_40_Day_ADM.pdf 2007-2008 Auburn City Attendance Turn-Around Report] , retrieved June 27, 2008.] From 1957 until its closing and merger into Auburn High School in 1970, the school was J. F. Drake High School, serving the African American population of Auburn and the surrounding area prior to integration. ["Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, April 1964"; Auburn City Schools, "Auburn City Schools Plan for Disestablishment of the Dual School System", (1970).] J. F. Drake Middle School is named for Joseph Fanning Drake, an Auburn native who served as president of Alabama A&M University from 1927 through 1962, and who is generally credited with the conversion of that college from a junior college into a comprehensive university. ["Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, April 1964"; "Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, May 1990"; J. Wilson Bowman, "America's Black Colleges" (South Pasadena, Calif.: Sandcastle Pub., 1992), 9.]

History

J. F. Drake Middle School was founded in 1957 as Drake High School, as part of the Lee County School District. Drake replaced the Lee County Training School as the senior-level high school for African Americans in Auburn and the surrounding area of Lee County under the racially segregated system of schooling then prevalent in the Southern United States. Drake was named for Joseph Fanning Drake, an academic and then-president of the Alabama A&M University. It was decided at the time the school was opened that the school's name would simply be "Drake High School" during Drake's lifetime, but would be renamed "J. F. Drake High School" posthumously. ["Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, April 1964".] Drake High School then enrolled students in grades 7–12. ["Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, July 1966".]

In 1961, Drake became a part of the Auburn City School District upon that district's formation, and in 1964 upon Dr. Drake's passing was renamed "J. F. Drake High School". ["Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, January 1962"; "Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, April 1964".] In 1965, the district named J. F. Drake High School a Freedom of Choice school, allowing students of any race to attend the school. ["Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, May 18, 1965".] While some desegregation did occur at nearby Auburn High School under this plan starting in 1965, Drake's student body remained completely African American, and the Auburn City Schools was named a party to the "Lee v. Macon" desegregation case in 1967. The court ordered that grades 10 through 12 be closed at Drake at the beginning of the 1969–1970 school year; however, the court accepted a counterproposal from the Auburn City Schools that would transfer grades nine and ten to Auburn High School in 1969 and grades eleven and twelve in 1970. ["Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, May 1967"; "Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, October 1968"; "Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, February 1969".]

For the 1969-1970 school year, Drake contained grades seven and eight and a reduced grades eleven and twelve (thirty-one juniors and seniors were transferred to Auburn High to take advanced classes), and graduated its final class. ["Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, August 1969".] In 1970, J. F. Drake High School became Drake Middle School, enrolling all Auburn City Schools sixth grade students, both black and white. [Auburn City Schools, "Auburn City Schools Plan for Disestablishment of the Dual School System".] Drake received additions to the 1957 building in 1968, 1976, and 1983, the latter addition allowing the school to be expanded to grades five and six. ["Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, February 1968"; "Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, November 1981"; "Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, July 1983"; "Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, November 1982".] In 1990, the school was renamed J. F. Drake Middle School, having lost the initials around the time Drake became a middle school. ["Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, May 1990".]

Significant expansion to the Drake physical plant began in 1998, when the school was converted to house grades six through eight. Classroom space, a competition gymnasium, music and art facilities, and a swimming pool were all added between 1998 and 2004. ["Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, May 1998".] Drake received its current grade alignment, housing grades six and seven, in 2002. ["Minutes of City Board of Education, Auburn, Alabama, November 2001".]

References

External links

* [http://www.auburnschools.org/drake J. F. Drake Middle School]
* [http://www.auburnschools.org Auburn City Schools]