Ferndale High School Profile
Ferndale High School (FHS) is located on the coast of Puget Sound, in the northwest region of Washington State. The school is approximately 100 miles north of Seattle, and is about 10 miles south of the Canadian border. The greater Ferndale community is set in the northern quarter of Whatcom County. The county contains the northern section of the Mt. Baker National Forest, and is bisected by the Nooksack River.
Farming, fishing, logging, construction, smelting, refining, and service occupations are the mainstay occupations of the Ferndale community. Although, with recent changes in the local economy, some of the traditional jobs have been replaced by basic skilled, lower paying positions. There has been a corresponding increase in the number of multiple-family dwellings and subsidized housing within the community.
Two oil refineries, an aluminum smelter, Western Washington University, Whatcom Community College, Bellingham Technical College, St. Joseph’s Hospital, and Georgia Pacific are the largest employers in the county. The colleges and the university also play an important role in providing post-secondary educational opportunities for regional residents.
Ferndale High School has a diverse population. Twelve percent of the students are Native Americans, primarily from the Lummi Indian Nation. Hispanic, Russian, Ukrainian, Asian, and African-American students comprise another ten percent of the student body. The majority of our students’ parents graduated from high school. Most of the parents are employed locally and have minimal commutes. Thirteen percent of the students in the district are from economically disadvantaged homes.
Ferndale High School has received awards for excellence. The school is accredited by the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Northwest Association of Secondary Schools. The school offers honors courses in English, as well as advanced programs in music and the fine arts. Thirteen Advanced Placement courses provide students with additional opportunities. Students are ranked by cumulative grade point averages on a 4.0 scale. Neither the G.P.A. nor the class ranking are weighted. For the class of 2006, the average G.P.A. was 2.95, the average SAT Reasoning Test score was 1092, and the average ACT total score was 23.5. Forty-seven percent of the class took the SAT, while nineteen percent took the ACT.
Over fifty-six percent of the Class of 2006 went to college immediately upon graduation. Twenty-eight percent of the class currently attend a four-year university, and thirty-one percent attend either a two-year college or a vocational/technical institute. Western Washington University is the university most frequently attended by FHS graduates, while Whatcom Community College and Bellingham Technical College are the two-year institutions most often selected by FHS graduates.
Ferndale High School provides students with many opportunities in academics, student activities, music, and athletics. The high school enjoys a high level of community support and involvement. The school’s motto is “It’s a matter of pride.”
