Northern High School, as its name would suggest, served the students of northern Detroit, specifically the New Center area. Among those to walk its halls were some of the most famous singers the city has ever produced.

The school district hired Malcomson & Higginbotham, which designed dozens of schools in Detroit, for the job. Its cornerstone was placed June 30, 1915, and it would open Jan. 29, 1917.

In April 1966, more than 2,000 students at Detroit's Northern High School, 98% of them African American, staged a walkout to protest the quality of the education they were getting. Their efforts led to the ouster of the principal, vice principal and a school policeman.

Some of the distinguished Jayhawk alumni include singers Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson and Ron Banks of the Dramatics; NBA players Derrick Coleman and Sam Williams; and track and field star Marshall Dill.

Citing a financial crisis from plummeting student enrollment district-wide, Detroit Public Schools closed Northern High on June 22, 2007. It was one of several other buildings DPS shuttered as part of a major city-wide realignment plan.

The school became known as the Detroit International Academy for Young Women, the only public all-girls pre-K-12 school in the state. The school mascot was the Pink Panthers, and it offered a college preparatory curriculum with an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

The academy opened in 2005 for ninth- and 10th-graders. Principal Beverly Hibbler had to petition lawmakers in Lansing to allow a same-gender public school. Her bet proved to be a success. To meet demand, the school soon added an 11th and 12th grade and moved into the vacant Northern High building. In 2009, it expanded to include sixth grade and K-5 in 2010. Pre-Kindergarten was added in 2013.

Why girls only? Apparently, one of the reasons listed on a DPS website was, "No boys to cause a distraction in the classroom." Other reasons include creating "a sisterhood formed by a diverse student population including Bangladeshi, African-American, Hispanic and Caucasian, allowing the young women to comfortably learn about each unique culture" and "a bond to help one another succeed during their school years and beyond."

Hibbler said: “Usually, that’s a privilege for the affluent,” Hibbler says. “If you can afford it, you can always go to same-gender schools. For example, if your income is high enough, you would be able to afford a tuition that may be $14,000 annually to go to other all-girls schools in the region.”

“We give the same opportunities to those who may not be as fortunate to pay that steep tuition,” Hibbler adds. “And we believe that everyone should have a choice regardless of your income.”

But today, the school kicked out the girls and let the boys have the run of the place. It is now the Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men, Detroit’s only all-male public school. It offers ninth through 12th grades.

"Our academy empowers students to achieve academic, athletic, and personal excellence through Dual Enrollment college courses, a GIS Certification program, STEM and Robotics clubs, and honors courses," the school's DPS website says. "With championship athletics in basketball, football, and track, along with dedicated faculty providing personalized support, Frederick Douglass Academy is the place where young men unlock their potential and prepare for success in school, career, and life."

But in June 2026, Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti raised fears about the historic school's future. Despite once having more than 2,000 students, the Douglass Academy had only 61 students enrolled at the time. While most schools in the district had a per-pupil cost of $11,832, each student at Douglass was costing the district almost five times that: $50,013.

One possible solution being reconsidered is returning sixth through eighth grades, but another option was moving the Douglass program to another school - and that would put historic Northern High's fate in jeopardy.