Freedom High School is the home of the patriots, and we sport the colors red, white, and blue. So why are all of the doors painted a light green? Why are the non-student decorated bathrooms green and white? That is because Freedom almost was not called what it is now.

When the school was being built, in the years 2000 and 2001, the name for the school was planned to be “New Tampa High School” (or something similar), and our colors would have been light green and white. Our mascot would have been something a little less patriotic than what it is now.

However, on September 11th , 2001, the world trade centers in New York, the Pentagon, and the White House were targeted by terrorists. The World Trade Centers and Pentagon were hit by hijacked planes, and a staggering 2,996 civilian or public servicemen (officers, firefighters, etc.) lives were lost.

 In the midst of these attacks, it was decided that the school would be named Freedom in honor of those who lost their lives. Sharing a cafeteria with Freedom is Liberty Middle School, which was similarly named in memory of the victims of the horrific events in late 2001.

Since opening in 2002, Freedom has had a few principals, first being Richard Bartels from 2002 until his retirement in 2008, and now Kevin Stephenson, having been the head of the school since 2014.