Katy ISD’s Newest High School Wraps First Year with Tradition, Memories, and Success
- ncookclark
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KATY MAGAZINE NEWS
May 22, 2025
By Natalie Cook Clark
Katy ISD builds and opens new schools as they continue to meet the needs of the greater Katy community. This growth gives faculty and students unique opportunities to create traditions and be part of establishing lasting memories that will be shared for years to come.
Katy ISD high schools celebrate rich traditions, but for new schools like Freeman High School, they are just getting started. The District’s 10th high school welcomed students this fall and is located in the northwest quadrant of the District at 7800 Katy Hockley Road.
Freeman High School takes its strong belief in service from their namesake, the Freeman family. The Freeman family has a strong civic service connection in Katy that includes deep roots in agriculture and education. W.E. and Mae Belle Freeman, the first generation of Freemans who settled in Katy in the late 19th century, understood the importance of a strong education and sacrificed so their children could attend school. Their children, Mae, Jesse and Dick finished the eighth grade at South Mayde Creek – the highest level offered at the time. Two of their other children, Bill and Buck, later graduated from Katy High School. Five generations of Freemans have graduated from Katy ISD schools and members of the sixth generation are currently enrolled in the district’s schools.
Principal Gina Cobb new opening a new school would come with challenges, but describes the opportunity as a “once in a lifetime opportunity” and says that they was her best school year yet as she helped to establish traditions and led students in making memories through success and achieving goals.
“We are so proud of all our students, parents, and staff for what FHS has accomplished and the way everyone has embraced every challenge with heart and perseverance…determined to succeed,” says Cobb.
Some of their favorite traditions include: Freeman Firsts, High Five Fridays, Kids celebrating Adults, The GOLD Standard, Be Above, working with FHS community, theme days, spirit parades, and Gold Rush.
Freeman High School included their feeder schools, Youngblood Elementary and Nelson Junior High, into many traditions including school visits and parades.
And the school celebrated a lot of success their first year! In athletics they made the State podium three times and received the Grant Teaff Beyond the Game Award for community service.
In Fine Arts, the Freeman Theatre Company advanced in their One Act Play and received a Division 1 rating for UIL. Marching Band was an area finalist.
Academically several students were recognized for their PSAT scores indicating they could be eligible for National Recognition from the College Board. And four teachers earned team grants.
‘Lead the Charge’
In the excitement of school traditions, many think about the spirit squads and how they excite the crowds. Freeman High School established strong cheer and dance teams this year that became leaders in spreading the cheer and excitement of the Golden Eagles.
“We chose to use this year as the experiment year and not set any specific traditions yet,” explains Golden Elite Dance Team Director Sandi Dunn. “We want to continue growing what we like and change what we didn’t. We did however create a culture of love, kindness, respect, accountability, patience, grace, and strong work ethic.”
The Gold Elite grew by 10 this recent tryout season.
“It was a little scary and intimidating at first, especially not knowing anything about any of the girls,” says Dunn. “We had to jump in headfirst and learned as we went. Looking back, we are so proud of the growth that has happened not just with our team, but at Freeman in general. The spirit of a high school is what makes it, and we knew it was our job to help lead the charge. It has been very rewarding and an experience we will always remember!”
As the school grows, the Golden Elite looks forward to performing at Katy ISD stadiums Legacy and Rhodes. Their theme for next year is “Bloom.” This year they planted the seeds and look forward to growing into the next beautiful chapter of their team.
Lorraine Eberly, Freeman High School Cheer Coach also speaks to the hard work of creating a program.
“We have combined views from various campus experiences to make them unique to Freeman,” says Eberly. “The administration and coaches have been very supportive in allowing the student body and spirit groups to be a big part in starting the program. We have come a long way from where we started and it has been really neat to see how much we've been able to learn and accomplish in just one year.”
“We got to be a part of making the first ever everything and at times it seemed overwhelming but then it was just fun when we realized that we were really laying the groundwork for many new teams to come,” says Eberly. “We choreographed the first fight song and alma mater routine and created all the cheers that are unique to FHS.”
Next year, Eberly says they look forward to having two teams and to have a Varsity team with all that varsity excitement. They also look forward to bigger pep rallies.
Since Freeman doesn’t have seniors yet, the school has found other ways to celebrate stand out accomplishments through Difference Maker Certificates. These are when students were able to recognize staff members that have made an impact on them this year.
Throughout all this year’s firsts, the Freeman family has also been involved an active going to events and being at the school.
“We are just getting started,” says Cobb.