A Little History...
Frankie Lemmon School was started in 1965 as the Hudson Memorial Kindergarten for Mentally Retarded Children by members of Hundson Memorial Presbyterian Church. The church’s minister, Frank Lemmon, and his wife, Georgia, had a son named Frankie who had Down Syndrome. When Frankie turned five, there was no kindergarten in Wake County that would enroll a child with special needs. With consultation from the Association for Retarded Citizens (ARC), church members opened a kindergarten class for children with special needs. Beginning with an enrollment of three children, the class grew quickly and soon needed more space and staff. At this time a formalized non-profit organization was created. After Frankie’s death a few years later, the Board of Directors renamed the school Frankie Lemmon Memorial Preschool.

Outgrowing the available space at Hudson Memorial, the school’s Board of Directors began looking for another home. By vore of the full congregation of Hayes Barton Baptist Church, the school opened there in 1974 rent free.

When North Carolina began its public school kindergarten program for five year old children, the State Department of Public Instruction and the General Assembly appropriated funds for children with special needs who were five years old to be served in centers like Frankie Lemmon. The State also urged local school systems to use existing programs which met state standards. The Wake County Public School System began a contract arrangement with Frankie Lemmon Memorial Preschool. Because children in public schools were not called “preschoolers”, it becae a cource of confusion for parent s of children who were five years old or older and referred for placement at Frankie Lemmon. As a result, the school’s board of directors voted in 1985 to change the name to Frankie Lemmon School and Developmental Center.