Brightwood Education Campus
Address
1300 Nicholson Street NW[1]

Washington
,
DC
20011

United States
Coordinates38°57′38″N 77°01′50″W / 38.96056°N 77.03056°W / 38.96056; -77.03056
Information
School typePublic high school
Opened1897 (original building)[2]
School districtDistrict of Columbia Public Schools
PrincipalWanda Fox[1]
GradesPre-school to eighth[1]
Enrollment563 (as of the 2010-2011 school year)[1]
Campus typeUrban
Feeder schoolsCoolidge Senior High School[3]
Websitebrightwoodec.org

Brightwood Education Campus is a public school located in the Northwest quadrant of the District of Columbia.

History

The original Brightwood School was a two-story brick building[4] built around 1897 at Brightwood Avenue (now Georgia Avenue) and Peabody Street.[2] Some of the land was acquired from the Emory Chapel, and some of the land was condemned from numerous heirs of Betsy Butler.[5] Only white students were allowed to attend the school.[6] Other children attended the Military Road School nearby.[6]

Construction of an extension began in mid-1895 and completed in early 1896.[7][8] The extension increased the size of the school to eight rooms[7] and cost $11,600.[4] The sidewalk in front of the school was paved in 1902.[9]

Two large fires, occurring simultaneously, severely damaged the school building 1912.[2] The fires were discovered at 8 p.m., and it took several hours to extinguish them.[2] Students were temporarily reassigned to nearby West School and Brightwood Park School while Brightwood School was repaired.[2] Upon inspecting the site, the fire marshal suspected arson immediately.[10] One of the fires started under the teacher's desk in Miss H. K. Berne's classroom,[10] and the fire marshal and police detectives interviewed each of the thirty students in Berne's class, but they could not determine who set the fire.[11]

In 1923, the Manor Park Citizens Association passed a resolution requesting the building of a new school in the neighborhood, calling Brightwood Elementary School disgraceful and unsanitary in part because some boys had no other place to eat lunch than the lavatory.[12] Three years later, Whittier School opened for children living in Manor Park.[13][14]

In 1925, the House Appropriations Committee budgeted $275,000 to build a new sixteen-room building to replace the original school building.[15] The plan for the new building included a gymnasium.[16] Architect Waddy B. Wood designed the school.[17] Construction bids were accepted in August 1925[18] and a contract was awarded to the lowest bidder the following month.[19] The new 16-room school opened in September 1926.[20] The old school building was converted into a junior high school for students in grades seven and eight.[21][22]

Further improvements to the school were made in 2003.[23]

Academics

As of 2011, 31% of the school's students meet or exceed standards in math, and 36% of its students meet or exceed standards in reading.[3] In comparison, the average for the District of Columbia Public Schools system is 42% for math and 43% for reading.[3]

The school has a science lab and a computer lab.[3]

Student body

Most students who live in Brightwood are zoned for the school.[24] As for other schools in the District of Columbia Public School system, children who live outside Brightwood Education Campus' zone may enter the Out of Boundary Lottery for a chance to attend the school.[25]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Brightwood Education Campus". District of Columbia Public Schools. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Fire Damages School". The Washington Post. January 12, 1912. p. 2. ProQuest 145127863.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "2011-12 School Scorecard: Brightwood Education Campus" (PDF). Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  4. 1 2 "No New Schools Yet". The Washington Post. August 26, 1895. p. 8. ProQuest 139615633.
  5. ↑ "Want the Land Condemned". The Washington Post. March 14, 1892. p. 8. ProQuest 138898076.
  6. 1 2 Takei, Barbara (May 19, 1977). "Brightwood School Celebrates a Golden Jubilee". The Washington Post. p. DC10. ProQuest 146723019.
  7. 1 2 "Bids for Brightwood School Addition". The Washington Post. August 21, 1895. p. 10. ProQuest 139594355.
  8. ↑ "Two School Contracts Awarded". The Washington Post. August 23, 1895. p. 8. ProQuest 139542809.
  9. ↑ "Ordered By Commissioners: Award of Contracts for Sewers and Other Improvements". The Washington Post. September 21, 1902. p. 12. ProQuest 144349260.
  10. 1 2 "Lays Fire to Pupils: Nicholson Questions Brightwood School Children". The Washington Post. January 13, 1912. p. 12. ProQuest 145128484.
  11. ↑ "School Incendaries Escape: Authorities Fail to Find Those Who Started the Brightwood Blazes". The Washington Post. January 14, 1912. p. ES4. ProQuest 145127661.
  12. ↑ "Brightwood School Called "Disgraceful, Unsanitary"". The Washington Post. December 6, 1923. p. 1. ProQuest 149335575.
  13. ↑ "Manor Park School Will Honor Whittier". The Washington Post. October 3, 1926. p. M14. ProQuest 149587477.
  14. ↑ "Dedication Meeting at Whittier School". The Washington Post. November 9, 1926. p. 24. ProQuest 149652616.
  15. ↑ "Additional School Estimates Slashed By Budget Bureau". The Washington Post. February 18, 1925. p. 2. ProQuest 149572255.
  16. ↑ "$2,631,500 Is Given to District Schools in Deficiency Bill". The Washington Post. February 27, 1925. p. 1. ProQuest 149613196.
  17. ↑ "12 Named to Aid Harris with Plans for New Schools". The Washington Post. March 18, 1925. p. 2. ProQuest 149635809.
  18. ↑ "Harris Seeks Cut in Building Cost on Three Schools". The Washington Post. August 2, 1925. p. 2. ProQuest 149517753.
  19. ↑ "Brightwood School Contract Awarded". The Washington Post. September 2, 1925. p. 22. ProQuest 149554103.
  20. ↑ "School Additions Will Fair [sic] to Ease Class Congestion". The Washington Post. August 25, 1926. p. 11. ProQuest 149630960.
  21. ↑ "Schools to Open Portals to 65,00 at 9 O'clock Today". The Washington Post. September 20, 1926. p. 16. ProQuest 149591210.
  22. ↑ "School List Still Climbing and May Reach 70,000 Nov. 1". The Washington Post. September 25, 1926. p. 24. ProQuest 149585226.
  23. ↑ "Permit Applications". The Washington Post. April 24, 2003. ProQuest 409541246.
  24. ↑ "Attendance Zones for Neighborhood Elementary and K-8 Schools: Elementary Grades" (PDF). District of Columbia Public Schools. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 28, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
  25. ↑ "DCPS Preschool / Pre‐K and Out‐of‐Boundary Lottery for SY 2012‐2013: Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). District of Columbia Public Schools. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
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