School Without Walls High School (SWW) is a small public magnet high school in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is colloquially referred to by students and faculty as "Walls." The school is based on a concept in urban education that encourages students to "use the city as a classroom," which is the origin of its name.
31-479: SWW offers a college-preparatory academic curriculum with 22 AP courses . It is part of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) system and draws students from all parts of the city. Applicants must earn at least a 3.0 GPA in seventh grade and the beginning of their eighth-grade year . In the application process, prospective students complete an interview with teachers and current students. As part of
62-661: A deal for $ 12 million to renovate and expand the school building in exchange for the transfer of the school's rear parking lot property to the university. The old facade was kept intact while the inside was renovated and remodeled. A new building was added as an additional wing to accommodate increasing enrollment. Walls was named a National Blue Ribbon School on September 9, 2010, one of 304 schools nationwide. Art students have won numerous awards for their artwork—including 2011's National Cherry Blossom Festival Youth Poster Contest. In its public high school rankings for 2021 and 2022, U.S. News & World Report placed Walls first in
93-470: A local school district and draw from the entire district instead of the closest school zone . Some offer specialized courses or curricula that prepare students for a specific field of study. In contrast, others use the label as a promotional tool without offering programs different from a conventional high school. Preparatory schools began before the Civil War , when there were no public schools above
124-457: A waitlist of over 900 in 2016. In 2010, 52% of SWW freshmen came from DCPS middle schools and 33% from charter middle schools. The school received more than 1,300 applications for 140 spots in the freshman class for the 2018-19 school year. During the 2020–2021 school year, SWW students were 48% White, 25% Black, 12% Hispanic/Latino, 8% Asian, and 6% multiracial. The student body was also 12% economically disadvantaged and 60% female. SWW has
155-500: A year in 2014). Some prep schools are affiliated with a particular religious denomination. Unlike parochial (Catholic) schools , independent preparatory schools are not governed by a religious organization, and students are usually not required to receive instruction in one particular religion. While independent prep schools in the United States are not subject to government oversight or regulation, many are accredited by one of
186-492: Is a type of secondary school . The term refers to public , private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education . In Japan, college-prep schools are called Shingakukō ( 進学校 ) , which means a school used to progress into another school. Prep schools in Japan are usually considered prestigious and are often difficult to get into. However, there are many tiers of prep schools,
217-452: Is sometimes based on specific selection criteria , usually academic, but some schools have open enrollment. In 2017, 5.7 million students were enrolled in US private elementary or secondary schools, constituting 10% of total school enrollment. Of those, 1.4 million students were enrolled in a secular (nonsectarian) school. Public and charter college preparatory schools are typically connected to
248-619: The School District of Philadelphia . The goal was to create a new learning environment that offered an alternative to the conventional programs. They started with fifty students, six teachers, and one administrator. The school is located on the George Washington University (GWU) campus, on G Street intersecting 21st Street NW. Founded in 1971, the School Without Walls was initially located on
279-614: The Securities & Exchange Commission headquarters). This temporary home was used for two years while the original building was renovated. The Logan School was renovated—including a new roof and internal work—during the summer of 2007 to accept students. In August 2009, The School Without Walls moved back into the Grant School following an opening ceremony by Mayor Adrian Fenty , DCPS chancellor Michelle Rhee and GWU President Steven Knapp . In August 2011, School Without Walls
310-627: The Ulysses S. Grant School , is located in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood. The building was badly deteriorated before being taken over by School Without Walls. There was extensive water damage throughout the school, the brick facade needed to be repainted, and the slate roof was steadily losing its shingles. On February 13, 2006, the D.C. City Council and the George Washington University Board of Trustees approved
341-492: The grammar school or elementary level anywhere in the US. Their graduates were not ready for college study, so many colleges set up "preparatory academies" to prepare them for college study. The preparatory division could dwarf the college enrollment, as at New York Central College . There were also preparatory schools unaffiliated with colleges, especially for girls, such as the Columbia Female Academy. At
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#1732801320214372-402: The 13–18 age range. Little financial aid other than loans is available. Prep schools can be day schools , boarding schools , or both, and may be co-educational or single-sex . Currently, day schools are more common than boarding, and since the 1970s, co-educational schools have been more common than single-sex. Unlike the public schools which are free, they charge tuition ($ 10,000 to 40,000+
403-586: The 21st century, some trial cases connecting public junior and senior high schools are seen in each region, too, broadening the education for college entrance. As the Japanese government provides grant-in-aid to private schools, the tuition is 5,000–10,000 US dollars per year, even if it is a private school. In the United States , there are public , private , and charter college-preparatory schools that can be either parochial or secular . Admission
434-564: The 8th floor of 1411 K St., an office building. In the fall of 1973, the school relocated to 10th and H Streets, NW, where SWW shared space with the Webster Girls School program, a program for pregnant teens. It then moved to 1619 M St., NW, in the mid-'70s. In August 2007, Walls was relocated to Capitol Hill in the Logan School building on G Street NE between Second and Third Streets NE (near Union Station and adjacent to
465-401: The D.C. School Lottery if there is available space. Middle school graduates are not guaranteed a place at School Without Walls High School. Instead, they feed into Cardozo Education Campus for ninth grade. Ross and Thomson elementary school graduates may transfer to Francis-Stevens in sixth grade. The school had issues with low enrollment for decades, creating the first extended-day program in
496-459: The District of Columbia and ninetieth in the United States. The 2019 high school rankings from Niche listed Walls as the best public high school in the District of Columbia and the 36th best public magnet high school in the United States. Walls has had the highest average SAT scores among DCPS high schools since the district began publishing data in 2013. The school's averaged combined score
527-425: The District of Columbia in 1977 in an effort to appeal to parents who worked in the neighborhood. The persistent problem led to the merger of Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School and Francis Junior High School in 2008 and then the decision to close Francis-Stevens Education Campus in 2014. College-preparatory A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school )
558-400: The School Without Walls building was too small for the student body. The two schools now share an administration, though Francis-Stevens is non-selective, and graduates are not guaranteed entrance to School Without Walls High School. SWW students do not take classes at Francis-Stevens, because of the distance between the buildings and because Francis-Stevens quickly became more popular, attaining
589-442: The entry into which depends on the university that the school leads into. Japanese prep schools started as chūgakkō ( 中学校 ) , secondary schools for boys, which were founded after the secondary school law in 1886. Later, kōtō jogakkō ( 高等女学校 ) , secondary school for girls (1891), and jitsugyō gakkō ( 実業学校 ) , vocational schools (1924), were included among chūtōgakkō and were legally regarded as schools on
620-573: The lowest numbers of minority and at-risk students among DCPS high schools. In 2019, DCPS rolled out a pilot program to allow students ranked in the top 15 at their schools to take the SWW admissions test even if they had not met the minimum criteria of meeting or exceeding expectations on the PARCC. The objective was to determine if relaxing standardized testing requirements would diversify the SWW student body. However, as DCPS did not inform prospective parents of
651-528: The new system (6-3-3) took effect in 1947. Many shingakkō are six-year schools . Many have their origins in kyūsei chūgakkō and kōtō jogakkō , or ones attached to universities. Japanese pupils who aspire to a prep school education take written examinations in sixth grade in each prep school. Unlike six-year prep schools, the top municipal senior high school (three-year schools) in each school zone and some high-ranked private senior high schools (ditto) are also regarded as shingakukō ( 進学校 ) . In
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#1732801320214682-621: The parity in DCIAA football, two separate divisions based on ability were created, rather than the East-West division structure of previous years. The Stars Division is the more competitive division, and those schools will be eligible for the historic Turkey Bowl game. Stars Division Stripes Division In 2016-2017, Eastern moved up to the Stars Division while Coolidge goes to Stripes Division . In 2018-2019, Roosevelt moved up to
713-455: The program, the 226 students affected were not ultimately permitted to take the admissions test. Walls competes in the DCIAA and offers the following sports: baseball , basketball , bowling , cheerleading , cross-country , flag football , golf , indoor track , lacrosse , outdoor track , soccer , squash , swimming , softball , tennis , ultimate frisbee , and weightlifting . Before
744-416: The same level as a school for boys. However, graduates from those two types of schools had more requirements for college entrance. In the modern period, many Japanese secondary schools were five-year schools, except for during a short term from 1943 to 1946. The social status of chūgakkō , or kyūsei chūgakkō ( 旧制中学校 ) , secondary schools for boys under the old system, did not disappear even after
775-662: The school adopted the penguin as its mascot, its teams were informally called the Walls. The SWW volleyball team won the school's first DCIAA title in 1997. The Track and Field team went to the Penn Relay 2011. The softball team won the citywide championship in 2011 and 2012. Sprinter Ingrid Joseph won Gatorade Player of the Year for Girls Outdoor Track and Field in 2017, the first time a Walls student won that award in any sport. The School Without Walls facility, historically known as
806-542: The school's partnership with George Washington University , teachers and students are able to take dual enrollment classes at the university. Students in the GW Early College Program graduate with a high school diploma from School Without Walls and Associate of Arts degree from George Washington University. The school was established in 1971 following the model of the Parkway Program in
837-556: The six regional accreditation agencies for educational institutions. DCIAA The District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association ( DCIAA ) is the public high school athletic league in Washington, D.C. The league was founded in 1958. The original high school conference for D.C. schools was the Inter-High School Athletic Association , formed around 1896. That organization
868-529: The time, men and women did not study together at any level, and there were no women's colleges . Some of the female preparatory schools became women's colleges after the Civil War. Free high school level education for all became available in the later 19th and early 20th centuries. Since then, the surviving "prep schools" in the US are primarily private, elite institutions that have very selective admission criteria and high tuition fees , catering to students in
899-497: Was 1272 in 2018. In 2018, 80% of Walls students who took an AP exam earned a passing score of at least 3. School Without Walls at Francis-Stevens is a pre-K 3 to 8th-grade school that shares an administration with School Without Walls High School. It is located in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood and operated by DC Public Schools . Unlike the high school, it is a traditional public school that primarily accepts students based on its enrollment boundary. Students may also enroll through
930-434: Was forced to temporarily close because of damage sustained to the building's walls and roof during the earthquake and Hurricane Irene a few days later. Despite resistance from parents and students, SWW merged with the nearby Francis-Stevens Education Campus, renamed School Without Walls at Francis Stevens, in 2014. Francis-Stevens, which serves preschool through eighth grade, was under-enrolled and slated for closure, while
961-814: Was segregated, and black schools in the District formed their own athletic association. The Inter-High League was renamed the DCIAA in 1989 to bring the District of Columbia in line with other states with interscholastic athletic programs. The DCIAA offers sports on the elementary, middle and high school levels (grades 4th through 12th). The DCIAA sponsors varsity championships in archery , basketball , baseball , bowling , cheer , cross country , football , flag football , golf , lacrosse , soccer , softball , swimming , tennis , track and field , volleyball and wrestling . The DCIAA sponsors high school varsity competition in eight boys', ten girls' and four co-ed sanctioned sports. Student-athletes in grades 9-12 are eligible to participate in elementary sports. To increase