School Without Walls (Washington, D.C.)

School Without Walls (Washington, D.C.)

The School Without Walls Senior High School is a small public magnet high school in the Foggy Bottom area of Washington, D.C. It is colloquially referred to by students and faculty as "Walls." It is also well known as the top high school in the District of Columbia Public Schools, and one of the best in the region.

The school was established in 1971 following the model of the Parkway Program in the School District of Philadelphia. The goal was to create a 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 campus, on G Street NW near 22nd Street NW. Founded in 1971, the School Without Walls was originally located on the 8th floor of 1411 K St., an office building in the heart of downtown D.C., just a block from the notorious 13th and K street area. In the fall of 1973 the school relocated to 10th and H Streets, N.W., where SWW shared space with the Webster Girls School program, a program for pregnant teens.

Today SWW provides an academic curriculum and encourages students to "use the city as a classroom." It is part of the DCPS and draws students from all parts of the city. Any student interested in applying must follow an entrance procedure, involving a multiple choice test, a written essay, an interview, and a report of the applicant's standardized test scores and grades from previous years. School Without Walls now has approximately 550 students and spans the 9th through 12th grades

In August 2007, Walls was relocated to Capitol Hill in the Logan School building on G Street NE between Second & Third Streets NE (near Union Station and adjacent to 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 George Washington University President Steven Knapp.