Ballou High School

Ballou High School
Address
Ballou High School Show map of the District of Columbia Ballou High School Show map of the US
3401 Fourth Street Southeast[1] District of Columbia, DC 20032 United States
Coordinates	38°50′25.2″N 77°0′4.8″W / 38.840333°N 77.001333°W / 38.840333; -77.001333Coordinates: 38°50′25.2″N 77°0′4.8″W / 38.840333°N 77.001333°W / 38.840333; -77.001333
Information
Type	Public high school
Established	1960 (1960)
School district	District of Columbia Public Schools Ward 8
Principal	Dr. Yetunde Reeves
Faculty	88.0 (on an FTE basis)[2]
Grades	9 to 12
Enrollment	933 (2015-16)[3]
Student to teacher ratio	13.20[2]
Campus size	350,000 Sq ft[4]
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)	Blue and Gold
Mascot	Knights
Website	www.balloudc.org

Frank W. Ballou Senior High School is a public school located in Washington, D.C., United States. Ballou is a part of the District of Columbia Public Schools. The principal is Dr. Yetunde Reeves. The marching band traveled to the 2009 Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California^[5] and the 2009 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

History

Ballou High School was founded in the early 1960s to serve residents in the southern part of Anacostia, including Congress Heights, Washington Highlands, and Bellevue. The school was named for Dr. Frank Washington Ballou, superintendent of the DC public schools from 1920 to 1943.^[6] Ballou SHS is known for having one of the best choirs and bands in the District. The Ballou SHS band has traveled to California and Alabama and placed in the top three in both national competitions. The Ballou SHS band^[7] is directed by Mr. Darrell Watson.^[7] and his all volunteer Ballou alumni staff. The Ballou choir directed by Gary Stanley has been one of the more positive aspects of the school. They have traveled and performed in various states such as North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida just to name a few. The choir and the band have also affected the type of media the school has gotten in the last couple of years. They have brought a more positive outlook on the school and the students who attend. In addition to an outstanding band and choir, Ballou is known as one of the best athletic programs in the area. Ballou over the years has produced several DCIAA City Champions and many NCAA Scholarship Athletes.

The previous principal Dr Art Bridges is the Uncle of Rapper/Actor Chris (Ludacris) Bridges. Ludacris has visited Ballou several times to give motivation speeches to the youth.

In 1998, author Ron Suskind published the book "A Hope in the Unseen" about a Ballou High School student named Cedric Jennings. The book was based on a series of Pulitzer-prize winning articles written in the Wall Street Journal by Suskind. The story follows Jennings efforts to attend an Ivy League University in spite of his troubled upbringing.

In 2003 a major instance of mercury being spread throughout the school caused for its closure for several weeks and the redirection of students and staff to nearby educational facilities.

On February 2, 2004, 19-year-old Thomas J. Boykin fatally shot 17-year-old James Richardson. Boykin was later acquitted on the charge of murder.^[8]

In 2008, director Michael Patrei, released a documentary Ballou^[9] about the Ballou High School Marching Band that will air on BET.^[10] Fall 2009.

NBC4 News reported another shooting on August 26, 2008 of a 16-year-old just off the campus grounds resulting in a lock-down of the campus.

From August 2016 to May 2017 about 25% of the staff left the school; this occurred as almost 200 DCPS teachers left their jobs.^[11]

Attendance zones and feeder patterns

Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling is within Ballou's attendance boundary.^{[12] [13]}

The following elementary schools feed into Ballou: Garfield, Hendley, M. L. King, Leckie, Malcolm X, Patterson, Simon, and Turner.

The following middle schools feed into Ballou: Charles Hart Middle School and John Hayden Johnson Middle School.

Statistics

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics, 2010–2011

• 98.0% African American students
• 2.0% European American students
• 82 teachers
• 85.2% attendance
• 14:1 student teacher ratio
• 916 total students

Academic performance

In 2016 3% of the students had proficiency in DC reading standards according to DC tests.^[11]

In 2017, all 189 students in Ballou High School's senior class applied to college.^[14] It was the first time the high school's entire senior class had applied to college.^[14] The high school credited its college-prep classes and a school-wide campaign to apply to college.^[14] As of the summer of 2017 all 170 members of the graduating class of 2017 were accepted to universities; an additional 20 students had August graduations scheduled.^[11] In November 2017, it came to light that Ballou's administration had graduated dozens of students despite high rates of unexcused absences. Half of the graduates missed more than three months of school in their senior year, unexcused; one in five students were absent more than they were present, and when many of these students did attend school they struggled academically. Two months before graduation, only 57 students were on track to graduate. Brian Butcher, a history teacher at Ballou, said the claim of all students graduating was "smoke and mirrors. That is what it was."^[15]

Notable alumni

• Marvin Austin (2007), college football defensive tackle at UNC Chapel Hill, taken by the New York Giants in the 2nd round of the 2011 NFL Draft.
• Larry Pinkard (2010), played college football for Old Dominion University, and in the National Football League for multiple teams since 2015.
• Danny Gatton, one of Rolling Stone magazine's top guitarists of all time, attended but did not graduate. Named album 88 Elmira Street after Congress Heights street where he grew up.
• Essex Hemphill (1975), poet and activist, known for his activism in the African American and LGBT communities.^[16]
• Cedric Jennings, profiled in the 1998 biography A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind. The book follows Cedric as he leaves Ballou and attends college at Brown University.^[17]
• Taraji P. Henson (c/o 1988), actor^[18][19]
• Mike Locksley (1988), head football coach at the University of New Mexico
• David Venable (1998) athlete and coach
• Trayon White (2002), community activist and former member of the District of Columbia State Board of Education^[20] and Ward 8 Representative on the Council of the District of Columbia.^[21]

References