Theodore Roosevelt High School (Washington, D.C.)

Theodore Roosevelt High School is a public high school operated by the District of Columbia Public Schools in the Petworth neighborhood of Ward 4 neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C. Roosevelt enrolls 698 students (2017–2018) in ninth through 12th grade.[4] Additionally, the high school is also home to Roosevelt S.T.A.Y. program, an alternative academic and career/technical program that leads to a high school diploma or vocational certificate.

Theodore Roosevelt High School
listed in the NRHP as "Roosevelt Senior High School"
Address
Theodore Roosevelt High School
Theodore Roosevelt High School
4301 13th Street Northwest[1]

District of Columbia
,
DC
20011

United States
Coordinates38°56′36″N 77°1′41″W
Information
School typePublic high school
Established1932
School districtDistrict of Columbia Public Schools Ward 4
Faculty66.0 (on FTE basis)[2]
Grades9 to 12
Enrollment600 (as of 2016–17)[3]
Student to teacher ratio10.36[2]
Campus typeUrban
Color(s)     Orange
     Blue
MascotRough Riders
Websitewww.theodorerooseveltdc.org

The high school, located at 13th and Upshur Streets NW was built in 1932 to accommodate 1,200 students. Just prior to the 2016–2017 academic year, it completed a $121 million, two-year facility modernization.[5] During the renovation period, classes were conducted at the MacFarland Middle School campus nearby at 4400 Iowa Avenue, NW.[6] The school campus has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Plans for the school began in 1920, and it opened in 1932. The 64-room school was designed to hold 1,551 students.[7] Alongside a regular college entrance curriculum, the school included business-oriented classes to accommodate the interests of white students who had previously been served by the Business High School at Ninth Street and Rhode Island Avenue Northwest.[7] The business focus was in contrast to the technical focus of McKinley Technical High School and Armstrong Technical High School.[7] The school was integrated in 1953, one of the first schools in the District of Columbia to do so.[7]


Uncovered New Deal artwork

In 1934, art students under the guidance of the Baltimore-born artist Nelson Rosenberg[8] created a mural in the cafeteria. Titled An American Panorama, the mural was created as part of the New Deal-era Public Works of Art Project. It was later accompanied by other murals, added by later students, around the school.[7] An American Panorama was uncovered during renovation work in the cafeteria in fall 2013.[9] The fresco is currently being restored and will be incorporated into the final renovation.

Notable alumni
Business High School classroom circa 1899.
  • Shirley Ann Jackson (1964), an American physicist, and the eighteenth president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is the first African-American woman to have earned a PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
  • Kate Smith (1907–86), American singer, attended Business High School—likely class of 1924.
  • Bill Smith, former MLB player (St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies)
  • Diane Rehm, 1954, American public radio talk show host
  • Phil Perlo, American football player
  • Bowie Kuhn, Baseball Commissioner
  • Abe Pollin, Owner Washington Bullets, Washington Capitals
  • Sharon Pratt (Sharon Pratt Kelly, Sharon Pratt Dixon), 1961 – DC politician (Mayor of DC, 1991 to 1995)
  • Charlene Drew Jarvis (b. 1941), American educator and former scientific researcher and politician
  • Irvin Yalom, 1931 psychiatrist, author.
  • [Patricia Sherer Florestano, 1954, Md. Sec. of Higher Education; Chr, Bd of Regents, University of Maryland System

References
  1. GNIS entry for Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School; USGS; December 31, 1981.
  2. National Center for Education Statistics. Accessed December 6, 2011.
  3. "Roosevelt High School". Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  4. "School Profiles Home". profiles.dcps.dc.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
  5. "Roosevelt High School Project". DC Department of General Services. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  6. "Roosevelt High School @ MacFarland". Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  7. Bireda, Saba (September 2003). "Theodore Roosevelt High School". DC North.
  8. "Nelson Rosenberg". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
  9. Wiener, Aaron. "Rough Ride: Can a new building, redrawn boundaries, and a changing neighborhood transform D.C.'s struggling Roosevelt High School?". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
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