Purpose:

To cultivate a community of learners where adolescents seek to know who they are intellectually.

School Without Walls is a community of self-directed learners that engages District of Columbia adolescents in a rigorous high school program woven with substantive experiences based on the philosophy that life-long learning occurs both inside and outside the classroom. School Without Walls offers students intellectual and personal challenges leading to independent, intellectual inquiry combining academic excellence and responsible citizenship.

Who we are:
School Without Walls is a small District of Columbia public high school for grades 9-12. A metaphor for the school's philosophy that learning should occur both inside and outside the confines of a traditional classroom, School Without Wall serves any DC teen who meets the admission criteria. School Without Walls prides itself on being a multicultural community of learners. Students hail from all eight wards, and are exposed to many other cultures due to a strong foreign exchange program and a diverse faculty and staff.

Located at the heart of the George Washington University at 2130 G Street, NW, School Without Walls’ collegiate environment is a result of the long-term partnership with the university that has yielded many benefits for both communities. The newest manifestation of this partnership is the joint Associate of Arts program. Beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, select students will spend their junior and senior years as full time George Washington University students and earn both a high school diploma from School Without Walls and an Associates of Arts degree from GWU.

Known to many as simply "Walls", this community of motivated learners fosters formal and informal relationships among students, faculty, administration, families, George Washington University, and partners.

Walls' mission is built upon values. From admissions and alumni outreach, to public service and international exchange, to performance on page, stage, and field, all activities are structured to foster creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning, persistence, responsible global citizenship, and appreciation of excellence.

Typical Walls students go beyond what is expected. They demand more than pat answers to their questions. Walls’ students care about others and about their school. They value their independence and recognize the responsibilities associated with thinking and acting independently.

Background and History

Intro
Situated in a 19^th century building with a 21^st century addition, this school blurs the physical and programmatic boundaries between a small urban high school and a research university, creating a seamless, grade 9 through 16 curriculum. This school-university partnership grew to modernize/expand the deteriorating school building and create a residence hall.

The school is an innovative, 440-student, urban high school located in the heart of a major urban university’s academic district in downtown Washington, DC. Taking full advantage of its urban location by creating partnerships with the University and the wealth of other resources throughout the District of Columbia, the school uses the city as its classroom. This philosophy has enabled the school to create a quality, student-centered, urban learning environment that emphasizes integrative, interactive, experiential learning. Upon the reopening of the modernized and expanded building in 2009, students will be able to earn an associates degree from the university during their junior and senior year of high school.

The new campus creates an innovative, student-centered environment.
The school’s student-centered philosophy will be fostered by the architecture of the revitalized campus. The intimate, non-institutional character and an inviting, day-lit interior of the historic, 19th-century school building will be complemented by the daylight-filled, 21st-century addition that will build upon and enhance the small school ambiance while providing the state-of-the art labs, classrooms, a large and flexible “commons,” a media center with views across the academic district and the school’s first controlled outdoor space – a second floor roof terrace. The entire half-acre site has been designed to ensure that every space, particularly the public space, provides formal and informal learning opportunities. For example, small seating areas within the atrium of the new building echo the central hall of the historic building. By promoting such positive interaction, the building fosters a subtle sense of security and encourages the continued creation of a strong learning community.

The project is being realized by an equally innovative joint-use partnership.
Building upon their established programmatic partnerships, the school and the university have created another innovative partnership that will enable the school to be modernized and expanded. Through a Planned Unit Development, the university purchased a portion of the school’s parking lot and the school’s excess development rights, enabling the university to construct a much needed residence hall. The school district, in turn, is using the funds from this transaction to modernize and expand the school’s facilities to ensure that the learning environment supports the school’s ambitious and successful program.

Student Profiles and Accomplishments
Walls’ demanding program is specifically designed to serve its students needs. Intellectual and academic talents are developed by providing traditional pre-college and college-level curriculum and a set of specific experiential expectations.

Walls students pursue traditional assessment through Advance Placement (AP) courses, college courses at George Washington University and Howard University, and humanities-social science programs integrated throughout the curriculum with support from partner, Gilda Lehrman. In addition, Walls’ students require opportunities to build portfolios for alternative ways of intellectual assessment through international experience, community service, internships, and senior thesis capstone projects.

Students are encouraged—expected—to generate questions and find answers. This creates an environment where students are served both as a community and as an individual. Walls students fulfill minimum DCPS graduation requirements and progressive Walls graduation requirements during a four-year course of study.

Walls Graduation Requirements
Students graduate from Walls with skills that include self-discipline, self-questioning, flexibility, deeper appreciation for inquiry, and a confident approach to the adventure of learning. Walls students are successful in their academic lives and their careers.

Are you a DC teen who describes herself independent? Are you a DC teen who describes himself as one with an awesome imagination? Do you make up your own games? Do you always have one of the best ideas for projects? Do you love to think or draw or listen to sounds in the world? Are you the teen with a million questions or just one great, big one? Look at our application and see if you if you are a Walls student in the making.