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.^[5] 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
Address
4301 13th Street NW^[1] Washington D.C. 20011 United States
Coordinates	38°56′36″N 77°1′44″W / 38.94333°N 77.02889°W / 38.94333; -77.02889
Information
School type	Public high school
Established	1932 (92 years ago) (1932)
Status	Open^[2]
School board	District of Columbia State Board of Education
School district	District of Columbia Public Schools
NCES District ID	1100030 ^[3]
CEEB code	090220
NCES School ID	110003000008^[2]
Faculty	74.70 (on an FTE basis)
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	752 (2020–2021)
• Grade 9	245
• Grade 10	239
• Grade 11	137
• Grade 12	131
Student to teacher ratio	10.07
Campus type	Urban
Color(s)	Orange and blue
Athletics conference	District of Columbia Interscholastic Athletic Association, District of Columbia State Athletic Association
Nickname	Rough Riders
USNWR ranking	13,383–17,843 (2022)
Communities served	Ward 4
Website	theodorerooseveltdc.org
Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Built	1932 (1932)
Architect	Albert L. Harris
Architectural style	Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival
MPS	Public School Buildings of Washington, DC MPS
NRHP reference No.	100003213^[4]

The high school, located at 13th and Upshur Streets NW, was built in 1932 to accommodate 1,200 students. Just before the 2016–2017 academic year, it completed a $121 million, two-year facility modernization.^[6] During the renovation period, classes were conducted at the MacFarland Middle School campus nearby at 4400 Iowa Avenue, NW.^[7] The school campus has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

 

Business High School classroom circa 1899.

Plans for the school began in 1920, and it opened in 1932. The 64-room school was designed to hold 1,551 students.^[8] 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.^[8] The business focus was in contrast to the technical focus of McKinley Technical High School and Armstrong Technical High School.^[8] The school integrated in 1953, one of the first schools in the District of Columbia to do so.^[8]

Uncovered New Deal artwork

In 1934, art students under the guidance of the Baltimore-born artist Nelson Rosenberg^[9] 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.^[8] An American Panorama was uncovered during renovation work in the cafeteria in the fall of 2013.^[10] The fresco is currently being restored and will be incorporated into the final renovation.^[when?]

Notable alumni

• Ralph Asher Alpher (1921–2007), National Medal of Science 2005 for his research in Big Bang nucleosynthesis, and the prediction of the temperature of cosmic background radiation.^{[citation needed]}
• Bertie Bowman (1931–2023), hearing coordinator of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations^[11]
• Lennard Freeman (b. 1995), a basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League^{[citation needed]}
• Charlene Drew Jarvis (b. 1941), educator and former scientific researcher and politician^[12]
• Shirley Ann Jackson (1964), a physicist and the eighteenth president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She is the first African-American woman to have earned a Ph.D. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).^[13]
• Bowie Kuhn, Baseball Commissioner^[14]
• Ted Lerner, owner of the Washington Nationals^[15]
• Phil Perlo, American football player^[16]
• Abe Pollin, Owner Washington Bullets, Washington Capitals^[17]
• Sharon Pratt (Sharon Pratt Kelly, Sharon Pratt Dixon), 1961 – DC politician (Mayor of DC, 1991 to 1995)^[18]
• Diane Rehm, 1954, American public radio talk show host^[19]
• Bill Smith, former MLB player (St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies)^[20]
• Kate Smith (1907–86), singer, attended Business High School—likely class of 1924.^[21]
• Irvin Yalom, 1931 psychiatrist, author.^[22]

References

1. GNIS entry for Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School; USGS; December 31, 1981.
2. "Search for Public Schools - Roosevelt HS (110003000008)". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
3. "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for District of Columbia Public Schools". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 13 November 2022.
4. "National Register Information System – (#100003213)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
5. "School Profiles Home". profiles.dcps.dc.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
6. "Roosevelt High School Project". DC Department of General Services. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
7. "Roosevelt High School @ MacFarland". Retrieved 13 January 2015.
8. Bireda, Saba (September 2003). "Theodore Roosevelt High School". DC North.
9. "Nelson Rosenberg". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 13 January 2015.
10. Wiener, Aaron (31 January 2014). "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.
11. Temin, Tom (2021-09-24). "A legend in the Senate, he may be the longest-serving federal employee". Federal News Network. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
12. Milloy, Courtland (8 September 1982). "Jarvis Pushes D. C. Heritage In Her Race For Mayor". The Washington Post.
13. "NRC: Honorable Dr. Shirley Ann Jackson, Commissioner". Nuclear Regulatory Commission. December 1998.
14. "Bowie Kent Kuhn". Major League Baseball. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
15. The Washingtonian: "Ted Lerner Plays Ball - The dealmaker and family man has realized a dream: He owns Washington’s baseball team. Here’s how he got to where he is—and where the team goes from here" By Harry Jaffe June 1, 2007
16. "Phil Perlo -". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
17. Williams, Juan (17 February 1991). "Holding Back the Shadows". The Washington Post.
18. Perl, Peter (31 January 1993). "The Mayor's Mystique". The Washington Post.
19. Austermuhle, Martin (August 22, 2016). "Diane Rehm And Isabel Wilkerson Remember Roosevelt High Over The Years". WAMU.
20. "Bill Smith Baseball Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
21. Ware, Susan (2004). Notable American Women: A Biographical Dictionary Completing the Twentieth Century. Harvard University Press. p. 596. ISBN 978-0-674-01488-6.
22. "Yalom Q&A". GW Magazine Archives. The George Washington University. Retrieved 19 August 2020.

External links

• Official website