Roosevelt High School (Washington, D.C.)
Public high school in Washington D.C., United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | |
|---|---|
| |
| Location | |
 | |
4301 13th Street NW[1] 20011 United States 38°56′36″N 77°1′44″W | |
| Information | |
| School type | Public high school |
| Established | 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 |
| Colors | 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 |
Theodore Roosevelt Senior High School | |
  Location within the District of Columbia | |
| Built | 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] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | December 3, 2018 |
| Designated DCIHS | September 27, 2018 |
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
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), cosmologist, National Medal of Science 2005 for his research in Big Bang nucleosynthesis, and the prediction of the temperature of cosmic background radiation.[11]
- Bertie Bowman (1931–2023), hearing coordinator of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations[12]
- Lennard Freeman (b. 1995), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League[13]
- Charlene Drew Jarvis (b. 1941), educator and former scientific researcher and politician[14]
- Shirley Ann Jackson (1964), physicist and the18th 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).[15]
- Robert P. Kogod (born 1932), business executive and philanthropist[16]
- Bowie Kuhn (1926 –2007), Major League Baseball Commissioner[17]
- Ted Lerner (1925–2023), principal owner of the Washington Nationals[18]
- Van McCoy (1940-1979), record producer, arranger, songwriter, singer, and member of Van McCoy & the Soul City Symphony [19]
- Phil Perlo (1935–1993), football linebacker with the Houston Oilers of the American Football League[20][21]
- Abe Pollin (1923–2009), owner of the Washington Bullets, Washington Capitals[22]
- Sharon Pratt (Sharon Pratt Kelly, Sharon Pratt Dixon), 1961 – DC politician (Mayor of DC, 1991 to 1995)[23]
- Diane Rehm, 1954, American public radio talk show host[24]
- Bill Smith, former MLB player (St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies)[25]
- Kate Smith (1907–1986), singer, attended Business High School—likely class of 1924.[26]
- Irvin Yalom, born 1931, existential psychiatrist, emeritus professor of psychiatry at Stanford University, author of fiction and nonfiction.[27]