By Linda C. Lentz
For some, the name "School Without Walls" will conjure memories of the experimental, open-plan schools of the 1960s, some of which were ill-fated. The Washington, D.C., School Without Walls (Walls), however, is a successful 40-year-old public high school on the grounds of George Washington University (GWU), a location that brings with it more than a prestigious campus address. The two institutions also share facilities. So, in addition to the city's resources, Walls's 460 students use GWU's libraries, gyms, auditoriums, and food services as part of an innovative expanded classroom program. If they qualify, they can even graduate with a GWU associate of arts degree along with a high school diploma. The university, meanwhile, takes advantage of the high school to supplement its overcrowded halls during peak hours and to provide a place for graduate students to hone their teaching skills.
When it was established in 1971, Walls assumed the premises of the historic Grant School, a former model elementary school, built in 1882, so past its prime that in 1942 Eleanor Roosevelt criticized its poor condition. Over the years, piecemeal retrofits improved the functionality of the existing masonry building's classic foursquare plan - a classroom in each corner grouped around a central hall. But the structure, blighted by water damage and crumbling plaster, suffered from lack of maintenance, space, and the technological upgrades necessary to catapult the pioneering school into the 21st century. READ MORE >>
