Edmund Burke School
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Edmund Burke School is an independent college preparatory school in Washington, D.C. Located on
Connecticut Avenue Connecticut Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C., and suburban Montgomery County, Maryland. It is one of the diagonal avenues radiating from the White House, and the segment south of Florida Avenue was on ...
NW, two blocks from the Van Ness - UDC metro station, Burke enrolls approximately 315 students in Grades 6-12. Founded in 1968 by Jean Mooskin and Dick Roth, the school practices progressive education: classes and advisory groups are small, teachers go by their first names, and students are given significant independence. The school was named for 18th century British parliamentarian and philosopher
Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...
. "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing," a quote often attributed to Burke, serves as a source of inspiration.


History

Edmund Burke School was founded in 1968 by Roth and Mooskin, who met while teaching at the Hawthorne School, which would close in 1982. Burke first opened in a building at 2107 Wyoming Avenue NW and initially enrolled 17 students. Elizabeth Ely, a teacher at Burke when it opened, went on to found
The Field School The Field School is a preparatory school in Washington, D.C., located in the old Cafritz mansion on Foxhall Road. The school teaches 6th-12th grade, with about 368 students attending as of the 2019–2020 school year. Notable alumni * * (cla ...
in 1972, and the two schools later became athletic rivals. In 1971, Burke's growth prompted a move to 2120 Wyoming Avenue NW. In 1973, the school purchased 2955 Upton Street NW, which it later expanded to add a gymnasium and other facilities. In 2003, Burke earned city approval to expand its facilities with a new building that would increase both size and capacity and now includes new
computer lab A computer lab is a space where computer services are provided to a defined community. These are typically public libraries and academic institutions. Generally, users must follow a certain user policy to retain access to the computers. This usu ...
s,
offices An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...
, middle school classrooms, athletic facilities, a
theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
, and an underground
parking garage A multistorey car park (British and Singapore English) or parking garage (American English), also called a multistory, parking building, parking structure, parkade (mainly Canadian), parking ramp, parking deck or indoor parking, is a build ...
. A new building, dedicated primarily to the Middle School and the arts, connected with the school's longtime home, opened in 2006. In summer 2021, Burke began a renovation to the historic high school building, which will result in a new ceramics studio, renovated space for digital and wet photography, community gathering space, new fitness center, and a lunch servery. Co-founders Mooskin and Roth retired in 1999, and David Shapiro became the Head of School. The current Head of School is Steve McManus.


2022 shooting

On April 22, 2022, a gunman armed with four rifles modified to fire on fully-automatic and mounted with scopes, along with two handguns and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, positioned himself on the fifth floor of an apartment building adjacent to the school. He proceeded to fire at least 239 shots toward the school and other nearby buildings, wounding four people, and breaking glass in the school. During the incident, the gunman posted a video of the shooting on
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and edited the school's
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page to report the incident. About five hours later, police found and breached the apartment of the gunman, identified as 23-year-old Raymond Godfrey Chambers Spencer; they found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.


Profile

Burke enrolls approximately 225 high school students (Grades 9-12) and 90 middle school students (Grades 6-8). In 2022-23, those students represent 65 different zip codes in DC, Maryland, and Virginia and 40% self-identify as people of color. The Class of 2022 attended 37 different colleges and universities. The school employs roughly 70 faculty and staff, and 69% hold advanced degrees. The average class size is 12-14 students, with options for independent study and teaching assistantships. All graduating seniors complete an independent senior project. The school dedicates 15% of its annual budget to Financial Aid and, on average, "32% of Burke families receive financial aid."


Facilities

The school has two buildings, affectionately dubbed "Calvin" and "Hobbes". The school, while physically small in comparison to others in the area, is home to a black box theater, a gym, library, computer lab, ceramics studio, photography studio, and two music rooms. Burke's athletics teams practice at Howard Field (
Howard University School of Law Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the oldes ...
) and UDC Pool/Natatorium (
University of the District of Columbia The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1851 and is the only public university in the city. UDC is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall ...
), just across the street. Burke is also located less than 20 minutes (on foot) from
Rock Creek Park Rock Creek Park is a large urban park that bisects the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The park was created by an Act of Congress in 1890 and today is administered by the National Park Service. In addition to the park proper, the Rock Cr ...
,
National Zoological Park (United States) The National Zoological Park, commonly known as the National Zoo, is one of the oldest zoos in the United States. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution and does not charge admission. Founded in 1889, its mission is to "provide engaging exp ...
, and
Levine School of Music Levine Music is a non-profit community music center serving the Greater Washington DC metropolitan area. Levine currently operates four campuses, in Northwest DC, Southeast DC, Strathmore MD, and Arlington VA. Levine welcomes students of all age ...
.


Athletics

The Burke Bengals compete primarily in the
Potomac Valley Athletic Conference Formed in 1979, the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference is a group of independent schools in the Washington metropolitan area who compete against each other in interscholastic athletics. The conference comprises small independent schools from Maryl ...
(PVAC); and the Burke offers varsity teams in Volleyball, Cross Country, Soccer, Basketball, Swimming, Baseball, Track and Field, Ultimate Frisbee, Golf, and Softball, which has won three consecutive championship titles. Burke has a "no-cut" policy, such that all interested students can have a place on a team, regardless of ability. Varsity teams do require annual tryouts.


Accreditations

*
Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools The Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools is an American nonprofit education organization representing 120 independent schools in the US state of Maryland and the District of Columbia. Based in Glen Burnie, Maryland, it was founded in ...
*
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (Middle States Association or MSA) was a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit association that performed peer evaluation and regional educational accreditation, accreditation of public and priva ...


Notable alumni

* Laura Curran, politician and Nassau County (N.Y.) executive *
Christopher Dyer Christopher Charles Dyer CBE FBA (born 1944) is Leverhulme Emeritus Professor of Regional and Local History and director of the Centre for English Local History at the University of Leicester, England. He was appointed Commander of the Order ...
, politician and gay rights activist also known as Cookie Buffet * Romilio Hernandez, soccer player *
Darko Tresnjak Darko Tresnjak ( sr-cyr, Дарко Трешњак, Darko Trešnjak) is a director of plays, musicals, and opera, and winner of several awards, including the Tony Award. He was the artistic director of the Hartford Stage in Connecticut, United St ...
,
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
-winning director * Ben White, financial journalist *
Zach Cregger Zachary Michael Cregger (born March 1, 1981) is an American actor, comedian, writer, director, producer, and Twitch (service), Twitch streamer. He first came to prominence as one of the three founding members, alongside Trevor Moore (comedian), ...
, director, actor, and comedian


References


External links

* {{Authority control Forest Hills (Washington, D.C.) Private high schools in Washington, D.C. Educational institutions established in 1968 Private elementary schools in Washington, D.C. Private middle schools in Washington, D.C. Preparatory schools in Washington, D.C. 1968 establishments in Washington, D.C. Edmund Burke