Brightwood Education Campus is a public school located in the Northwest quadrant of the District of Columbia.
The original Brightwood School was a two-story brick building[4] built around 1897 at Brightwood Avenue (now Georgia Avenue) and Peabody Street.[2] Some of the land was acquired from the Emory Chapel, and some of the land was condemned from numerous heirs of Betsy Butler.[5] Only white students were allowed to attend the school.[6] Other children attended the Military Road School nearby.[6]
Construction of an extension began in mid-1895 and completed in early 1896.[7][8] The extension increased the size of the school to eight rooms[7] and cost $11,600.[4] The sidewalk in front of the school was paved in 1902.[9]
Two large fires, occurring simultaneously, severely damaged the school building 1912.[2] The fires were discovered at 8 p.m., and it took several hours to extinguish them.[2] Students were temporarily reassigned to nearby West School and Brightwood Park School while Brightwood School was repaired.[2] Upon inspecting the site, the fire marshal suspected arson immediately.[10] One of the fires started under the teacher's desk in Miss H. K. Berne's classroom,[10] and the fire marshal and police detectives interviewed each of the thirty students in Berne's class, but they could not determine who set the fire.[11]
In 1923, the Manor Park Citizens Association passed a resolution requesting the building of a new school in the neighborhood, calling Brightwood Elementary School disgraceful and unsanitary in part because some boys had no other place to eat lunch than the lavatory.[12] Three years later, Whittier School opened for children living in Manor Park.[13][14]
In 1925, the House Appropriations Committee budgeted $275,000 to build a new sixteen-room building to replace the original school building.[15] The plan for the new building included a gymnasium.[16] Architect Waddy B. Wood designed the school.[17] Construction bids were accepted in August 1925[18] and a contract was awarded to the lowest bidder the following month.[19] The new 16-room school opened in September 1926.[20] The old school building was converted into a junior high school for students in grades seven and eight.[21][22]
Further improvements to the school were made in 2003.[23]
As of 2011, 31% of the school's students meet or exceed standards in math, and 36% of its students meet or exceed standards in reading.[3] In comparison, the average for the District of Columbia Public Schools system is 42% for math and 43% for reading.[3]
The school has a science lab and a computer lab.[3]
Most students who live in Brightwood are zoned for the school.[24] As for other schools in the District of Columbia Public School system, children who live outside Brightwood Education Campus' zone may enter the Out of Boundary Lottery for a chance to attend the school.[25]