Washington, D.C., opens an all-male high school.WUSA-TV reports that Ron Brown College Preparatory High School opens today with more than 100 freshmen. The school will add an additional grade level in succeeding years, and eventually have an enrollment of 600 students in grades nine to 12.
The program, which was called "Empowering Males High School" in its early planning stages, places significant emphasis on humanities and classical languages.
"Academic programs will place heavy emphasis on reading, writing, and classical languages like Spanish and Latin, as well as math and technology proficiency," the district says. "The school will also place particular emphasis on college and career programming allowing for school counselors to individualize life plans for each student.
"The all-male, college preparatory high school will have smaller class sizes allowing for lower teacher to student ratios. Additional learning opportunities include community service projects, leadership programs and mentorship programs."
The school is housed in the former Ron Brown Middle School, which has undergone significant renovations to accommodate the high school program.
Parts of the facility's academic and multipurpose wings were demolished and modernized, according to the District of Columbia's Department of General Services. The first phase of the project updated the first floor—administration offices, classrooms, library/media center, multipurpose space and cafeteria.
The second phase, scheduled for completion in July 2017, will modernize the second and third floors—additional administration offices, remaining classrooms, auditorium with support spaces, and gymnasium with support spaces.
Video from WUSA-TV: