U.S. Department of Education bestows blue ribbon status on GW partner School Without Walls.
By Menachem Wecker
When D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty recognized the class of 2011 at the School Without Walls, the nearly 100 students in the room erupted in thunderous applause. Then Mayor Fenty announced that the public high school, which partners with GW, was a 2010 Blue Ribbon School.
“This is really a big deal,” said Mayor Fenty, explaining that there were only 304 ribbon winners of about 95,000 schools nationwide. Convinced, the students let out another loud set of cheers.
Other speakers at the event, which was streamed live online to 248 schools across the country, included U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, D.C. State Superintendent of Education Kerri Briggs, School Without Walls Principal Richard Trogisch and Mark Franklin, the new student body president at the school.
Steven Lerman, GW provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, also welcomed the audience. “When I first came to GW, one of the first things I was introduced to was the School Without Walls,” said Dr. Lerman. “The school is clearly something the university is incredibly proud of.”
Dr. Lerman told the audience assembled in the school’s auditorium that he believes in the “transformational power” of education, like the one provided at the School Without Walls. “Without great schools, you really can’t have a great country,” he said.
Students at the School Without Walls can take college credit courses at GW for no cost, Dr. Lerman added, and they can even earn an associate’s degree while in high school.
In her remarks, Ms. Rhee called the school “incredibly unique” and said it is “absolutely a model for the rest of the city.”
Noting the school’s “unique relationship with GW,” Ms. Rhee said other cities and universities have been asking her office how they can follow the model of the GW-School Without Walls partnership.
Secretary Duncan echoed Ms. Rhee’s comment about the partnership, which he called “an absolute national model.”
According to Secretary Duncan, students can not only save money by getting a head start on their college coursework but also can bolster their confidence by showing themselves that they can succeed in a college environment.
Students at the School Without Walls also have the benefit of hearing frequently from alumni who come back to campus to tell students what college is like, according to Mr. Franklin, the student body president. The alumni often say college is easy compared to the “rigorous” program at the School Without Walls, Mr. Franklin said.
In an interview with GW Today, Mr. Franklin said he hopes to take a class on American politics at GW this semester, in addition to his course load which includes “a lot of Advanced Placement classes.”
Mr. Franklin, who hopes to study political science at the University of Pittsburgh, said he has heard of classmates taking a variety of classes at GW, from psychology to philosophy to history. “Everyone who goes loves it,” he said.
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