D. there is a lot of controversy in the world. C.
Education policy.
But there are also some accepted truths, including the old dunba high school in the city.
Dim, dark, almost no window Highrise —
Not built to stimulate learning.
"The building is built like a prison," said principal Stephen Jackson . ". Now the 1970s-
The Era behemoth is empty, waiting for Jackson and a series of D. C.
Officials and alumni
Including Mayor Vincent C.
Gray, class 1959-
Ready to cut the ribbon in the new dunba next door on Monday.
The $0. 122 billion building was built around the central armory with windows soaringFull of air.
For a school once called the nation's most prominent black public high school, it seems hopeful, but the school has been in trouble for decades.
Founded in 1870, Dunbar is a young preparatory high school for people of color and the first African-American public high school in the United States.
It has trained generations of black leaders in the fields of law, education, science, engineering and civil rights.
But because schools are integrated
Class families moved to the suburbs and dunba did not get rid of the internal problems that plagued so muchcity schools.
6 of the 10 students in the number of students graduated on time, less than 1
Third, proficiency in reading and mathematics.
New building
On the first and Northwest N Streets, from 1917 to 1977, where Dunbar lived-
Designed to motivate students by connecting them to the past.
The theater features a restored Steinway piano, which was used in Dunbar a century ago.
The armory is home to the distinctive image of the school's eponymous poet, Paul Lawrence Dunbar.
The names of influential alumni are engraved on hundreds of silver floors embedded throughout the school: Pioneer Doctor Charles Drew;
Edward Brook III, the first African-American to be elected president of the United States. S. Senate;
Eleanor Holmes Norton, the congressional representative of the region.
Some panels are left empty, which is a message for students to tell them that they can also do something great.
"We let the students know that one day the empty plaque will be you," Jackson said . ".
New dunba, like many D. C.
The school buildings rebuilt in recent years have all kinds of energy.
Efficient functions from geothermal heating to solar panels.
There's a sparkling gym, an eight
Swimming pool and gym.
The classroom is full of apartments.
Screen TV, interactive whiteboard and digital projector.
But perhaps the most important feature of the new building is the simplest: the walls.
Old dunba was built in the middle.
There is no 1970 of the wall to separate the classroom.
The popular concept of "openness" at the time brought confusion, noise and distraction to generations of teachers and students.
Over the next few months, there will certainly be a discussion about whether and how to fill the new space in dunba.
The school was built to accommodate 1,100 students.
Far more than 500 people attended last year.
But now, the Dunbar community is celebrating.
School officials and alumni plan a week
Starting with the ribbon, a long commitment to daily travel and activities
Cut 3: 30 p. m.
Monday, including a speech by comedian Bill Cosby on Wednesday afternoon.
"In a few hundred years, they're going to talk about what we're doing here," Jackson said . ".
"It's great to be part of history.