 The
Duke Ellington School of the Arts was founded in 1974 to provide professional
arts training to aspiring artists who might not otherwise have the opportunity
to develop their skills. Recognizing that the school would never be able to survive
on DCPS funds alone, the Ellington Fund was formed and formally incorporated
in 1978 to support the school both financially and programmatically. Since its
founding, the Fund has raised millions of dollars, without which the school would
not have survived. In 2001 this unique public-private partnership was expanded
to include the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and The George
Washington University. Together, these institutions constitute the Duke Ellington
School of the Arts Project (DESAP), an independent 501(c)(3) governed by its
own board of directors. Though the Kennedy Center and GW provide tremendous in-kind
resources to the school, they do not generally provide direct cash support.
Ellington offers a challenging academic curriculum, as well as pre-professional
training in eight arts disciplines: dance, instrumental music, literary and
media arts, museum studies, theater, theater technical operations, visual arts,
and vocal music. Ellington serves over 500 students from all wards of the District
of Columbia, including some of its most disadvantaged. Approximately 40% of
Ellington’s student body can be classified as at-risk, while others come
from middle class families. This diversity makes Ellington unique. Racially,
83% of Ellington’s students are African American, 9% are Caucasian, 6%
are Latino, and 2% are Asian.
Because of the school’s dual arts-academic curriculum, Ellington has
far higher proportional costs than an average high school. Mandated pay increases
for teachers in recent years, coupled with stable support from DCPS, have forced
Ellington to cut staff by over 25% (including 11 at the end of last year),
at a time of increasing enrollment. In order to maintain the school’s
comprehensive curriculum and service programs, Ellington must increasingly
rely on philanthropic support from local foundations, corporations and individuals.
Here are some of our accomplishments from the 2005-2006 school year:
- 100%
of 97 seniors graduated, and 99% were accepted to colleges including Pratt,
Harvard, Rutgers, Howard, Berklee College of Music, and Juilliard.
- Ellington
was one of four DCPS high schools (out of 16) to pass the Adequate Yearly
Progress benchmark mandated by the No Child Left Behind legislation.
- Ellington
was one of two schools nationwide (out of a pool of 1,800 applicants) to
win a $15,000 Grammy in the Schools grant to partially fund a new recording
studio.
- The Theater Department’s staging of The Laramie Project won
numerous Cappies nominations, including Best Play and Best Actor/Actress.
The Cappies
are like the Tony Award for high school.
To learn more about this remarkable school, go to www.ellingtonschool.org. | 
