The newly re-christened Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering Academy will open its doors again this fall, following a six-year close and a $63.8 million renovation.
The academy, formerly known as Phelps Vocational High School, was closed in 2002 due to declining funds and the city's lack of interest in vocational education.
The school located at 704 26th St., N.E. and first opened its doors in 1933. Black students who attended the school were initially trained in the areas of shoe repairing, architectural drafting and general shop. In later years the school would offer training in trades such as horticulture, plumbing and carpentry.
The reopening, however, is a part of a city initiative to bring vocational high schools back to the District.
"When you think of vocational education, you think of wood shop," District Councilmember Kwame R. Brown (D-At Large) told The Washington Post in a May 11 article.
"The 21st-century vocational education is what you see at Phelps," he said.
In response to trends favoring college preparatory high schools throughout the 1990's, many city leaders began to push for the reinstatement of trade or career orientated schools. "Schools like Phelps offer children options they might not otherwise have, every child is not going to college. With the reopening of Phelps and similar schools the children have options of receiving training in skillful areas that will enable them to earn competitive salaries," said Larry Davis, who has been a math educator in the District school system for nearly 20 years.
"There was a time when a lot of people went to high school and learned a trade and worked after they graduated, and that changed," said District resident Nakia Pugh.
Pugh, who plans on sending her son to Phelps for high school, said the school would be a better option her son.
"I want my son to have options, sending him to a school like Phelps will only better position him for college or a job after school because he will be getting a well rounded education that involves experience," she said.
In the fall, up to 530 high school students will have the option to attend Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering High School, according to the District of Columbia Public Schools Web site. The school will offer an upgraded vocation centered curriculum, incorporating a college- preparatory track. The academy will also provide training in high-paying trade fields such as interior design, architecture and engineering.
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