Emerson Preparatory School

Emerson Preparatory School
Location
Washington, D.C. United States
Information
Type	Independent College Preparatory School
Established	1852; 170 years ago (1852)
Closed	2021
Head of School	Peri-Anne Chobot
Enrollment	55-75 (grades 9-12)
Campus	Urban
Color(s)	Burgundy and Gold
Mascot	Owl
Website	www.emersonprep.org

Emerson Preparatory School (also known as Emerson) was a small private high school in Northwest Washington, D.C., founded in 1852 as the Emerson Institute. It was Washington's oldest co-ed college preparatory school. The school closed at the end of the 2020-21 school year.

Following World War II, Emerson adopted an academic program providing classes on a term system, in which classes were completed in full during each 4+1⁄2-month term. After graduation, 95% of graduates attended a four-year college, with 5% either attending a two-year college or taking a gap year. The school served high school students from the Washington metropolitan area, as well as various international communities.

The school was located inside the Clocktower Building in Dupont Circle. Emerson had occupied that location since 2019, after moving from a temporary location in the Twelfth Street YMCA Building. Before 2017, Emerson spent eighty years in their own building across from the American Enterprise Institute. Most students used WMATA to get to and from school.

Emerson Preparatory School was a member of the Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools (AIMS).

History[]

Emerson was founded in the District of Columbia in 1852 by Charles Bedford Young, Ph.D., as a school to prepare Washington area boys for entrance to Harvard. It was named for George Barrell Emerson, a noted New England educator, author, and Harvard graduate. After the Civil War the school's graduates began to attend other colleges and universities, and, in 1920, Emerson became Washington's first coeducational preparatory school.

Emerson's school seal features an image of the U.S. Capitol dome and the date 1852. The school mascot is the owl, symbolizing wisdom.

In the two years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, Emerson moved locations twice, later under the guidance of a new Head of School. Much of the teaching staff was let go as the school adopted an online model in response to the pandemic. The school closed at the end of the 2020-21 school year, stating that conditions were not conducive to operating Emerson in a financially sustainable manner.^[1]

Notable alumni[]

• Brian Baker, guitarist and founding member of Minor Threat^[2]
• James M. Cutts, Medal of Honor recipient^[2]
• Kate Grinold, Miss District of Columbia 2008 and Miss America 2009 finalist^[2]
• William F. Gibson, noted science fiction writer and "noir-prophet" of cyberpunk^[2]
• Jesse Root Grant, youngest son of Ulysses S. Grant (attended)^[2]
• Ulysses S. Grant Jr., second son of Ulysses S. Grant (attended)^[2]
• Evan Johns, Grammy nominated rockabilly guitarist
• Jared Leto, Academy Award winning actor and vocalist of the alternative rock band 30 Seconds To Mars^[2][3]
• Bruce Magruder, U.S. Army major general^[4]
• Cat Marnell, socialite and writer
• John Sirica, United States District Judge famous for role in Watergate (attended)^[2]

Academics and faculty[]

Emerson's model placed strong emphasis on small class sizes, typically never larger than ten students,^[5] as well as its use of the term system. The school's academic year was modeled after the British System and had two terms per year rather than two semesters. Courses were completed in full during each 4+1⁄2-month term. Each term's schedule of classes included four ninety-minute class periods per day, five days per week, along with a one-hour lunch period every day. Students were allowed to leave the school grounds in order to purchase lunch from various restaurants located in the Dupont Circle area.

In the average year, Emerson had approximately ten to fifteen teachers. A typical classload for an instructor was two to three 90-minute classes per day. Emerson drew many of its teachers from among the disciplines in which they actually work: it was not unusual for scientists, writers, economists, language scholars, lawyers, and historians to work as teachers. Various teachers were retired in their fields, or early-career and in pursuit of their masters' or doctorate degree programs. John Kiriakou taught at Emerson in the late 1980s.^[6]

Recent Emerson course offerings have included:^[7]

• American Lit: Misfits and Outsiders
• Minority Voices in American Literature
• Personal Finance
• Western and Non-Western Medicine
• Genetics
• Web Coding
• Great Ideas in Western Politics
• Gender Studies
• Civil Law and Legal Reasoning
• Digital Art
• Scientific Illustration
• Advanced Music Theory/Performance

Many classes were requested by students, or designed by teachers on the basis of discussions and interests revealed by faculty and students in a previous term. Emerson's daily ninety-minute class periods provided teachers with time to structure their classes to emphasize discussion, in-depth individual or teamwork, or extended lectures. Many teachers used the extra time for multimedia presentations such as movies or music relevant to the course. Field trips were an integral part of Emerson courses, as classes took numerous field trips throughout the city each term.

Student body[]

Emerson had a diverse student population, with students from all parts of the world, attracted to Emerson's casual environment. It was not uncommon for students to leave larger schools because of social or academic issues, come to Emerson, feel comfortable, and quickly find themselves able to manage previously overwhelming work. Emerson often admits teenagers who struggled in other school settings, when the admissions team is confident that the student will be able to succeed in the nurturing and manageable Emerson environment.

A student had to earn a minimum of 24 units of credit to graduate from Emerson. Emerson was a tuition based school, with tuition hovering around $29,000 per school year before the COVID-19 pandemic, along with a limited number of formal scholarships available each year. Emerson admitted students from a wide variety of racial, ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds.

During its early history, Emerson had sports and drama^[8] teams when it was first founded and later under the direction of Dean John J. Humphrey, the school's headmaster from 1939–1999. While Emerson's main focus and strength since the 1940s was on academics and preparing students for college level work, the school had a diverse offering of student clubs throughout the ensuing years.

Locations[]

Emerson's former location near Dupont Circle, where it was located for eighty years

Emerson first opened at 914 14th Street Northwest Washington DC near Franklin Square between K and I Streets. In 1928, Emerson moved to a new building at 1740 P Street NW between Massachusetts and New Hampshire Avenues. In 1933, Emerson moved to 1525 16th Street NW near Stead Park between Q and Church Streets. In 1937, Emerson moved to 1324 18th Street NW near Dupont Circle between Massachusetts and Connecticut Avenues. In 2017, Emerson moved to a temporary location, the fourth floor of the Thurgood Marshall Center for Service and Heritage. In 2019, Emerson moved to the fourth floor of the Clocktower Building in Dupont Circle (1718 Connecticut Avenue NW).^[9]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Emerson Preparatory School.

• Emerson Preparatory School official website