Oyster-Adams Bilingual School

Last updated
Oyster-Adams Bilingual School
John Quincy Adams Elementary School.JPG
Adams Campus
Address
Oyster-Adams Bilingual School
2801 Calvert Street NW (Oyster Campus)
2020 19th Street NW (Adams Campus)


Information
Former namesJames F. Oyster School
John Quincy Adams School
Type Elementary School
Middle School
EstablishedSeptember 20, 1926;98 years ago (1926-09-20)
StatusOpen
School board District of Columbia State Board of Education
School district District of Columbia Public Schools
NCES District ID 1100030 [1]
NCES School ID 110003000160 [2]
PrincipalCarolina Brito
GradesPK-8
Enrollment781 [3]
Language Bilingual (English-Spanish)
MascotTigres
AffiliationInternational Spanish Academy (ISA)
Website oysteradamsbilingual.org

Oyster-Adams Bilingual School (Oyster-Adams or OA) is a bilingual (English-Spanish) elementary school and middle school in Washington, D.C. The Oyster Campus in Woodley Park serves grades PK to 3 and the Adams Campus in Adams Morgan serves grades 4 to 8. It is part of the District of Columbia Public Schools system.

Contents

History

The schools that formed Oyster-Adams date back to 1926. The current form of the school, Oyster-Adams Bilingual School, was created through the merger of the James F. Oyster School and the John Quincy Adams School in 2007.

James F. Oyster School

The James F. Oyster School opened on September 20, 1926, at the intersection of 29th St NW and Calvert St NW in the Woodley Park neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The school was built over a period of ten months by contractor George E. Wyne at a cost of $250,000. The school was named after Captain James F. Oyster, a member of the D.C. Board of Education. The school opened with 208 students in grades Kindergarten through 5th grade. [4]

In the 1950s the school took part in an experimental language instruction program offering instruction in French, Spanish and German. [5]

The Oyster School's English-Spanish bilingual program started in 1971 and became a showplace of the bilingual movement, attracting visitors from around the world. [6] In February 1983, a seminar entitled "The History and Politics of the Oyster Bilingual School" was offered at the National Association for Bilingual Education’s convention, followed by a tour of the school. [7]

First Lady Rosalynn Carter persuaded national industry leaders to support the Oyster School. [8]

By 1993, the original building had become rundown at DCPS proposed closing the school. An Oyster parent founded the 21st Century School Fund [9] which enabled the replacement of Oyster with a new building, utilizing a novel public-private partnership. This approach involved a land exchange and a bond repaid by revenue from a new apartment complex, the Henry Adams House Apartments, with the project spearheaded by the 21st Century School Fund and developed by LCOR Inc. [10] LCOR and partner Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. will make $804,000 annual payments in lieu of property taxes to the city for 35 years. Those payments will cover the $11 million revenue bond used to plan, design, construct and furnish the new building. [11]

John Quincy Adams School

The John Quincy Adams School opened in 1929 on 19th Street NW, between California Street NW and Vernon Street NW. The school was named after President of the United States John Quincy Adams.

When it opened, it only served white students and the previous neighborhood school, the Thomas P. Morgan School, became a school for African American students. [12] After the passage of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, parents and teachers from the two segregated elementary schools came together in 1955 to implement desegregation. [13] They formed the Adams-Morgan Better Neighborhood Conference and the Adams Morgan name stuck, giving the neighborhood the name it still has today. [14] The Morgan School, located at the intersection of California Street NW and 18th Street NW, was demolished in the 1970s [15] and replaced with the new Marie H. Reed Community Learning Center which was dedicated on May 7, 1978. [16]

The Adams School had a nuclear fallout shelter in its basement. In 2017 a Washington Post reporter and a Smithsonian curator discovered it had been untouched for 55 years and reported on what they found. [17]

Merger

In 2007, the James F. Oyster School and the John Quincy Adams School merged to become Oyster-Adams Bilingual School, a PK-8 bilingual school. Both buildings remain in use with the Oyster Campus serving grades PK-3 and the Adams Campus serving grades 4-8. [18]

Modernization

In 2022 a $1.5 million project replaced two playgrounds and renovated the turf field at the Oyster Campus. Mayor of the District of Columbia Muriel Bowser joined students, school staff, and families to cut the ribbon for the new playground on October 31, 2022. [19]

In October 2022 the District of Columbia Department of General Services issued a Request for Proposals interested in serving as the design-builder for the modernization of Adams Education Campus of the Oyster-Adams Bilingual School. The budget for the project is $55m. [20]

Notable Events

Honors

Affiliations

Oyster-Adams is affiliated with the International Spanish Academy (ISA) Program, an educational outreach initiative of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training of Spain that provides support, consultancy and recognition from the Ministry. [31]

Parent-Teacher Organization

Oyster-Adams is supported by the Oyster School Community Council (OCC), a 501(c)(3) parent-teacher organization made up of parents, teachers and administrators that raise supplemental funds for the school and host community-building programming. [32]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barrie School</span> School in Silver Spring, Maryland, United States

Barrie School is a progressive independent school for students age 12 months through Grade 12 located in an unincorporated area of Montgomery County, Maryland, outside of Washington, D.C. The school is within the Glenmont census designated place, has a Silver Spring postal address, and is in close proximity to Layhill. Barrie School is a nonprofit school with 501(c)(3) status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adams Morgan</span> Neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Adams Morgan is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. Adams Morgan is noted as a historic hub for counterculture and as an arts district. It is also known for its popular entertainment district and culinary scene, centered on both 18th Street and Columbia Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Pleasant (Washington, D.C.)</span> Neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Mount Pleasant is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The neighborhood is primarily residential, with restaurants and stores centered along a commercial corridor on Mt. Pleasant Street. Mount Pleasant is known for its unique identity and multicultural landscape, home to diverse groups such as the punk rock, the Peace Corps and Hispanic Washingtonian communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Columbia Heights (Washington, D.C.)</span> Neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Columbia Heights is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. Bounded by 16th Street NW, W Street NW, Florida Avenue NW, Barry Place NW, Sherman Avenue NW, Spring Road NW, and New Hampshire Avenue NW. neighborhood is an important retail hub for the area, as home to DC USA mall and to numerous other restaurants and stores, primarily along the highly commercialized 14th Street. Columbia Heights is home to numerous historical landmarks, including Meridian Hill Park, National Baptist Memorial Church, All Souls Church, along with a number of embassy buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brookland (Washington, D.C.)</span> Place in the United States

Brookland, also known as Little Rome or Little Vatican, is a neighborhood located in the Northeast (NE) quadrant of Washington, D.C. Bounded by Fort Totten Metro Train tracks NE, and Brookland CUA Metro train tracks, Taylor Street NE, Rhode Island Avenue NE, South Dakota Avenue NE.It is best known for its numerous Catholic institutions, including schools, religious communities, shrines, institutes, and other organizations built and based around the Catholic University of America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Takoma (Washington, D.C.)</span> Neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Takoma, Washington, D.C., is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C. It is located in Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4B, in the District's Fourth Ward, within the northwest quadrant. It borders the city of Takoma Park, Maryland.

The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is the local public school system for Washington, D.C. It is distinct from the District of Columbia Public Charter Schools (DCPCS), which governs public charter schools in the city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardozo Education Campus</span> Public high school in Washington, DC, United States

Cardozo Education Campus, formerly Cardozo Senior High School and Central High School, is a combined middle and high school at 13th and Clifton Street in northwest Washington, D.C., United States, in the Columbia Heights neighborhood. Cardozo is operated by District of Columbia Public Schools. The school is named after clergyman, politician, and educator Francis Lewis Cardozo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petworth (Washington, D.C.)</span> Place

Petworth is a neighborhood of Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. While largely residential, Petworth is home to a notable commercial corridor of shops and restaurants, primarily along Georgia Avenue and Upshur Street, as well as a portion of 14th Street. The neighborhood is accessible via the Georgia Ave–Petworth station on the Green Line of the Washington Metro.

School Without Walls High School (SWW) is a small public magnet high school in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is colloquially referred to by students and faculty as "Walls." The school is based on a concept in urban education that encourages students to "use the city as a classroom," which is the origin of its name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pleasant Plains (Washington, D.C.)</span> Neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Pleasant Plains is a neighborhood in central Washington, D.C. largely occupied by Howard University. For this reason it is also sometimes referred to as Howard Town or, less frequently, Howard Village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park View (Washington, D.C.)</span> Neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

Park View is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. The neighborhood is primarily residential with its main commercial corridor of shops and restauarants located along Georgia Avenue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackson-Reed High School</span> Public school in Washington, D.C.

Jackson-Reed High School is a public high school in Washington, D.C. It serves grades 9 through 12 as part of the District of Columbia Public Schools. The school sits in the Tenleytown neighborhood, at the intersection of Chesapeake Street and Nebraska Avenue NW. It primarily serves students in Washington's Ward 3, but nearly 30% of the student body lives outside the school's boundaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McKinley Technology High School</span> Public high school in Washington D.C., United States

McKinley Technology High School is a public citywide 9th–12th grade high school in the District of Columbia Public Schools in Northeast Washington, D.C. The school, an offshoot of Central High School, originally was called McKinley Technical High School and was located at 7th Street NW and Rhode Island Avenue NW in the District of Columbia. The United States Congress allocated $26 million in 1926 for the construction of the existing building at 2nd and T Streets NE, in the Eckington area. The school is named for William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodley Park (Washington, D.C.)</span> Place in the United States

Woodley Park is a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in Northwest D.C. Primarily residential, Woodley Park hosts a commercial corridor of restaurants and shops located along Connecticut Avenue. The neighborhood is noted as the home of the National Zoological Park, part of the Smithsonian Institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington Latin Public Charter School</span> Charter school in the United States

Washington Latin Public Charter is a school in Northwest, Washington, D.C., United States. It features a middle and upper school, serving grades 5–12.

Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School is a public charter school in Washington, D.C. on 14th Street in the Sixteenth Street Heights neighborhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">District of Columbia International School</span> Charter school in Washington, D.C., United States

District of Columbia International School (DCI) is a public charter school in Washington, DC. It offers an International Baccalaureate education to students in grades 6 to 12. Each student learns in a partial language immersion program in Spanish, French or Chinese.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holy Trinity School (Washington, D.C.)</span> School

Holy Trinity School is a Jesuit-run Catholic elementary school located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC. It is a ministry of Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John F. Cook School</span> Public, primary school in Washington, D.C., United States

John F. Cook School, established in 1867, was a school for African American students in Washington, D.C.

References

  1. "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for District of Columbia Public Schools". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  2. "Search for Public Schools - Oyster-Adams Bilingual School (110003000160)". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  3. "School Profile: Oyster-Adams Bilingual School". District of Columbia Public Schools. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  4. "The James F. Oyster School". The Washington Star. September 10, 1926.
  5. "3d Graders Found Apt In Foreign Languages". The Washington Post. February 14, 1958.
  6. "Two Teachers In Every Class Works Well at Oyster School: Teaching Children in Two Languages Proves Successful". The Washington Post. November 23, 1980.
  7. Ohmans, Patricia (2 March 1983). "'European-Style' School Is Model of Bilingual Teaching". Education Week. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  8. "Rosalynn Carter's Washington". The Washington Post. December 12, 1980.
  9. Keenan Steiner (April 19, 2007). "Oyster School". The Georgetown Voice. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  10. Jack Lyne (June 25, 2001). "Public-Private Creativity Funds New D.C. School without Tax Dollars". Site Selection. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  11. Susan Straight (March 9, 2002). "High-Rise, Elementary Provide Lesson in Partnership". The Washington Post.
  12. "Building a Better Neighborhood: Roads to Diversity: Adams Morgan Heritage Trail". Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  13. "Adams Morgan Day to mark 40th anniversary with a focus on history, art, community". theDCline. Sep 8, 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  14. "D.C.'s Adams Morgan neighborhood is long on history and charm". Washington Post. 2023-07-06. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2024-10-03.
  15. Klein, Ezra (July 18, 2006). "For DC Readers". The American Prospect. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  16. "Morgan to Reed: A Journey Forged by Community". Story of our Schools. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  17. Monica Hesse (October 18, 2017). "This nuclear fallout shelter was untouched for 55 years. It might come in handy now.: What we found when we ventured into a time capsule from our last era of doomsday anxiety". The Washington Post.
  18. "Las Raíces Bilingües (the Bilingual Roots) de Oyster-Adams". The Story of Our Schools. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  19. "Mayor Bowser to Cut Ribbon on New Playground at Oyster-Adams Bilingual School". Washington, DC Executive Office of the Mayor. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  20. "DCAM-22-CS-RFP-0015-DESIGN-BUILD SERVICES FOR ADAMS EDUCATION CAMPUS (OYSTER-ADAMS BILINGUAL) SCHOOL MODERNIZATION". Washington, DC Department of General Services. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  21. "Celebrities Attend Kalorama Meeting". The Washington Post. December 16, 1941.
  22. "Lack of Volunteers Delays D.C. Registration for Sugar: 149,680 Get Sugar Ration Books". The Washington Post. May 5, 1942.
  23. "Where the Meaning of America Is Learned: Aliens Study to Be Citizens At Americanization School". The Washington Post. Jan 31, 1965.
  24. "Mrs. Carter, Education Chief Visit Bilingual Oyster School". The Washington Post. May 8, 1980.
  25. Doug Struck (Nov 11, 1996). "DAR Takes D.C. Schoolchildren Back in Time: Trip to Plymouth Is Part of Organization's Effort to Make Its Mark on Community". The Washington Post.
  26. "Colombian Singer Shakira Reads To Oyster-Adams Bilingual Elementary School Students". PoPville. January 19, 2009. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  27. "Michelle Obama and Margarita Zavala reading to schoolchildren". UPI. March 4, 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  28. "U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education to Visit Bilingual School in Washington, D.C. for "Raise the Bar: Lead the World" Tour". U.S. Department of Education. March 4, 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  29. Hinojosa, Rubén (16 October 2003). "TRIBUTE TO OYSTER BILINGUAL SCHOOL; Congressional Record Vol. 149, No. 145". Congress.gov. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  30. "Oyster-Adams Bilingual School - Washington, DC". National Blue Ribbon Schools Program. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  31. "Programas en EE.UU. International Spanish Academy Program". Ministerio de Educación, Formación Profesional y Deportes - Gobierno de España. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  32. "Oyster School Community Council Inc: Form 990-R for period ending August 2010". ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Retrieved 15 October 2024.