Oct. 16, 2001

Breaking Down The Barriers

School Without Walls Principal Dana Bedden Sets High Expectations For Students and Faculty

By Jane Lingo

He’s an educator, mentor, and principal.

He’s the man behind the fine-tuned School Without Walls.

He’s Dana Bedden, a man in charge of 325 teenagers — students he calls talented.

As he begins his third year at School Without Walls, the school begins its 30th year.

Established as an educational program in 1971, the facility located at 2130 G St. in the building formerly known as the Grant School received accreditation as a four-year high school on May 1.

“Boredom is not a problem,” Bedden says. “We try to use the resources of the city as our classroom. We have partnerships with the zoo. Social studies uses the museums as historical venues for the classrooms. We have five humanities teachers.”

Students come from every ward in the District and travel into the city from Virginia and Maryland.

“Our school is part of the DC public school system,” Bedden says. “We do humanities, math, science, and social studies. We require two internships for an actual Carnegie unit (a class for credit).”

Bedden says the newest ninth-grade class will have to complete four years of science or math to graduate.

“It was formerly just three years,” Bedden adds. “We require two additional credits. Of the incoming grade, we are asking for 24.5 credits. It’s not unusual for some of the students to have met all their requirements by the first semester of their senior year so they have freedom to choose. Students come in the ninth and 10th grades, depending on whether they come from a junior high or middle school.”

Classes run from 8:45 am to 3:15 pm. Some students arrive at 8 am and some stay until 7 or 8 pm. There is a full-fledged athletic program, including basketball, track, cross-country running, softball, swimming, golf, and tennis.

“Our partner for physical education is the National Capital YMCA at Rhode Island Avenue and 17th Street,” Bedden says.

School Without Walls also offers art and music programs, which are partnered with the Corcoran Art Studio. One student plays the saxophone, piano, and dances ballet, Bedden reports. Some students write music. Last year, a School Without Walls student won second place in the Black Caucus Essay Contest, sponsored by the black members of Congress.

Students at School Without Walls have made great academic achievements. Last year, there were two National Merit Scholars, one National Achievement Scholar, and four National Merit Commended Scholars.

“We have two students nominated to be Presidential Scholars,” Bedden says, though neither one went through the process.

The students in the middle of GW’s campus receive benefits of being in a large city with a number of universities. Through the DC program HiScip, students can enroll in classes at Howard, Georgetown, GW, and American universities. A GW counselor works with students who sign up for the college courses.

GW’s Graduate School of Education and Human Development provides other counseling services, including family counseling for social, behavioral, or emotional problems.

Graduate students in counseling teach a social studies elective course at School Without Walls. GW medical students tutor students during lunch on whatever subjects need help with. In addition, GW hosts the school’s graduation ceremony yearly in Lisner Auditorium and provides space for various school activities in the Marvin Center, Funger Hall, and other buildings.

Bedden, who started his career in academia at age 25, finds the work at School Without Walls challenging but satisfying. The St. Petersburg, FL, native arrived in DC from across the river from the Fairfax County Public Schools, where he was a high school sub-principal.

The former US Army reservist and athletic director says, “You’ve got to keep the students engaged. There’s a lot of pressure to continue to improve their performance. You’ve got to figure out how to do that.”

But, as Bedden says, boredom is not a problem.

 

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu