Washington, DC was a segregated city from the 1890s through the 1950s. Black children and white children attended separate schools.  

In 1891, Wilson Elementary School, located at 2428 17^th Street NW, was built to serve African American children. It was named after Henry Wilson, a congressman who wrote the 1862 bill that ended slavery in the District of Columbia.

In 1901, the Morgan School, located at 18^th Street and California Street NW, was built to serve white children. It was named after Thomas P. Morgan, a city commissioner who served 1879 through 1883.

By 1930, the Morgan School building, which served white children, had begun to deteriorate. The School Board voted to build a new school for the white students and named it after John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States. 

As so often happened, after the new school was built for the white students, the African American students at Wilson were sent to the Morgan School, which was still in poor condition. When the Morgan School became overcrowded, the old Wilson School was used as an annex. 

It’s from these two segregated schools, Adams and Morgan, that the Adams Morgan neighborhood obtained its name. 

In the 1950s, racial tensions begin to rise. After a rock throwing incident involving black students from Morgan and white students from Adams left one student injured, principals from both schools met with community leaders to discuss the problem. Several community associations formed to propose ideas that would promote positive change.

In 1954, public schools in the United States were integrated, based on the famous Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education. However, the decision applied only to the states. Since Washington, DC was not a state, a separate case, Bolling v. Sharpe, ruled that the District must integrate the public schools. Although argued at separate times, both cases were unanimously decided on May 17, 1954.

After the schools were legally integrated, white parents in the District began sending their children to private schools. Morgan remained 98% African American. The school lacked books and materials and became overcrowded. Lower grades were on half-day schedules, and the school stopped taking new kindergarten students. The parents saw the inequality and were dissatisfied. They wanted the same improved school environment that other schools had.

Beginning in the mid-1950s, black and white residents, unhappy with the status quo in their racially and economically diverse community, joined together to improve the public schools and provide enrichment programs such as summer camp for students and medical programs for their neighbors.

One such organization was the Adams Morgan Community Council, led by Bishop Marie Reed. In 1965, the Council decided to create a “community school” for their neighborhood.

“No Urban Renewal is involved. Just a community trying and wanting to live together.”  —Adams Morgan Community Council Leaflet

The idea of a community school began during the Great Depression in 1935 in Flint, Michigan.  The idea was to allow the community, not just the school board, to have input into the decisions that affected the quality of education. In addition, a community school would provide health and other programs year round to benefit the neighborhood.

Morgan Community School opened in 1967. Despite initial problems and growing pains, by the 1970s the children were testing better and the community felt stronger. Many innovative programs served the students and the community as a whole.

The District of Columbia School Board allowed Morgan Community School to have “maximum feasible autonomy.” The Principals worked with the parents and the community to develop innovative programs. The school published annual reports to show the community how well the programs were working.

Problems plagued the school when it opened in 1967. Within the first year, most of the white students and a few African Americans transferred out.

The school replaced three principals in two years. Bishop Reed’s death in 1969 left a leadership void, and Antioch College lessened its involvement. There were curriculum problems, teachers were unprepared, and tensions among staff led to a quick teacher turnover.

In 1970, the Morgan and Wilson school buildings were 80 years old. Although the school received the same support and services available to all DC schools, the buildings still deteriorated. In the early 1970s, a Ford Foundation grant provided money for staff development, interior renovation projects, and bus transportation. Volunteers worked on projects to make the interior bright and inviting. Despite these improvements, community support for a complete school renovation began to swell.

Morgan Community School’s innovative programs served the needs and interests of the school community well. Field trips to embassies and museums, a nature center, an arts workshop, and a trip to Cape Kennedy in Florida enriched the educational experience for students by providing hands-on opportunities. 

More than 300 students, adults, and parents took advantage of the school’s evening and extended classes such as driving, typing, sewing, music, PE, dancing, gymnastics, karate, basketball, baseball, cooking, and high school equivalency classes.

When the Morgan Community School building continued to deteriorate, the School Board decided that it could not be repaired. In 1971, the Board hired the architectural firm Fry and Welch to design a new school on a three-acre site spanning both sides of Champlain Street. The name of the school was changed to honor the person who first envisioned the community school. The new Marie H. Reed Community Learning Center was dedicated on Sunday, May 7, 1978.

The new building included space for 1,200 elementary school students. A bridge over Champlain Street connected the West Wing, which replaced the old Morgan School, and the East Wing, on the opposite side of the street. The design featured open floor plans, a swimming pool, an auditorium, a gymnasium, arts and crafts rooms, and underground parking. To further serve the community, the School Board planned that the school would include a public health clinic, a welfare office, childcare facilities, and adult education classrooms. 

The granddaughter of a slave, Marie Brooks was born on April 2, 1915 in Spotsylvania, VA. She lived with her grandparents until age 10 when she moved to DC to live with her father, who was a butler, and her mother.

While in DC, she attended Armstrong and Cardozo High Schools and Howard University. She then studied for the ministry at St. Ann’s Spiritual School in Baltimore. In the 1940s, she graduated, married James Reed, and started her own church, the Sacred Heart Spiritual Church of Faith. In 1953 she was consecrated Bishop.

Marie Reed was dedicated to her community. She would pay a neighbor’s rent or utility bill, bring food or clothing to those in need, and help people find work. Working with other community leaders, she organized summer camp programs, a pre-school, and a nature center.

Believing that all communities should have a say in decisions that affected them, she was instrumental in the formation of the Morgan Community School. Elected the first Chairperson of its School Board, she believed that parents should be involved with their children’s education and that all children should have the opportunity to develop their creative abilities.

Since the 1970s, Marie Reed Elementary has continued to reflect the diverse community that is Adams Morgan. In its first forty years, only five principals have led the school, providing stable leadership that allowed the school to flourish. In 1992, Principal Dr. John Sparrow introduced the Spanish/English dual language program to better meet the needs of growing numbers of students arriving from Central American countries like El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. The dual language program continues to thrive today, serving an increasingly diverse student body. 

Marie Reed has continued to be a hub for community activities and involvement. Today a daycare, health clinic, recreation center, and pool serve the community. Students are able to get a quality education while participating in extracurricular activities. 

By 2013, DC Public Schools recognized that Marie Reed’s building needed major updating, and the mayor and City Council committed the necessary funds. In 2015, Quinn Evans Architects were hired to design the modernization plan. The school was designed to serve 450 pre-K through 5^th grade students. Along with the classrooms and school spaces, facilities used by the community such as the pool, health clinic, and day care center were updated as well.

It was important that the spaces support collaboration, promote interdisciplinary learning, and provide resources to the larger community—all goals of the original Marie H. Reed Community Learning Center. In fact, the original plans were consulted during the 2017 renovation. The new building provides endless opportunities for Marie Reed students and the Adams Morgan community. 

As time goes on, the story of our school will continue to evolve. Where do you think we’ll be in a year from now? In 10 years from now?