Opening Day on Third Street

The smell of fresh paint was fading and rows of boxes in the hallway were finding homes in the week leading up to opening day at Washington Jesuit Academy (WJA) in Washington, D.C. This is the first Nativity-type school for boys in impoverished inner-city Washington; its goal is to prepare sixth, seventh, and eighth graders for success in high school.

When this newest Jesuit school opened its doors this September 3, a group of sixth graders walked into a wing of the Capital Children’s Museum on Third Street and began a tuition-free, extended-day, extended-year program.

Did we say museum? Well, yes. It was good space: 9,000 square feet in inner-city D.C. that had housed a charter school. After some repairs, painting, and carpeting, the site became WJA’s home and will be for at least two years. “This was a great location,” says president Bill Whitaker. “The subway is across the street, and H Street is a main bus route.” WJA already owns land, a parking lot on North Capitol and K, that will be its permanent location.

The 23 boys who settled into WJA’s classrooms that day are its first sixth-grade class; next year they move up a grade as a new group of sixth graders makes its entrance. When promotions occur in 2004, WJA will then have its full complement of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, an expected enrollment of 75.

The project’s go-ahead came about a year and a half ago from the Jesuits’ Maryland Province; Jesuit institutions in the area, including Georgetown University and Prep, Gonzaga College High, and St. Aloysius and Holy Trinity parishes, lent their support as well.

When Whitaker and John Hoffman, headmaster, started looking for students for WJA, they were seeking those who, though not necessarily up to par academically, had potential and a parent or guardian who would provide the support they would need to succeed. Through their educational experience and contacts, Whitaker and Hoffman knew where to “recruit” at various schools and after-school programs in the area.

The students they tapped came to ten Saturday sessions last spring, giving Whitaker and Hoffman indications of academic skill and what degree of commitment they could expect from the students.

There was summer school after that. The students went to Georgetown Prep for a week of overnights and recreation, then to Gonzaga College High for four weeks of computer classes, skills-building classes, academic projects, and field trips, followed by a week of games, hiking, and crafts at Loyola Retreat House in Faulkner, Maryland.

Then came opening day. Reading, writing, math, science, Spanish, and plenty of study time are starting in earnest, taking place during twelve-hour days.

“I sat in on Bob Wassmann’s reading class the first day,” says president Bill Whitaker. “He tells his students that the average number of books they will read each month will be 30. Jaws drop all over the classroom. ‘OK. Pick up your jaws,’ Wassmann says. ‘I said average. Some of you will be reading more than that.’ Next day, I saw kids all over the school with books out, all different times of the day. That’s what we’re all about here at Washington Jesuit; helping these kids create new habits.”

Washington Jesuit was looking for kids with spirit and potential to flourish academically and found them by scouting after-school programs in the D.C. area.

(Right) Language arts and social studies teacher Matt Ormiston taught for five years in Baltimore’s Nativity school for boys. He will specialize in teaching writing composition and usage–grammar, punctuation, and spelling.

Teacher Scott Hicke, SJ, will be teaching not the three R’s but two S’s—science and Spanish —at Washington Jesuit for three years, his time as a Jesuit regent.

Patrick O’Brien, who lives in Montgomery County, Maryland, is a photographer who particularly enjoys taking pictures of children. When not shooting pics he’s generally on a mountain bike, peddling the great trails of Maryland.

New schools need new everything, including computers and desks, but WJA has received financial backing from the Maryland Province and Jesuit communities in Washington and has attracted foundation dollars: a grant from the William G. McGowan (he founded MCI) Charitable Fund supports the summer program; credit card giant MBNA Foundation set up an endowment for teacher salaries. Other foundations that focus on disadvantaged communities, including Arcana, have also signed on as WJA donors and sponsors.

Teacher Bob Wassmann has taught reading and writing to middle-school students for 30 years. Besides stints in the classroom he will be working with individual students in remediating any difficulties and with fellow faculty developing teaching strategies for reading.

Teacher Rich Pagano joined the Jesuit Volunteers after graduating in May from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia with a degree in biology. His year of service will be teaching art and religion at Washington Jesuit.

Headmaster John Hoffman’s first teaching job was as a Jesuit Volunteer in the early 1970s at a junior high in Fairbanks, Alaska. For fourteen years he taught, chaired the religious studies department, and supervised the community service program at Gonzaga College High in D.C.

President Bill Whitaker served nearby Gonzaga College High for ten years, the last five as dean of admissions and financial aid, before signing on at Washington Jesuit.

Noreen McManmon (below left), assistant to the president, heard about WJA through her husband, Mark, who teaches at Gonzaga High. She has a degree, by the way, from St. John’s Junior College in Belize, a Jesuit school.

Math teacher Rosie MacInnes (above right) taught in the United States and in Africa when she was a Jesuit Volunteer and now brings that experience to bear at Washington Jesuit. She is also working on a master’s degree in math education at Trinity College.

photos by Patrick O’Brien