Our Schools

711-B Edgewood, NE
Washington, DC 20017

Tel: 202-635-7171
Fax: 202-635-7172

Director
Julie Ennis

The High Road Schools of Washington, DC opened its first high school in August of 2002.  Due to growth and expansion, The High Road Upper School, dedicated to students with behaviors, spun off from the Academy which continues to serve Learning Disabilities. The High Road Upper School of Washington, DC opened its door on Taylor Street, NW in February of 2004.  At HRUS, we recognize and identify the challenges faced by our students.  We strive to assist them with strategies to make academic as well as social gains.

HRUS offers programming for students earning their DCPS Diploma or IEP Certificate.  Some students may be preparing to take the GED examination.  Students are generally grouped in classes according to their ages, levels of achievement, and required course work.  Students completing all diploma course requirements earn 6 Carnegie Units each school year.

Within the same classroom, the variety of instructional materials is apparent immediately.  In any give classroom, you may readily notice that our teachers use about 5-8 different reading and writing programs and 3-4 different math programs.  The use of different workbooks, textbooks, and computer programs reflects the uniqueness of each student’s academic needs, learning style, and interests.

Our tutorial-based model ensures that each student’s instruction supports their individual learning style.  We start by helping the student master achievable skills.  Once a student has that success, a certain excitement about learning is felt.  Gradually, we introduce more challenging, but never overwhelming, topics.

Small Class Size
A special education teacher and a teacher assistant staff each classroom, which is limited to 12 students.  The small student to staff ratio enables our staff to teach in a manner most appropriate for each student and allows the student to progress at her or his own pace.

Establishing Core Academic Skills
Throughout the morning, the teacher and teacher assistant work with students, individually or in pairs, in direct instruction of the core skills of reading, writing, and mathematics, toward the IEP and DCPS curricular goals.  An essential tool to help each student continue the process of life-long learning is reading.  Our teachers employ a variety of reading, spelling, and writing methodologies to help the student establish this most basic foundation.

In mathematics, students learn, according to their IEP and DCPS curricular goals, computation skills followed by problem solving applications.  We guide the student along this skills/application sequence by gradually introducing him or her to more demanding material.  At every age, we emphasize math applications essential for adult life, such as time and money management.

Afternoon instruction includes content area classes in science, social studies, physical education and health, and art, as dictated by DCPS course scope and sequence and by the student’s IEP outcome.  A student may earn Carnegie Credits and work toward completion of a (1) High School Diploma, (2) High School Certificate at age 21, or (3) High School Certificate prior to age 21.

Student Population
HRUS is designed to help male and female adolescents, ages 13 – 21, who have educational difficulties with an emotional or behavioral component.  Many students have a classification of Emotional Disturbance (ED).  Students with other classifications (i.e. mental retardation, ADHD, etc.) show behaviors and social-emotional deficits.

Student Goals
Emphasize academics to prepare young adults for adult, post-secondary life.
Provide continuous positive feedback on building skills and abilities.
Develop identified personal career and vocational plan.
Integrated therapeutic insight and limit-setting to promote healthy living.
Tangible results based on data-driven instructional decisions.

School Calendar and Hours of Operation
HRUS generally follows DCPS academic year calendar.