- McKinley Technology High School
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McKinley Technology High School is a public city-wide 9-12th grade high school in the District of Columbia Public Schools in northeast Washington, D.C.. The school was originally an off shoot of Central High School (now Cardozo Senior High School), was called McKinley Technical High School and was located at 7th and Rhode Island 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 originally named for William McKinley, the 25th President of the United States.
The school was exclusively for white residents of the City of Washington until integrated with other DC schools by an Executive Order by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in June 1954. The school underwent a rapid change in the ethnic groups attending the school, similar to other schools in Washington, DC, and was a majority African-American school by 1960. The school continued to offer outstanding programs in printing, automotive technology, and other technical fields. In 1965, the school's football field was a secret emergency landing area for President Johnson in the event of a national emergency or attack on the U.S. By the late 1960's, Tech's boys basketball teams, nicknamed the "Trainers", coached by the late McKinley Armstrong, reached national prominence, winning city, league and even parochial school invitational tournaments. The school had a televison production program taught out of the Lemuel Penn Center in the 1970's. Its quiz teams during that era, fared well on America's longest running television quiz program, "It's Academic".
Enrollment fell from a peak of 2400 in the late 1960s to approximately 500 in the mid-1990s. The school was selected for closure during the period of the congressionally authorized financial control board. The school was shuttered in June 1997.
During the mayoral election campaign of 1998 then Chief Financial Officer Anthony A. Williams promised the city a technology focused high school to connect city youth with the growing technology basis of the Washington metro area economy. After assuming the position of Mayor in January, 1999 planning began on a school that did not have a decided location. In 2000 a decision was made to place the new school in the closed McKinley facility. Plans at that time included placing incubator companies in the facility and using the facility for professional development for the DC Public Schools and growing charter schools movement. In July 2001 opening was delayed from 2002 to 2003. In January 2002 Daniel Gohl assumed the role of Founding Principal, coming from the Science Academy of Austin in Austin, Texas. In October, 2002 the DC School Board delayed opening again to September, 2004. Another reason they closed was to renovate the older campus and to modernize the school. They thought a technology school should look top of the line. The school reopened on September 1, 2004 with grades 9 and 10. On August 28, 2006 the school had a complete program with grades 9-12 and an enrollment of 800 students.
Notable Alumni
- Tony Jannus - Early aviator.[1]
Poet and author Kenny Carroll, former director, DC WritersCorps
Pastor Rick Alexander - Minor league pro football Hall of fame 2007, coach in DC Inter high at Ballou, Mckinley, spingarn, HD woodson, Founder of the New Dawn Christain Family Center
John Mauchly, inventor ENIAC computer (first large supercomputer)
Earle Eldridge, automobile writer, USA Today
LaJeune Hundley, EBONY Fashion Fair model, Miss Cannes Film Festival
Lonnie Perrin, fullback, Denver Broncos
Art Beaty, painter, basketball All-American, American University
Jeffrey Banks, fashion designer
Tim Bassett, forward, New York Nets
Richard Smallwood, director, Richard Smallwood Singers
Ronnie Hogue, first Black basketball player, University of Georgia
Gene Littles, All-American guard, High Point College basketball, ABA Carolina Cougars, NBA g.m./coach
Orlando Vega, forward, Puerto Rican Olympic and national basketball teams "The Michael Jordan of Puerto Rico"
Kevin Tatum, reporter, Philadelphia News
Stan Kernan, all-service basketball player, U.S. Navy, small college All-American, McNeese State
Tracy Singleton, all-time receiving leader, Howard University, USFL
Aaron "J.J." Johnson, trombone player, Mingus Big Band
Billy Martin, Indiana Pacers
Bill Mayo, actor
Anthony Tucker, basketball player, Wake Forest, NBA
Class of 1969 basketball team "Magnificent Seven", four players named Washington Post All-Metropolitan- Bassett, Hogue, Randolph "Apple" Milam, Jeffrey Bossard. Team went undefeated two consecutive regular seasons in Interhigh.
References
- ^ Thomas Reilly. Jannus, an American flier.
External links
Coordinates: 38°54′54.7″N 77°0′16.8″W / 38.915194°N 77.004667°W
Categories:- High schools in Washington, D.C.
- District of Columbia Public Schools
- Washington, D.C. stubs
- Southern United States school stubs
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