# Edmund Burke School

Edmund Burke School is an independent college preparatory school in Washington, D.C. Located on Connecticut Avenue NW, two blocks from the Van Ness - UDC metro station, Burke is home to a middle school (grades 6-8) and high school (grades 9-12).
Founded in 1968 by Jean Mooskin and Dick Roth, the school practices progressive pedagogy: classes and advisory groups are small, teachers go by their first names, and students have significant independence.
The school was named for 18th century British parliamentarian and philosopher Edmund Burke, who wrote, "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one." These words are often cited as inspiration for the saying, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

## History

Edmund Burke School was founded in 1968 by Roth and Mooskin, who met while teaching at the Hawthorne School, which would close in 1982. Burke first opened in a building at 2107 Wyoming Avenue NW and initially enrolled 17 students. Elizabeth Ely, a teacher at Burke when it opened, went on to found The Field School in 1972, and the two schools later became athletic rivals. In 1971, Burke's growth prompted a move to 2120 Wyoming Avenue NW. In 1973, the school purchased 2955 Upton Street NW, which it later expanded to add a gymnasium and other facilities.
In 2003, Burke earned city approval to expand its facilities with a new building that would increase both size and capacity and now includes new computer labs, offices, middle school classrooms, athletic facilities, a theater, and an underground parking garage. A new building, dedicated primarily to the Middle School and the arts, connected with the school's longtime home, opened in 2006.
In summer 2021, Burke began a renovation to the historic high school building, which resulted in a new ceramics studio, renovated space for digital and wet photography, community gathering space, new fitness center, and a lunch servery.
Co-founders Mooskin and Roth retired in 1999, and David Shapiro became the Head of School. The current Head of School is Steve McManus.

### 2022 shooting

On April 22, 2022, a gunman armed with four rifles modified to fire on fully-automatic and mounted with scopes, along with two handguns and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, positioned himself on the fifth floor of an apartment building adjacent to the school. He proceeded to fire at least 239 shots toward the school and other nearby buildings, barely wounding four people, and breaking glass in the school. During the incident, the gunman posted a video of the shooting on 4chan and edited the school's Wikipedia page to report the incident. About five hours later, police found and breached the apartment of the gunman; they found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

## Profile

Burke enrolls approximately 225 high school students (Grades 9–12) and 90 middle school students (Grades 6–8). In 2024–25, those students represent 59 different zip codes in DC, Maryland, and Virginia and 40% self-identify as people of color. The Class of 2024 attended 49 different colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.
The school employs roughly 70 faculty and staff, and 77% of teachers hold advanced degrees. The average class size is 12- students, and high school students can pursue independent studies and serve as teaching assistants. All graduating seniors complete an independent senior project.
The school dedicates 15% of its annual budget to Financial Aid and, on average, one-third of Burke families receive financial aid.

## Facilities

The school has two buildings, affectionately dubbed "Calvin" and "Hobbes". The school, while physically small in comparison to others in the area, is home to a black box theater, a gym, library, computer lab, ceramics studio, photography studio, and two music rooms. Burke's athletics teams practice and play at Howard Field (Howard University School of Law), UDC Athletic Fields, and UDC Pool/Natatorium (University of the District of Columbia), just across the street. Burke is also located less than 20 minutes (on foot) from Rock Creek Park, National Zoological Park (United States), and Levine School of Music.

## Athletics

The Burke Bengals compete primarily in the Potomac Valley Athletic Conference (PVAC). Burke offers varsity teams in Volleyball, Cross Country, Soccer, Basketball, Swimming, Baseball, Track and Field, Ultimate Frisbee, Golf, and Softball, which won three consecutive championship titles in 2017-19.
In 2023-24, the middle school girls soccer team and high school girls swim team were the PVAC Champions, as were seven individual athletes in swimming and track & field.
Burke has a "no-cut" policy, such that all interested students can have a place on a team, regardless of ability. Varsity teams do require annual tryouts.

## Accreditation

* Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools
* Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools

## Notable alumni

* Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist
* Zach Cregger, director, actor, and comedian
* Laura Curran, politician and Nassau County (N.Y.) executive
* Christopher Dyer, politician and gay rights activist also known as Cookie Buffet
* Annie Flanagan, New York Times photographer
* Romilio Hernandez, soccer player
* Carl Sciacchitano, author and illustrator
* Darko Tresnjak, Tony Award-winning director
* Ben White, financial journalist