Named for one of the world's greatest composers, the Duke Ellington School of the Arts developed and grew from the collaborative efforts of Peggy Cooper Cafritz and Mike Malone, founders of Workshops for Careers in the Arts in 1968. The initial move into the Georgetown location was in 1971, when it was still named Western High School. In May 1974, in consortium with representatives of DC Public Sc
hools and community groups, Workshops for Careers in the Arts proposed the establishment of a public high school for youth gifted in the fine and performing arts. It was then that the Board of Education approved the establishment of the School of the Arts at Western High School. In July 1976, the School of the Arts was officially renamed the “Duke Ellington School of the Arts,” in living tribute to Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington, the great jazz musician, composer, and native of Washington, DC. In September 2000, the Ellington partnership evolved into the Duke Ellington School of the Arts Project (DESAP) to include the District of Columbia Public Schools, The Ellington Fund, the John F. Kennedy for the Performing Arts and The George Washington University. The goal of DESAP continues Ellington’s tradition of providing high school students with an educational experience that includes college preparatory academics, pre-professional artistic training, and access to the cultural and intellectual resources of the District of Columbia.
