Friendship Armstrong Academy
*Friendship Armstrong Academy was dedicated on this date in 1902. This public charter school is in the Truxton Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
With the passage of an act of the 55th Congress, approved March 3, 1899, the school first bore the name Manual Training School No. 2, later changed to Armstrong Manual Training School. It was named in honor of Union Brevet Brigadier General Samuel C. Armstrong. Booker T. Washington made the principal address at the dedication ceremony.
The building and site cost $140,000, and the equipment cost $38,800. During the 1910s and 1920s, the D.C. Commissioners acquired land adjacent to the school. Between 1924 and 1927, an annex was constructed on the south side of the school. The later additions, including the third floor and the adjoining Annex, were designed to harmonize with the original section.
The curriculum was according to the educational philosophies of Armstrong and Washington. It provided training for Black students in various trades based on the belief that "all forms of labor, whether with head or hand, are honorable." Twenty-four instructors constituted the original teaching corps. The enrollment was 342 children, with seats for only 303. The Board of Education recommended an additional building with increased seating and shop facilities to relieve the pressure. With the expansion of the school, the course offerings included academic and technical subjects. The Annex design recognized the practicability of technical high schools, enabling those who did not continue formal education beyond high school to embark upon life equipped with trade knowledge.
Armstrong High School discontinued operating as a high school in 1958. The building served as Veterans High School between 1958 and 1964. In 1964, it served as the Armstrong Adult Education Center. The D.C. Board of Education closed the school in 1996. The Dorothy Height Charter School operated in the building until its charter was revoked in 2015.
The building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. It is currently an elementary public charter school named Friendship Armstrong Academy. The school is on P Street, between First and Third Streets, Northwest. Notable principals include Carter G. Woodson, Faculty and alumni: Jimmy Cobb, Billy Eckstine, Duke Ellington, Lillian Evanti, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Alma Thomas, and Chancellor Williams.
