Coolidge Senior High School (Washington, D.C.)

To relieve crowding at Roosevelt High School, Superintendent Frank W. Ballou in 1936 proposed building a new high school for students living in Manor Park and Takoma Park. Dr. Ballou suggested that the new high school should be built at Fifth and Sheridan streets NW, and across the street from Whittier School, which had been built in 1925. Temporarily named Northern Senior High School, the building of the school was supported by many Takoma Park, Manor Park, Chillum Heights, and Sixteenth Street Heights residents and North Dakota Senator Lynn Frazier. The finance committee of the Board of Education approved the plan soon after Dr. Ballou's recommendation. The House of Representatives originally appropriated $450,000 for the building of the school, but a Senate subcommittee reduced the appropriation to $350,000, despite protests by Senator Frazier. In 1937, the question of a permanent name for the school was raised. The Manor Park Citizens Association and the Brightwood Citizens Association wanted to name the school for Calvin Coolidge, the only former president without a school named after him. The Board of Education planned to build a two-story brick school with a flat roof. Architect Nathan C. Wyeth changed the design to a modern Georgian style. Jeffress-Dryer Inc. won the bid to build the school, and construction began in 1938. The original plans called for one boys' gymnasium and one girls' gymnasium. the District's Board of Commissioners agreed to appropriate an additional $16,000 in order to build the girls' gymnasium. Construction was completed in February 1940, at a cost of $1,500,000. Coolidge opened its doors on September 23, 1940. During its first school year, Coolidge had 31 teachers, The school has an adjacent track and football field, likely constructed around the same time as the original school building. == Admissions ==

Takoma is in the school's attendance boundary. Demographics Coolidge High School had 561 students enrolled during the 2020–2021 school year. Of these students, 65 percent were black, 33 percent were Hispanic/Latino, and 1 percent were multiple races. ==Curriculum==

Coolidge High School offers Advanced Placement courses in science, English, math, and history. It has an art room, a media center, a computer lab, and a science lab. In 2010, the school's graduation rate was 95%, and 47% of graduating students registered at a college or university in the following fall semester. == Extracurricular activities ==

Athletics The school's athletic teams are named the Colts. Coolidge was the first high school in the District to require physical education classes five period per week. Because the school was so new, it could not organize any athletic teams in time for the 1939–1940 school year, but it did have teams organized for the 1940–1941 school year. In December 1940, The Colts' first basketball game was played against Woodward Prep. Because the delivery of its basketball hoops was delayed, the game was played at a local Y.M.C.A. Coached by the former head coach of Anacostia High School, Julian Colangelo, Coolidge beat Woodward Prep, 42 to 19. Coolidge also won its second-ever basketball game, winning an away game against Briarley Military Academy by a score of 25 to 17. Coolidge's third basketball game was the first game played in its own gymnasium; it was a 19-to-12 win against Anacostia High School. The Colts first baseball team played its first game in April 1941, playing against Briarley Military Academy. Coolidge lost the game 13 to 7 after committing six errors and walking nine batters. Coolidge lost its first game 27 to 0 against John Handley High School. Coolidge played its second football game, and its first home game, against National Training School. Coolidge won the game 7 to 6. The 1946–1947 school year was particularly successful at Coolidge, with the school's baseball, basketball, football, golf, rifle, and archery teams all bringing in District championships that year. After years without a stadium, the District's Board of Education and the District's Board of Commissioners approved construction of a stadium behind the school at Third and Sheridan streets in 1945. The land was owned by the federal government. Coolidge did not want to build a stadium on federally owned land so it would not have to share ticket revenue with the federal government. President Harry Truman cut the stadium's construction from the District's 1952 budget in order to keep the District's budget balanced. The District's Board of Commissioners approved a 1955 budget that included Coolidge's stadium. Congress ended up appropriating funds for the stadium's construction in the 1955 budget. In 2007, Coolidge opened its new football field, including a digital scoreboard, a press box, and a new public-address system. In 2010, Coolidge hired Natalie Randolph as its football coach, making her the only female head football coach in the nation. Randolph had previously played wide receiver for the D.C. Divas women's professional football team. Randolph also teaches environmental sciences. ==See also==