User:Krasmussen010/LowellSchool

Lowell School is an independent, co-educational preschool through 8th grade school located in the Colonial Village neighborhood of Washington, D.C.

School history
Lowell was founded in 1965 by Judith Grant and Susan Semple. It began as nursery school in the basement of Cleveland Park Congregational Church at 34th and Lowell Streets, N.W. The annual tuition was $325. Gail Shandler joined the Lowell staff in 1966 and went on to become the school's first director. In 1975 the school added a kindergarten. Growing enrollment caused the school to move in 1978 to the Sixth Presbyterian Church on 16th and Kennedy Streets, N.W., making it one of the first independent schools to be located on the east side of Rock Creek Park.

In 1983, 1st grade was added. In 1984, in addition to adding 2nd grade, the Parents Association was formed. In 1985 Annual Giving was instituted in order to fund financial aid to improve financial accessibility. The Lowell library opened in 1986 with 400 volumes, and today it holds 10,000 volumes. In 1987 Lowell expanded to 3rd grade, and a year later Abigail Wiebenson, formerly the head of the lower school at Georgetown Day School, became the second head of school. Finally, in 1989 Lowell purchased the Himmelfarb mansion at 16th and Decatur Streets, N.W. and moved into its own building in October of that year.

In the 1990s Lowell was accredited by the Association of Independent Maryland Schools, moved to its present Kalmia campus and expanded through 5th grade. In 2001 the first 6th grade class was added. In 2007 Lowell appointed its third head of school, Debbie Gibbs, who had been the assistant head at Marin Country Day School in California. Debbie Gibbs announced her retirement in 2016.

Lowell has expanded to include a middle school, having added 7th grade in 2011 and 8th grade in 2012. In the fall of 2014 the Parkside Building renovation was completed, and currently houses the middle school.

Campus
Lowell School occupies a historic campus with three buildings, two playgrounds, an athletic field, and a stream. The main building contains Primary school classrooms, the Pre-Primary School rooms, a gym, a creative movement space, a swimming pool, a library and Pre-Primary Book Nook, two art workshops, and a dance studio. The second building, Parkside, which is next to Rock Creek Park, holds middle school classrooms and a theater. Marjorie Webster House, another building bordering Kalmia Road, houses various administrative offices, including the Admissions Office, and a creative woodshop. A fourth building (Frazier, a former dormitory) was torn down in 2016.

The 8 acre campus bordering Rock Creek Park has a long history. Records show that the property was a working farm called Clouin Course in the 1840s. Its history still exists on the campus: a 150-year-old spring house with a small pond beside it. Today the 8 acre and the stream which the school daylighted soon after acquiring the property are used as an outdoor classroom where students learn how to grow vegetables, and observe and care for the environment.

In 1928, the property became The Marjorie Webster School of Expression and Physical Education, which later became known as Marjorie Webster Junior College, a two-year, private junior college for women. The school operated until 1971. Six years later, the property was purchased by the United States Fire Administration to house the new National Fire Academy.

In 1978, while the property was still vacant, a more suitable location was found for the National Fire Academy and other elements of the U.S. Fire Administration. The property was subsequently transferred to Gallaudet University, which made it a satellite campus. In 1997, the property was acquired by Lowell School. The buildings were once again renovated, and the school moved in at the start of the 1999 school year.

The campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.