Woodrow Wilson High School (Washington, D.C.)

Woodrow Wilson High School is a secondary school in Washington, D.C. It serves grades 9 through 12, as part of the District of Columbia Public Schools. The school is located in the Tenleytown neighborhood, at the intersection of Chesapeake Street and Nebraska Avenue NW. It primarily serves students in Ward 3, although nearly 30% of the student body live outside the school’s boundaries.The school building, built in 1935 and extensively renovated in 2010–2011, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. The school was named for Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, who was not only a highly regarded academic but the only president to have earned a PhD. The school's motto, "Haec olim meminisse juvabit," is a Latin phrase from Virgil's Aeneid; after a storm, Aeneas tells his men that "In days to come, it will please us to remember this."HistoryEarly yearsWoodrow Wilson High School was built on a patch of land acquired in 1930, known by the neighboring Tenleytowners as "French's Woods". In March 1934, the D.C. commissioners awarded the contract to build Wilson to the lowest bidder, McCloskey and Co of Philadelphia. It was built for a total cost of $1,250,000.