A new era of learning is coming to D.C.’s old Spingarn High School.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, other city leaders and proud alums of the historic school gathered to “break ground” on what will be the new home of the DC Infrastructure Academy. The program is open to any city resident over the age of 18 and prepares them for what are commonly referred to as blue-collar jobs.
“I aspire to have great training programs. But when residents don’t have good paying jobs at the end, they start not believing in our training and not believing in our training programs and, more importantly, not believing in their ability to get on an employment journey,” Bowser said.
That hasn’t been a problem with the DCIA.
“We have had — with 13 cohorts — a 100% job offer rate,” the mayor said.
The $64 million renovation will allow D.C. to expand the offerings at the academy.
“We can more than double the number of trainees in this new space,” Bowser said. “We will open in 2025 and the new space will also allow us to add an auto bay, which will help us train WMATA technicians, our own DPW technicians.”
Information technology training is also going to be part of the offerings here.
Earlier this year, Southeast D.C. resident Keyania Frazier enrolled in the DCIA and learned not just the skills she needed for her job with Washington Gas, she also learned the things she had to do to secure the job. She had a job waiting before she graduated from the program.
“It’s very encouraging, especially coming from where I come from,” said Frazier, who grew up in Ward 5 but now lives in Southeast. “Sometimes it feels like all the odds are against you.”
D.C.’s Department of General Services will oversee the renovations at the academy.
“We knew that this school had more life,” Delano Hunter, director of the department, said. “We knew that there was an opportunity for the school to continue to educate and prepare the next generation of public servants, of entrepreneurs, of just good citizens.”
He’s also a Spingarn graduate. When the work is done, the academy will include a 2,700 square-foot specialty mechanical lab, more interior classroom space, and a refurbished court yard and social spaces. An exterior training yard is also part of the transformation.
“We’re going to preserve the rich history and legacy of this building,” Hunter said. “We will be sure to preserve the facade, enhance the facade and shore up the building because we know maybe, hopefully, the DC infrastructure Academy will grow into the entirety of the building.”
