The Washington Middle School for Girls began as the dream of a group of Washington-based women, members of three organizations: The National Council of Negro Women, The Religious of Jesus and Mary and The Society of the Holy Child Jesus. As educators, businesswomen, and members of religious communities, they wanted to help provide a chance at fulfilling and productive lives for young girls living in Anacostia.
To that end, in addition to the academic curriculum, WMSG incorporates the following programs:
Guidance:
Students are individually encouraged to develop self esteem, personal autonomy, respect for diversity, and sound decision-making skills. The school offers a wide variety of field trips and group assemblies with invited speakers, to help students explore the world beyond school walls. In times of need or special crisis, individual and family counseling are provided, either on-site or at local agencies.
Summer Camp:
Each summer, the school offers a recreational and educational program, free of charge, for all students. Participants enjoy special group learning projects, play team and individual sports, and set personal goals for continuing development of social and academic skills.
High School Support:
Graduates of WMSG are assisted with application and acceptance to highly-rated local secondary schools. Individual students are provided with mentors from the community. They are encouraged to return to WMSG for counseling and tutoring as needed, and to stay involved with the school, faculty members, and the younger students.
Saturday Academy:
This program, run by a professional educator, is otherwise completely voluntary. Attendance is required, and volunteers provide tutoring in a wide variety of subjects. The program offers students an opportunity, in an informal setting, to reinforce their classroom learning and to explore new areas of interest.
Family Activities:
In its early years, WMSG inaugurated a mother-daughter book club for students and family members. That good idea has evolved into a collaborative venture with Life Pathways that provides a spectrum of experiences, some involving mothers and their daughters and others planned for groups of mothers only. The program helps meet a variety of educational, professional and social needs for parents of WMSG students. In addition, in 2006, WMSG launched "Parent Connection: Literacy for Life", whose purpose is to create a meaningful home-school connection designed to increase student achievement, with tips and techniques on how parents can help their daughters read more at home.
School Lunch Program
The Washington Middle School for Girls participates in the National School Lunch Program. In the operation of the child feeding programs, no child will be discriminated against because of race, color, sex, national origin, age, or disability. If you believe you have been discriminated against, contact the Government of the District of Columbia office of Human Rights at 202727-3545 or United States Department of Agriculture's Office of Human Rights, at (202) 720-5964 (Voice & TDD).
All children are treated the same regardless of ability to pay. In the operation of Child Nutrition Programs no child will be discriminated against because of race, color, sex, age, disability, or national origin, religious or marital status.