A Building That Speaks to Us

I've seen what happens when people who call the shots have little regard for history.

The landmark Dunbar High School at First and N Streets NW -- the nation's first public high school for African Americans and the alma mater of many notable 20th-century figures -- was thoughtlessly demolished. (I'm still bent out of shape about that.)

Dunbar was dismissed as a neighborhood shrine not worth keeping around for the sake of sentimental old-timers.

Better to reduce these old structures to rubble to make way for the new, went the thinking. As far as those decision makers were concerned, the only D.C. history worth respecting was the history they were making.

Becton writes in his book that Stevens was one of two schools slated to be gutted and rebuilt in a way that preserved its outward appearance. That assurance never materialized in a tangible form.

Today's pledge is even gauzier. Regarding Stevens, "All options are on the table," said Sean Madigan, a spokesman for Neil O. Albert, deputy mayor for planning and economic development. Madigan told The Post that there would be meetings with the community to discuss possibilities for the property's reuse.

Define "community."

In D.C.-speak, that includes the developers salivating at the prospect of getting their hands on prime downtown real estate.

Will their voices be heard over others in the Stevens community -- parents, teachers and neighbors in the West End? Susan Trinter, editor of the Foggy Bottom News, wrote a sympathetic piece last February after getting word about the intended closure of Stevens, the only public elementary school in the neighborhood. She noted strong community support for Stevens as a living landmark and a legacy the city should treasure.

That point is not lost on Rhee. But the schools chief, in response, cites the school's academic performance; only 27 percent of Stevens students tested proficient or better on the D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System math exam last year.

Rhee wants Stevens students and some teachers to transfer to Francis Junior High School, where pre-kindergarten through eighth grade will be expanded.

Every member of my family also attended Francis. The issue is not Stevens vs. Francis, at least not for me.