Duke Ellington School of the Arts

Duke Ellington School of the Arts is a 9-12 campus of medium-sized scale in Washington, District of Columbia, overseen by District of Columbia Public Schools, serveing 589 students in grades 9 through 12.

Duke Ellington School of the Arts is one of 117 schools operated by District of Columbia Public Schools, a district that works with 52,030 students overall.

On the student-mix side, Duke Ellington School of the Arts shows that the largest single group is Black, at 66% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school logs 14% White, 14% Hispanic, 4% multiracial. By comparison, District of Columbia as a whole is about 42% Black, so the school skews considerably more Black than its surroundings.

Looking at school resources, Staff filings list 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 28.1:1 students per teacher. The state averages around 11.2:1, so this campus is higher than the state norm typical.

Around the school, ACS estimates for District of Columbia put median household income runs about $109,870, 64% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 12% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Across District of Columbia's 247 public schools (combined enrollment of about 94,385 students), Duke Ellington School of the Arts is one campus in the mix.

Hardy MS is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Duke Ellington School of the Arts.

The campus sits in a city-core setting.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count edged up 4%: 566 students in 2018 compared to 589 in 2025. Over the same period, the Black share declined from 74% to 66%. The student-to-teacher ratio narrowed from 94.3:1 in 2018 to 28.1:1 today.

Inside the community feed, members of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts community share and discuss sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Contributors range from current parents to recent graduates and teachers.