Luke C. Moore Opportunity Academy
District of Columbia Street Academy Senior High School became Luke C.
Moore Academy Senior High School on February 6, 1997, to honor Judge
Luke C. Moore who served as the Chair of the School’s Board of Advisors
from the Board’s inception until his passing in 1994.
The Academy is a product of a national quest to address educational needs of
youth after the riots of 1968. In 1976, the D.C. City Council recognized the
progress made by the Academy in educating the District’s youth.
Subsequently, D.C. City Council provided substantial financial assistance
when it passed legislation making D.C. Street Academy a part of the
University of the District of Columbia (UDC); yet allowing it to remain a
secondary school. Additionally, in 1976 the D.C. Street Academy became
incorporated as a non-profit Corporation. In 1981, the school became the first
institution of its kind to be fully accredited as a senior high school by the
Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools/Commission on Secondary
Schools.
In October 1987, the Academy transferred from UDC to the D.C. Public
Schools, offering students the opportunity to receive a D.C. Public Schools
diploma along with GED preparatory classes. The school has grown as a
viable secondary educational program seeking to improve and adapt its
program to the needs of inner-city youth who have not been successful in the
traditional educational setting.
Luke C. Moore Opportunity Academy, as it is known today, believes that all
students have the capacity to succeed. The key is to reach each student as an
individual of value, purpose, and integrity. Given this mutual foundation of
communication between student and staff, each student can successfully
pursue his educational and life goals.
Luke C. Moore, with the assistance of D.C. Government, District of Columbia
Public Schools, local universities, community and civic organizations, and
businesses, has grown to a prestigious secondary institution aimed at helping
our “at-risk youth” build character and gain knowledge.
Judge Luke Charles Moore
The Honorable Luke Charles Moore, appointed by President Richard M.
Nixon in July 1972 to the Superior Court for the District of Columbia, served
the city with great distinction and honor for over fifteen years. Prior to his
appointment, Moore attended Howard University and graduated with honors
in 1949. Later, he went to Georgetown University Law School and was
subsequently admitted to the District of Columbia Bar in 1955.
Moore, a change agent and proponent of social justice, dedicated his life to the
care, commitment, and competence of the District’s youth. Judge Moore
devoted a great deal of his personal time steering youth to work hard and
persevere. One of his many endeavors was his support of the D. C. Street
Academy, an alternative education program for at-risk students. Moore’s
efforts afforded young people second and sometimes third chances to continue
their education.
His mission was to “Reclaim Our Youth” by providing mentorship and
educational opportunities to young people within the juvenile justice system.
Although he retired from the bench in 1987, he continued to serve as the
Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the D. C. Street Academy. On May 4,
1997, the school honored this humanitarian by renaming D.C. Street Academy
to Luke C. Moore Academy Senior High School.
Two decades later, in 2017, Luke Moore Academy Senior High School was
designated as one of four alternative schools — rebranded and retooled as
“opportunity academies” in the D.C. school system. The school continues to
focus on supporting and nurturing students from ages 17 to 21 get on a
positive college or career pathway that prepares them for a productive
postsecondary future.