History

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.