Petworth's Barnard Elementary Debuts $23M Addition, Ditches Trailer Classrooms

Barnard Elementary School in Petworth officially opened a nearly $23 million addition on Wednesday, finishing off a project that finally clears the campus of the temporary trailer classrooms that had housed students there for years. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Interim DCPS Chancellor Dr. Kim Jackson, DGS Director Delano Hunter, and Barnard Principal Dr. Grace Reid cut the ribbon on the new 21,000-square-foot wing, marking the formal opening of the space just ahead of the new school year.

The addition broke ground on June 13, 2025, after initial site preparation started in early 2024, putting the timeline from groundbreaking to delivery at roughly 14 months, according to the DC Department of General Services. DGS says the new facility includes 12 newly renovated classrooms, a hands-on specials lab, and dedicated special education spaces. The building also comes equipped with high-efficiency HVAC systems, reduced ventilation using IAQP and electrostatic filtration, high-efficiency lighting with low power densities, and low-flow hot water fixtures.

Trailers Are Finally Gone

The project was designed specifically to eliminate the modular trailers that had long dotted Barnard's campus, bringing every student under one roof while expanding the school's capacity by up to 235 students, according to Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George. Overcrowding had previously forced the school to rely on those outdoor trailer classrooms for regular instruction. Bowser said in a statement that the city is welcoming students back to beautiful facilities at Barnard and across the city, adding that students and educators deserve well-built spaces.

Barnard's modernization is being described as reaching a major milestone with the ribbon cutting, though more amenities are still on the way. The school project will include a bioretention pond with an observation deck, a basketball court, and a soccer field, all expected in September.

Built to Green Building Standards

The new addition was designed around LEED for Schools Gold principles and includes green roof infrastructure, adhering to District green building codes and Net Zero Energy Ready standards, according to Ashley McGraw Architects, the firm that worked on the project alongside MGAC, GCS-SIGAL, and the DCPS Capital Construction team. The facility also has a high-performance building envelope and sustainable site and stormwater management features built in.

DGS Director Delano Hunter, who is a DCPS alumnus himself, said delivering the facilities is incredibly special. Design-builder GCS-SIGAL earned Platinum Level safety recognition in the Associated Builders and Contractors STEP Safety Management System in July 2025 while overseeing construction on the Barnard campus. Ryan Walker served as project manager for the effort, with Gracie Bell as assistant project manager.

A Century-Old School With a Citywide Role

Barnard Elementary, located at 430 Decatur Street NW, was established in 1926 in an eight-room building and became one of D.C.'s first public schools to integrate following the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, according to the school. The original 1926 schoolhouse was designed by architect Louis Justement before being rebuilt in 2003.

Today Barnard serves approximately 580 students from Pre-K3 through 5th grade and hosts DCPS's Flagship CES Autism Program, which draws enrolled students from all eight District wards. The school's population is 46% Hispanic and 39% Black, according to DC Public Schools.

Part of a Broader Ward 4 Investment

The Barnard project traces back to a 2021 capital budget allocation, when the Executive Office of the Mayor originally slated $22.7 million for the expansion to increase main building capacity and add early childhood learning space. Since 2015, the District has invested nearly $5 billion in public school facility capital projects citywide, with nearly $800 million of that dedicated specifically to school modernizations in Ward 4.

Barnard's addition fits into a broader wave of Ward 4 elementary modernizations that also includes major capital projects at Dorothy Height, Raymond, Truesdell, and West elementary schools. Ward 4 has received one of the highest concentrations of school facility funding of any part of the city under that citywide investment push.