National Center for Education Statistics

More than any other school founded after the Civil War, the Charles Sumner School served as the cornerstone for the development of educational opportunities for black citizens in the District of Columbia. The significance assigned to its design and construction was indicated by the selection of Adolph Cluss as architect for the new building. In 1869, Cluss had completed the Benjamin Franklin School; in 1872, he completed Sumner School; and in 1873, he won a medal for “Progress in Education and School Architecture ” for the City of Washington at the International Exposition in Vienna, Austria. Dedicated on September 2, 1872, the new school was named in honor of United States Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, who ranked alongside Abraham Lincoln and Thaddeus Stevens in leading the struggle for abolition, integration, and nondiscrimination. Upon opening, the Sumner building housed eight primary and grammar schools, as well as the executive offices of the Superintendent and Board of Trustees of the