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AGC of DC Sees Phelps School Open for Business

The ambitious, state-of-the-art school is a stand-alone public high school devoted to the construction industry.  “This futuristic school marks the launch of a new era of high-tech construction instruction in the District,” said DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Phelps graduates can look forward to well-paying jobs that can’t be outsourced and trades that can never be taken away.”  Phelps first opened in 1934 was closed in 2002 because of a lack of funding.   The $63 million renovated school now features state-of-the-art classrooms for electrical wiring, carpentry and computer programming and has simulators for training on construction equipment. Phelps was a design-build renovation with Turner Construction Co. and DC Solutions (Fanning Howey Architects, A1-Construction, Bryant Mitchell Architects, and Delon Hampton and Associates).  The building also meets the U.S. Green Building Council's Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.  Phelps is starting with just a class of ninth-graders and will add a grade each year until it’s a full, four-year high school with an expected 600 students. The school will prepare students for both college and trades using construction as the thematic approach to their education.  Pamela Murray Johnson, Turner Construction Co.’s project manager at Phelps, said construction companies nationwide are pushing for more schools like Phelps because workers with the right skills are hard to find. City officials said they expect construction jobs to continue to increase, particularly as green architecture becomes more popular.