Beacon House

The mission of Beacon House is to provide children in the Edgewood neighborhood of Northeast Washington, DC with a safe, nurturing, and life-expanding community in which to increase their academic achievement, discover their talents, and to grow into healthy adults who achieve their greatest potential. Our programs focus on closing the education achievement gap - and thus improving the economic trajectories - of children in Ward 5 for whom generational poverty is most persistent. 

Beacon House provides afterschool education and youth development services to roughly 400 children, ages 5-18, annually. From the moment students enroll at Beacon House, as early as age five in many cases, our goal is high school graduation. Our school-year and summer programs provide year-round opportunities for learning and encourage academic achievement.

96% of the children we serve are African-American and most of the students we serve live in Edgewood Commons, an affordable housing complex where the average annual household income is roughly $12,000. 

Despite the significant racial and economic inequities challenging our students, they demonstrate year after year that with support they can and will achieve educational success. From 2008 to 2021, 94% of our graduating high school seniors enrolled in colleges or trade schools.