Best High Schools in Zip Code 20019

Zip code 20019 in Washington, DC is home to 7 high schools serving about 2,700 students across grades 6-12, with five public charter schools and two traditional DCPS schools, and the area is characterized by significant academic challenges relative to the rest of the district. If you are looking at high schools in this part of DC, the most important takeaway is that while every school in the zip struggles with state test proficiency—especially in math—graduation rates are relatively strong, and a few schools stand out for positive trends or specific strengths. Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy has the highest ELA proficiency in the zip at 22.1%, but its math proficiency is the lowest at 1.4% and its graduation rate is just 67.6%. Idea Pcs is the most balanced school: it holds the best current rank among the seven (22nd of 36 DC high schools), has the highest math proficiency at 7.1%, and posted an 87.5% graduation rate, while also being the only school to improve math scores year over year. Ron Brown College Preparatory High School leads the zip with a 92.7% graduation rate, well above the DC average of 78.7%, even though its test scores are low.

Other schools show a mix of results and historical shifts. Friendship PCS - Collegiate Academy is the largest school with 745 students and was the top-ranked in the zip back in 2023-2024, but its ranking has slipped to 25th of 36. H.D. Woodson High School and Maya Angelou PCS - High School both have graduation rates above 73%, but Maya Angelou lacks current test data, making it hard to compare. The most concerning school is The SEED PCS of Washington DC, which has the lowest ELA proficiency (4.4%), the lowest rank (35th of 36), the highest per-student spending ($67,610), and the highest student-teacher ratio (17.1).

The broader pattern is that spending and small class sizes don't guarantee academic success here. For instance, SEED spends twice as much per student as Friendship but achieves far lower proficiency rates. Across the zip, average math proficiency is just 4.0% compared to the state average of 28.2%; even the best school in math (Idea Pcs) is far behind DC overall. Yet four schools exceed the state graduation rate, and Ron Brown proves that high graduation outcomes are possible. The consistent decline in school rankings between 2023-24 and 2025-26, combined with the fact that not a single school improved its relative standing, suggests these schools face persistent structural challenges. For parents, the most practical takeaway is to look beyond a single metric: Idea Pcs is the most balanced choice, Ron Brown is the graduation leader, and Cesar Chavez is the literacy leader, but no school in this zip is academically strong in absolute terms.