Duke Ellington School of the Arts

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The Duke Ellington School of the Arts is a high school located in Washington, D.C. dedicated to arts education. It is named for the American jazz bandleader and composer Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (1899–1974), himself a native of Washington, D.C.

The school educates talented students who are considering careers in the arts by providing intensive arts instruction and strong academic programs that prepare students for post-secondary education and/or professional careers. Arts programs include dance, literary media, museum studies, instrumental music, vocal music, theater, and visual arts; academic programs include English, social studies, world languages, mathematics, and science.

The school developed from the collaborative efforts of Peggy Cooper Cafritz and Mike Malone, founders of Workshops for Careers in the Arts in 1968. By 1974 this workshop program had grown to become the Duke Ellington School of the Arts at Western High School, an accredited four-year public high school program combining arts and academics.