Schools in Tenleytown

Tenleytown is a stable, family-oriented neighborhood in upper Northwest DC, Ward 3, known for its excellent public schools and one of the lowest school-choice competition levels in the city. Three DCPS schools serve Tenleytown directly, with Wilson High School — one of DCPS's flagship large high schools — anchoring the secondary options for the neighborhood and surrounding Ward 3 communities. Ward 3 is DC's highest-income ward, with correspondingly strong DCPS school performance metrics and lower rates of charter school enrollment than other parts of the city. Families in Tenleytown often remain in the DCPS system through all grade levels, following the neighborhood school feeder pattern through Deal Middle School and into Wilson High School. The Tenleytown-AU Metro station (Red line) serves the neighborhood directly, adjacent to American University's campus on Massachusetts Avenue. The neighborhood's commercial strip along Wisconsin Avenue NW connects Tenleytown southward toward Friendship Heights and northward toward Chevy Chase DC. Ward 3 families benefit from strong DCPS neighborhood school assignment. However, Ward 3 residents who want specialized programs — IB, STEM, or dual language — should still engage with the DC lottery, as many of DC's most competitive magnet-style programs are city-wide and require lottery application regardless of ward.