[3] This influx of freed slaves to the Foggy Bottom neighborhood caused apparent demand for a public school.

The property that provided the grounds for the Stevens School was initially privately owned by Alfred Jones and his wife in 1868.

A pioneering school for African-Americans, it was named for Thaddeus Stevens, the Radical Republican abolitionist congressman from Pennsylvania.

An oral history document at Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives stated that Stevens was located in "virtually an asphalt neighborhood" by 1976.

Moore stated that this program meant that Stevens began to function as "a sort of magnet school for the children of downtown office workers, and it boosted enrollment back into safe territory.

In 2017, the District of Columbia government announced that the Stevens building would re-open as a child development center for infants and toddlers, as well as extra classroom space for Francis-Stevens.

[7] Enrollment for the Stevens School progressed throughout the years, gaining popularity as the population in wards 1 and 2 increased.

Additionally, this report reveals the fact that the teachers taught at both the grammar and primary levels, which is equivalent to a ‘K-12’ educational structure.

[9] The increased enrollment corresponds to the population trends in 1873 as large numbers of freed slaves migrated to wards 1 and 2 of DC.

[10] An investigation was later conducted after the incident and the fire was said to be caused by a buildup of waste that was swept into the radiating surface.

As one of DC's landmarks as deemed by the National Park Services, the Stevens School is still in its original location on Square 73.

Its role of bringing public colored education to an unskilled and overpopulated community provided the inhabitants with opportunity and hope for the American Dream.