Myrtilla Miner Building

Myrtilla Miner (1815-1864) was an educator who fought for the rights of Black teachers and students. In 1851, she founded the Normal School for Colored Girls in Washington, D.C. At one point, it was the only school offering education beyond the elementary level for African-Americans in the nation’s capital. That school closed in 1860.

After its construction in 1913 and 1914, the building was known as the Miner Normal School, and it was part of the District of Columbia’s public school system. In 1929, the Miner Normal School was renamed the Miner Teachers College and Black teachers were trained there for 70 years. When the Miner Teachers College merged with the Wilson Teachers College for white teachers in 1955, the new institution’s name became the DC Teachers College. In 1977, it was absorbed into the University of the District of Columbia. Howard University bought the building in 1990.

In 1991, historic preservationists in Washington, D.C. succeeded in getting the building added to the National Register of Historic Places. Their nomination cited three reasons to justify its selection. First, was its role in establishing early teacher-training programs for Blacks and history as a primary source of teachers and administrators for segregated public schools in Washington, D.C., and other southern communities. Another reason was the building commemorated Myrtilla Miner’s contributions to Black education. Third, the building’s architecture had real historical significance based on the significance of its design.

Designed in the shape of an E, the large, brick, three-story structure is an early example of Colonial Revival architecture — a style that did not become widely used for public schools until the 1920s and 1930s

While the Miner building maintains much of its historic integrity, it required full renovation and modernization. The project broke ground on the first day of Black History Month in 2023 and the School of Education began occupying the building in 2024.

The reimagined program co-locates the School of Education (SOE) with the Howard University Middle School of Mathematics & Science (MS2) to provide growth opportunities in a synergistic learning lab environment aligned with the building's historic educational legacy.