Our History

Recognizing that young low-income Latino boys were falling behind in Washington, D.C.’s public schools and failing to graduate from high school, the Brothers District of Eastern North America (DENA) and St. John’s College High School founded the San Miguel School in 2002.

Our founders realized that access to a high-quality education in middle school would provide opportunities for future success. First established in the basement of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in D.C. 's Columbia Heights neighborhood, San Miguel began its mission with just six students. Outgrowing this space in less than a decade, San Miguel moved to its current location and now operates at full student capacity with about 90 students each year.

St. John Baptist de La Salle founded the Brothers of the Christian Schools in the late 17th century with a mission to educate the children of the poor and working class. Today there are close to 1,000 schools and educational centers, as well as children and family services programs, in 80 countries educating nearly 1 million students around the world. San Miguel is one of four Miguel-model schools sharing a mission as part of DENA. San Miguel School is also part of the NativityMiguel network of schools that educate thousands of economically disadvantaged children nationwide. NativityMiguel schools embody daily the Christian Brothers’ charism: “to provide a human and Christian education to the young, especially the poor.”