Scheduled to open in early spring of 2026, the building will house a school for young people with developmental differences.
WASHINGTON, April 21, 2025 –- Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington will host a signing ceremony on Wednesday, April 23, at the construction site of the Conway Education Center, allowing students to add their names to steel beams to mark the next phase of construction.
Since ground was broken at the site in October 2024, a concrete foundation and retaining wall have been completed and utility work begun. With steel erection under way, members of Catholic Charities’ Board of Directors and students will sign three beams that will be used in the construction. After they are signed, the beams will be raised into place by a crane.
The education center, which is being built on Buchanan Street NE in D.C.’s Ward 5, will house the Lt. Joseph P. Kennedy School for children and young adults with developmental differences, and the Child Development Center. Both currently operate in a 1950s-era building on the property.
What: Conway Education Center beam signing ceremony
When: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Where: 801 Buchanan St. NE, Washington, DC 20017
Program: Joining the Kennedy School students will be Catholic Charities executives Jim Malloy, president and CEO; Matthew Putu, executive director of Developmental Disabilities Services; Dr. Cheryl James, principal of Kennedy School; and David DiLuigi, chair, Board of Directors. Representatives from Coakley & Williams, the project’s general contractor, will lead the signing. Members of the Board of Directors will sign from 9-9:30 a.m., and students will sign from 10-11 a.m. At 11:30, the beams will be put into place and there will be brief remarks by Malloy and Putu.
Details: Designed by A Complete Unknown Architects, the education center was developed with input from teachers and school administrators to best meet the needs of children. The building will serve up to 50 students each in the school and Child Development Center.
The $24.1 million project was made possible in part by a $5 million donation from the Bedford Falls Foundation-DAF established by Bill Conway. Additional funding came from other generous donors and sale of other properties, including a portion of the Buchanan Street property.
In early 2026, the Kennedy School and Child Development Center will transition into the Conway Education Center. Kennedy School, a non-public day school, serves children and young adults, ages 6 to 22, with emotional and intellectual disabilities and traumatic brain injuries. The child development center serves children of all abilities ages 6 weeks to 3 years.
Media: The signing ceremony is open to media coverage. For additional information, contact Alexandra Porben of Catholic Charities’ communications department at Alexandra.Porben@cc-dc.org or 202-772-4379.
About Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington
Catholic Charities DC is the largest independent social services agency in the Metropolitan D.C. area. As the charitable arm of the Archdiocese of Washington, Catholic Charities DC invests in communities by providing critical services to hundreds of thousands of people in need throughout the District of Columbia and Montgomery, Prince George’s, Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties in Maryland. The organization works tirelessly to give help that empowers and hope that lasts to those it serves regardless of background, belief or circumstance. For more information, visit www.catholiccharitiesdc.org and follow us on social media @CCADW.