Spotlight on Rising Generations: Bishop Walker School Alumnus Jordan Dunstan

Spotlight on Rising Generations: Bishop Walker School Alumnus Jordan Dunstan

The Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys, a ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, is a transformative community, the type we are working toward by making rising generations a priority. While Bishop Mariann does not name schools specifically in her article on ministry among rising generations from last fall, it is precisely Episcopal school communities like the Bishop Walker School that help nurture and develop our future generations. Today, we share just one example of the positive impact our schools make every day, the story of Jordan Dunstan, a former student at BWS with a promising future.

The Bishop Walker School formally opened in 2008 as the Episcopal Diocese of Washington’s response to the serious educational challenges facing African American boys in the low-income communities east of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC. Tuition-free and named in honor of the first African American bishop of the diocese, the school started its first year with a single class of 13 four-year-olds. From that hope-filled start, the Bishop Walker School community today includes students from kindergarten through fifth grade who participate in academic programs that not only ignite their intellectual curiosity but also expose them to ideas and themes critical to their development as student leaders.

This June, the Bishop Walker School welcomed back a shining example of intellectual curiosity and student leadership as Jordan Dunstan, alumnus of BWS’s first graduating class, returned to the community as the 5th grade promotion speaker.

Recipient of the first Bishop John T. Walker Award, Jordan followed eight years of academic excellence in elementary school with more excellence in both middle and high school. At Oxon Hill Middle School, he earned all A’s and received the highest honors possible in math, art, and science–and was named student-athlete of the year for (baseball). Then at Oxon Hill High School, Jordan took part in the Science and Technology Program and graduated with honors in the top 5% of a graduating class of 316 students. He served as President of the National Social Studies Honor Society, Parliamentarian of the National Honor Society, and helped low-income students with the college application process as Senior Captain of the Peer Forward Organization. While achieving all of these academic and leadership milestones, Jordan also completed over 400 community service hours, from baking, packaging, and delivering meals to veterans, firefighters, and those experiencing homelessness to volunteering at Howard University School of Divinity and the Kairos Prison Ministry.

Jordan was awarded $1.1 Million in scholarships and 27 college acceptances, including offers from Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University. Jordan will be attending Morehouse College in the fall as part of the 2026 Howard Thurman Honors Scholars Cohort and the recipient of the Michael L. Lomax Scholarship which fully covers all of his academic and living expenses.

“Jordan and his fellow classmates of the class of 2022 represent the hope at the core of the mission and vision for the Bishop Walker School,” shares Bishop Walker School Head of School Mike Molina.

Join us in praying for Jordan’s continuing journey and for the entire community at the Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys. By investing in our youth, we make the way for a better world.