October 2017 DC Public Charter School News
| Reinventing America's Schools: DC Edition |
| For me, it's about finding the best partner for my kids so that they can be the best that they can be. |
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| Reinventing America's Schools: Erica Harrell,& Parent of 3rd Grader, Rocketship Rise Academy PCS |
| The 74 interviewed educators, lawmakers, students, and parents who have been at the forefront of pushing their communities to rethink and reinvent their schools. Washington, DC was one of the cities highlighted in the interviews, as well as in David Osborne's book, Reinventing America's Schools: Creating a 21st Century Education System.
For the past two decades, Washington, DC has offered education stakeholders across the country a look into what two school systems with different governance models but of roughly equal size and occupying the same space can do to transform and improve the quality of education students receive, regardless of a student's race, gender, or economic circumstance. At the DC Public Charter School Board, we collaborate with city officials, the traditional public school system, and with our own school leaders to determine how to best strengthen and improve our academic and non-academic oversight of public charter schools without impeding on our school leaders' freedom to make their own decisions. The goal is to hold our schools accountable to high standards, which helps ensure schools are holding students to the same high standards. Learn more about The 74's Reinventing America's Schools project and David Osborne's book here and watch more videos here |
| People of Public Charter Schools |
| Why I Love My School |
 Photo Credit: Friendship PCS - Blow Pierce Junior Academy I love Friendship Blow Pierce Public Charter School because it affords me the opportunity to grow the lives of my students and their families. Chairman Donald Hense and CEO Patricia Brantley have given me the charge of working with the community to ensure all of our students go to and complete college, creating leaders who will positively impact their neighborhoods. Through the 'Thematic Planning' approach, Blow-Pierce Academy uses many of the great resources available in our nation's capital to expose and educate our students on a level that guarantees success. - Dr. Jeffrey F. Grant, Principal, Friendship PCS - Blow Pierce Junior Academy |
| School Stories |
| Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS Students Tour the Capitol |
 Photo Credit: Inspired Teaching Demonstration PCS As a launch to an upcoming unit, sixth grade students at Inspired Teaching Demonstration School toured the United States Capitol Building, led by Congressman Aderholt’s staff. During the guided tour of the building, students saw the Rotunda, the Crypt, and learned about the history and construction of the historical landmark. Students were able to visit the Senate Gallery and observe senators debating a bill about reforming and strengthening science education. In a few weeks, students will conduct a simulation of the House and Senate process, which will help them develop a deeper understanding of how a bill becomes a law. |
| Two Howard Middle School Students Selected for Prestigious Program |
| Mikaela Johnson and Charles Minnis, both students at Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science (MS2), were accepted into the Jack Kent Cooke Young Scholars Program. The program will provide Mikaela and Charles with a personal academic and college counselor, funding for academic and extracurricular activities, internship and study aboard opportunities, and a variety of additional resources. Mikaela and Charles are the only winners in the DMV area and two of 65 winners nationwide. Read more about how they found out they had been accepted into the program here. |
| Washington Leadership Academy PCS Students Build Web Sites and Leading-Edge Technologies |
 Photo Credit: Washington Leadership Academy PCS |
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At Washington Leadership Academy (WLA), which was recently named an XQ Super School and awarded a $10 million grant, students have built beautiful web sites, virtual reality experiences, Arduino-enabled applications, and more. Jerome Foster's computer science work was featured in this brief documentary, Dagmawit Zeleke coded this virtual reality experience, and Rushea Davis developed this calculator. WLA students completed this work in less than one year of computer science instruction. It's no wonder that 10 percent of WLA students already have external clients! |
| Upcoming Events |
| November 8 - 2017 School Quality Reports Released On November 8, we will release our 2017 School Quality Reports. Each year, we evaluate the performance of every public charter school in the District. These evaluations are compiled into reports, which are used to rate schools into Tiers 1, 2 or 3, with 1 being the best. This allows students and families to rate the quality of the schools achievement compared with other public charter schools across Washington, DC. View the 2016 reports for each school here. November 20 - Board Meeting Watch the meeting on our website. Missed last month's meeting? Read a summary here. *Meeting location is subject to change. |