Statement on SEED Public Charter School

Immediately after the unfortunate death of Stormiyah Denson-Jackson, a 7th grade student who attended SEED PCS, the DC Public Charter School Board took several steps to understand as much as it could about the incident and the restorative actions that SEED PCS is taking to respond to the tragedy. Specifically, DC PCSB:

• Met with SEED PCS leadership and Board of Trustees several times to learn more about the incident and whether SEED complied with its established policies and procedures to ensure student safety.
• Reviewed SEED PCS’s logs and incident reports.
• Reviewed SEED PCS’s staffing, including the composition of its student life department, behavioral health department, deans office, evening staff, and overnight staff.
• Reviewed the school’s engagement with outside organizations, including the Office of Human Rights and the Department of Behavioral Health.
• Attended SEED PCS’s parent and community events.
• Spoke directly with SEED PCS parents.
• Confirmed SEED PCS’s full cooperation with the Metropolitan Police Department’s investigation of Stormiyah’s death. 
• Reviewed the additional precautionary measures SEED PCS is taking to ensure the health and safety of its students, including increasing its staffing levels upon reopening of the boarding program and enhancing its existing safety protocols.

Based on our review and the information we have received from the school, we have communicated to the SEED PCS Board that DC PCSB is comfortable with the school’s decision to re-open its boarding program the week of February 20. We understand that SEED has already met with its parents to address the issues of most concern to parents, and we expect they will continue to do so as the SEED community heals from this tragedy.

SEED PCS wlll be re-opening its boarding program on February 21st, 2018.