Thousands of DC Charter School Students Head Back into Classrooms of Their Choice for 2013-14 School Year

Washington, D.C. — Thousands of students will head back to DC charter school classrooms this week, beginning another year of outstanding academic achievement at the schools of their choice. This year there are a total of 60 public charter school organizations across 108 campuses in the city. Charter school families will have more education choice in four new charter schools and five new campuses, while several schools are under new charter school leadership and still others are operating in new locations.

“I am excited by the diversity of new learning options that will serve the needs of families and students from young learners to adult education students,” said Scott Pearson, Executive Director, DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB). “Our students are returning to high-achieving classrooms of their choice, where, according to the recent CREDO study, they will on average receive a year and a half worth of educational gain for every year they are in school.”

New Charter Schools
The following four schools will open their doors for the first time ever as a DC public charter school, after applying and receiving approval from PCSB in 2012.

Sela PCS, located at 6015-17 Chillum Place, NE, is the District’s first Hebrew-English dual language immersion school  – joining French, Spanish and Chinese as dual language study options offered in DC public charter schools. Located in Ward 4, Sela seeks to equip students from across the city with the skills to be culturally multi-literate. It opens Monday August 26 with PK4 through 1st grade, and offers free before- and after-school programs for all students.   (Mayor Vincent C. Gray and PCSB Board member Darren Woodruff will visit Sela at 8:15 a.m. on Monday August 26.)

Somerset Prep DC PCS, located at 3301 Wheeler Road SE in Ward 8, is the first DC school opened by Florida’s Somerset Academy, Inc., a national non-profit charter school management organization, with Florida’s Academica providing educational support and services. Its mission is to offer an academically rigorous and engaging curriculum to middle and high school students. It opens Monday August 26 with grades 6 to 8.  “We are very excited for the opportunity to be here in DC and serving the youth of Ward 8,” says incoming Principal James A. Griffin. “Go Bulldogs!”

Ingenuity Prep PCS, located at 4600 Livingston Road SE in Ward 8, opened August 14 to serve grades PK3 to Kindergarten.  With looping teams of content-specialized teachers and a blended learning model, the school's educational program – which will eventually go to 8th grade – prepares students for success in college and beyond as impactful civic leaders.  "We're aiming for our founding cohort of students to be the next generation of great DC civic leaders," said Head of School Aaron Cuny. "With this, we have an ambitious vision for the quality of education we'll provide our students, and we're excited to be working in partnership with our families to make that vision a reality."

Community College Preparatory Academy PCS, located at 2405 Martin Luther King Avenue SE in Ward 8, is dedicated to providing the education and skills development that will empower and prepare under-credited adults for postsecondary education success, viable employment and lifelong learning. It will open September 16 with 150 adult students. "I am both pleased and encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive response that I have received from both community and Ward 8 leadership,” says founding Executive Director Connie Spinner. “Residents seem to view our mission as a very unique public response to the major workforce development challenge of adults in the Ward.”
 

New Campuses

Several existing charter schools have expanded their school model, offering more options and available spaces for parents and students to choose a high-performing school:

• Achievement Prep Elementary PCS
  • Achievement Prep Academy PCS, a middle school with grades 4 to 8, has opened a new elementary campus serving grades K to 3 at 1500 Mississippi Avenue, SE in Ward 8. (Mayor Gray will visit Achievement Prep Elementary PCS on Monday August 26 at 2:30 p.m.) 

• Carlos Rosario International PCS – Sonia Gutierrez           
  • Carlos Rosario International, an adult charter school designed to meet the needs of DC’s diverse immigrant communities, has expanded to a second facility named for its founder, Sonia Gutierrez, at 514 V St NE in DC’s Eckington neighborhood in Ward 5.

• DC Prep PCS – Benning Middle           
  • Benning Middle opens this year with 4th grade students and will go up a grade each year through 8th grade. Benning Middle is currently co-located with DC Prep’s existing Benning Elementary at 100 41st Street, NE, near the Benning Road Metro in Ward 7, before moving into its permanent Benning facility once construction is complete.

• KIPP DC – Connect Academy PCS and Spring Academy PCS
  • KIPP DC  – Connect Academy PCS and KIPP DC  – Spring Academy PCS are now open at KIPP DC’s new Webb facility at 1375 Mount Olivet Road NE in Ward 5.
    • Connect Academy opened with PK3 and PK4, and will ultimately serve students from PK3 to Kindergarten.
    • Spring Academy opened with Kindergarten students, but will ultimately serve students in 1st through 4th grade.
       

New Leaders

Because charter schools operate as independent public schools, each with a unique education mission, strong school leadership is critical. The following schools are welcoming new leaders this year:

Achievement Prep Elementary PCS

• Erica Franklin and Michael Rabin, former teachers at the middle school location, are the Co-Directors.
   

AppleTree Early Learning PCS

• Kenneth McCants has been named Executive Director of AppleTree Early Learning PCS, a network of early childhood charter schools with locations across the city. McCants previously led West Gary Lighthouse Charter School in Indiana. 
• Several AppleTree Early Learning PCS campuses also have new leadership:
  • Amidon and Riverside
    • Jevonna Willis is the new Principal.
  • Columbia Heights           
    • Ryan Taurianinen is the new Principal, after serving as Principal of Amidon and Riverside.
  • Lincoln Park
    • Karen Lamonth, a former lead teacher at Oklahoma Avenue, is the new principal.
  • Oklahoma Avenue
    • Taka Wellington is the new Principal.
  • Douglas Knoll and Parklands
    • Shelton Lee is the new Principal.

Arts and Technology Academy PCS

• Allison Artis is the new Head of School. Artis comes from Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science PCS.
• Kenneth Caesar is the new Upper School Principal. Caesar comes from Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science PCS.

BASIS DC PCS           

• Sean Aiken is the new Principal.

Capital City PCS

• Belicia Reaves spent last year as a Principal-in-Residence under the guidance of Kathy Byrd, the founding Upper School principal. Reaves will now serve as Principal of the high school.

Carlos Rosario International PCS – Sonia Gutierrez

• Jorge Delgado, who served as Assistant Principal at the Harvard Street location, will now serve as Principal at the new Sonia Gutierrez facility.

Center City PCS

• Russ Williams is the new Chief Executive Officer. He was a founding Executive Director of AppleTree Early Learning PCS. 
• Petworth
  • Nazo Burgy is the new Principal.
• Trinidad
  • LaRon Martin is the new Principal.

César Chávez PCS for Public Policy

• César Chávez PCS for Public Policy – Parkside Middle School
  • Felecia Irick, who was Director of Culture and Academic Support, is now the Principal.
• César Chávez PCS for Public Policy – Parkside High School
  • Dwan Jordon is the new Principal. He was a Principal in DC and California.

DC Prep PCS

• Edgewood Elementary
  • Shaunte Edmonds, who last year served as Assistant Principal, is now the Principal.
• Benning Middle
  • Sally Houston, who last year served as Assistant Principal, is now the Principal.

Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom PCS

• Erika Bryant is the new Executive Director. She was formerly the Managing Director and succeeds founder and former executive director Linda Moore, who served for 15 years. Moore will serve as a Senior Advisor.
• Alejandra Maudet, who formerly served as the school’s Language Immersion Program Coordinator, is the Principal for the lower school (grades PK to 2).
• Maura Varley-Gutierrez is the Principal of the upper school (grades 3 to 5).

Excel Academy PCS

• Courtney Tuz Redding is the Early Childhood Principal. She served previously as the Early Childhood Instructional Coach.
• Jane Lozano, a former Director at The Excellent Schools Network, is the new Elementary Principal.

Friendship PCS – Blow-Pierce Elementary & Middle

• Jeffrey Grant is the new Principal.

Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science PCS

• Tia Lott is the new principal. She is a former Assistant Principal and Director of Instruction at New Beginnings Family Academy in Bridgeport, CT.

IDEA PCS

• Justin Rydstrom is the new principal.

KIPP DC

• KIPP DC – Connect Academy PCS
  • Donny Tiengtum, formerly a teacher at KIPP DC – LEAP Academy PCS, is the new Principal.
• KIPP DC – Spring Academy PCS
  • Lindsey Hoy, formerly a teacher at KIPP DC LEAP – Academy PCS, is the new Principal.
• KIPP DC – WILL Academy PCS                       
  • Tiffanie Williams, formerly a Vice Principal, is the new Principal.

Maya Angelou PCS

• Heather Wathington is the new Chief Executive Officer. She was an Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education and former Chair of the Board of Trustees of Maya Angelou PCS.
• Harold Miles has been named Principal of the Maya Angelou PCS – Middle School. He was the former Academic Dean.
• Sarah Navarro is the new director of the Young Adult Learning Center. She was the Director of Evening Programs of the Maya Angelou PCS – High School.

Meridian PCS

• Tamara Cooper is the new Head of School. Cooper comes from Howard University Middle School for Mathematics and Science PCS.

Options PCS

• Simon Earle is the new Principal at the E Street location.

Two Rivers PCS

• Elaine Hou is the interim Principal of the middle school. Hou is a founding teacher and a former Instructional Guide.

Washington Latin PCS

• Diana Smith is the new Principal for grades 5 to 12; she was Assistant Head for Academics.

New Locations
Most charter schools do not own their buildings and often have to move locations from year to year. Some charter schools are finally able to find more suitable space and move to new school homes.

• Community Academy PCS – Butler Global
  • Community Academy PCS – Butler Global will now be operating at 1400 First Street, NW in Ward 5.  It will be co-located with Community Academy PCS – Amos 3.

• Hospitality High PCS
  • Hospitality High PCS moved into a new building at 1851 9th Street NW in Ward 1 after sharing space in DCPS’s Roosevelt High School in Ward 4.

• Washington Latin PCS
  • Washington Latin, a middle and high school serving grades 5 to 12, moved its three separate locations from last year into a single location in the former DCPS Rudolph building at 5200 2nd Street NW in Ward 4.

New Names

• Briya PCS, a charter school that combines adult education with an early childhood program, has changed its name from the former Education Strengthens Families (ESF) PCS. Briya PCS is located in Wards 1 and 4.

• Cedar Tree Academy PCS, an early childhood charter school located in Ward 8, has changed its name and education focus from the former Howard Road Academy PCS.

About the PCSB:  The DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB) is setting a national model for creating quality public school options through its rigorous review of new charter applications and effective oversight of charter school performance that is leading the transformation of public education in Washington, DC. PCSB currently oversees 60 public charter schools on 108 campuses serving nearly 35,000 students living in every ward of the city. Learn more at  www.dcpcsb.org .

# # #