Six Charter Schools Opening With Unique Outlooks

http://www.stcoletta.org/charterschool/

Authorizer:

D.C. Board of Education

This formerly private special education school, which used to serve students from across the region, is moving from Alexandria to the District near RFK Stadium and will become a charter school for District students. The school is run by St. Coletta of Greater Washington, a nonsectarian nonprofit group that serves children and adults with special needs. New amenities will include a hydrotherapy pool, full-size handicapped-accessible gym, art and music therapy and a horticulture studio.

Septima Clark Public Charter School

4625 G St. SE

202-276-6226

http://www.septimaclarkpcs.org

Authorizer:

D.C. Public Charter School Board

The school, at Jones Memorial United Methodist Church, is the city's first all-boys public charter school, with 65 students in preschool and kindergarten. On the school's Web site, the founder and head of the school, Jenny DuFresne, says young boys are critically underserved and need a unique environment to ensure that they are prepared for academic success and can become productive citizens. DuFresne is a former fifth-grade teacher in the District's public schools. The school will focus on serving boys from Ward 8.

Washington Latin Public Charter School

3855 Massachusetts Ave. NW

202-223-1111

http://www.washingtonlatin.org

Authorizer:

D.C. Public Charter School Board

The school's mission is promoting excellence through rigorous studies of classical texts from a cross-section of cultures and make those texts accessible to the broadest group of students possible, Headmaster T. Robinson Ahlstrom said. Students will have to meet a six-year Latin requirement and four years of Chinese or French. Each grade is called a "form," and the school will open with 192 students in three forms, fifth through seventh grade. It will eventually run up to 12th grade, with an upper school (grades seven-12) and a lower school (grades five and six).