Studies Include Latin and ESL
By Theola Labbé
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Charter schools are free public schools open to all District residents. They are publicly funded but operate according to their individual charters, independent of the D.C. public schools administration. Two city-based entities authorize and regulate charter schools: the D.C. Public Charter School Board and the D.C. Board of Education. Six new charter schools are opening this school year. Here's a look at what they will offer:
City Collegiate Public Charter School3265 S St. NW
(Jelleff Boys & Girls Club)
202-492-5391
http://www.citycollegiatepcs.org
Authorizer:
D.C. Public Charter School Board
The school will open Monday with 50 students in the seventh grade, the maximum number per grade level. It eventually will serve grades six through 12. It is on three acres of land and has a gymnasium and a staff of 12, including three full-time teachers.
Principal Phyllis Hedlund said she and a group of parents and others wanted to develop a small school with an environment that research says benefits adolescents.
"There's really no gimmick to us except best practices for adolescent learners," Hedlund said.
Education Strengthens Families Public Charter School2333 Ontario Rd. NW
202-797-7337
Authorizer:
D.C. Public Charter School Board
Starting Sept. 5, the half-day program will serve parents who speak limited or no English and preschool children ages 3 and 4. Parents will take English classes while the children learn reading and math and social-interaction skills, director Christie McKay said. Parents and children also will take part in activities together, with the focus on getting the entire family interested in education, McKay said. The school was founded by the nonprofit Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care Inc.
Nia Community Public Charter School3845 South Capitol St. SW
202-562-5440
Authorizer:
D.C. Public Charter School Board
The school, at Covenant Baptist Church, will open Monday with 120 students from pre-K to third grade and will eventually expand to the eighth grade. Co-founder and Executive Director Monique Murdock said that at the core of the school's mission is creating a nurturing, community-focused environment through rigorous academics and helping to foster a student's sense of the larger community outside of the school through projects such as gardening. The school's extended hours, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., will include before- and after-school programs.
"Nia is a Kwanzaa principle that stands for purpose," Murdock said. "We firmly believe we have a purpose to serve the community."
St. Coletta Special Education Public Charter School1901 Independence Ave. SE
202-350-8680
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 School4625 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 School3855 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).
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