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Welcome! We’re pleased to share with you the inaugural FOCUS Newsletter. The Newsletter, which we’ll publish periodically, will provide you with update reports on our efforts to keep the D.C. charter school movement strong; a data corner highlighting charter student performance; and glimpses into charter school operations and accomplishments. Many of you reading this newsletter are already FOCUS supporters. Without you, our work over the last 18 years would not have been possible and the D.C. public charter school movement would not be what it is today. We hope that those of you who are new to FOCUS will become supporters by making a donation. As always, a gift to FOCUS will benefit all of our 63 public charter schools and their 38,000 students.
D.C. Charter Schools are First in Quality! FOCUS is elated to share that a new report by the National Alliance for Charter Schools ranked D.C.'s charter schools as first in the nation in quality! Michael Alison Chandler of the Washington Post reports on DC, "Nearly half — 49 percent — of the city’s public schools were charter schools in 2013, and 44 percent of the city’s public school students were enrolled in the independently operated, publicly funded schools. D.C. charter schools also served a higher percentage of racial and ethnic minorities and students in poverty than the traditional public schools." While this is great news for D.C. charter schools and their students, we still need your support to continue defending the charter sector so that schools have room to innovate and thrive.
Mundo Verde has a permanent home! After three uncertain years in a cramped space, where the only outdoor area children could play was an alley behind the school, we are so happy to share that Mundo Verde PCS has the beautiful and spacious home that the students deserve! Mundo Verde’s green-focused mission is reflected in the renovation of the JF Cook school through the green roof, gigantic water cistern, and restoration of the original floors and use of recycled building materials. FOCUS believes that this is how the vacant shuttered D.C. school buildings should be used — with respect for the buildings' original intent — not converted into condominiums and businesses.
Founder and executive director, Kristin Scotchmer, with a group of proud and excited students and teachers in front of their new school building. "We have benefitted deeply from FOCUS's support as a school in our journey from startup —starting with analysis of the viability of our proposal and most recently through critical advice in the acquisition and renovation of our new school building. We are grateful that FOCUS continues to lead the fight for equitable access to former DCPS school buildings and also to the unused space in DCPS’s many under-enrolled operating school buildings." Kristin Scotchmer, lead founder and executive director of Mundo Verde PCS.
To learn more about charter schools’ struggle to find a home — and the roadblocks that the D.C. government uses to stop them — visit http://focusdc.org/facilities. You can also visit the FOCUS Real Estate Council website to find more useful information for charter schools.
First Fridays Fall Kick-Off Breakfast On Tuesday, September 16, FOCUS and the First Fridays Team kicked off the 2014-2015 tour series with Off the Charts: How D.C. Public Charter Schools Are Transforming the Education Landscape, a breakfast discussion about how top charters are breaking the historic link between poverty and poor academic achievement and providing families across the city with quality options for their children.
Keynotes: Carrie Irvin, President, Charter Board Partners; Michael Pickrum, Executive Vice President and CFO, BET Networks; and Aaron Cuny, Founder and Head of School, Ingenuity Prep PCS. Launched in 2011 by Charter Board Partners, CityBridge Foundation, and FOCUS, First Fridays is a series of monthly learning tours that spotlight charter schools across the city. By highlighting the District's high-performing and high-potential charter schools, the tours aim to develop a broader understanding of the charter sector and build a community of advocates for charter schools in D.C. We are excited to welcome NewSchools Venture Fund to the First Fridays team starting in the fall of 2014! AppleTree Visit On Friday, October 10, 2014, the First Fridays team and tour participants had a wonderful visit at the AppleTree Early Learning PCS - Southwest Campus. Since 2005, seven campuses of AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School have opened in D.C. and they currently serve more than 640 students. The new Southwest campus, which is located on the grounds of a DCPS middle school, opened this September with 84 three- and four-year-olds.
Anne Zummo Malone, Chief of Staff for AppleTree Early Learning PCS, tells the engaged First Fridays audience, "Our mission is to close the achievement gap before it even begins. Our kids learn a lot here, but just as importantly, they have a lot of fun." Sign up to receive invitations to First Fridays tours by emailing info@firstfridaysdc.org. First Fridays will tour D.C. Prep - Benning Elementary Campus on Friday, November 7, 2014.
FOCUS Data Interns: Year Two has Begun! Running a school is a lot of work, and involves much more than just teaching. FOCUS aims to remove some of this extra stress so that schools can get back to what schools are really about: helping students learn! FOCUS trained and placed 18 interns at public charter schools across D.C. to help them use data for the 2014-2015 school year. The systems and databases FOCUS’s interns put in place will make it easier for teachers and school leaders to see which of their students are struggling. This will help them know exactly what is going on in their school and make the changes needed to improve overall performance. Look out for more details on what our interns are working on in future issues of the FOCUS Newsletter! Steven Taylor, Assistant Director of Performance Management at FOCUS, trains the new Data Interns before they start assisting with data projects at 18 D.C. public charter schools.
D.C. Charter Friends Network Come meet passionate and dedicated charter school leaders, including Yu Ying PCS head of school Maquita Alexander. Talk to FOCUS staff and other charter advocates about the positive impact of the charter schools and learn how to get involved. Questions? Please contact Sarah Lick - slick@focusdc.org or (202) 387 0405.
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FOCUS Mayoral Questionnaire FOCUS sent out a questionnaire to the leading mayoral candidates to get their stances on education. Click below to see the responses: D.C. Mayoral Candidate David A. Catania D.C. Mayoral Candidate Muriel Bowser D.C. Mayoral Candidate Carol Schwartz
The fight for better schooling for our most disadvantaged students goes on. Make a donation today! Thank you!
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Upcoming Events
D.C. Charter Friends Network Happy Hour
As many of you know the D.C. Association of Chartered Public Schools, Washington Latin Public Charter School, and Eagle Academy Public Charter School filed suit in federal court in July, asking that the District government be directed to obey the law and provide public charter school students with the same amount of funding as their school system counterparts. For more information on the Fair Funding Lawsuit, funded by FOCUS, visit dcschoolfundingequity.org.
Data Corner D.C. CAS results 2014
The tests of the D.C. CAS have been designed to measure the academic proficiency of students in D.C. For more graphs including a breakdown by reading and math visit the FOCUS data center.
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