|
Welcome! Welcome to the Summer 2015 FOCUS Newsletter. This will be my last Newsletter, as I will be stepping down at the end of June. I've had a great 16 years as the E.D. at FOCUS and am proud of what we've accomplished together (when I started at FOCUS charter school enrollment was a meager 3,500; it’s now nearly 38,000—44% of the total public school enrollment in D.C.). Although I’ll no longer be the E.D., I’ll be lending my support to the new executive director as Senior Adviser through the end of 2015.
FOCUS board member Mary Procter addressing Robert at his farewell reception. I’m delighted to introduce you to the next FOCUS executive director, Irene Holtzman. Since 2012 Irene has been the Policy Director and Senior Adviser at KIPP D.C., in which role she proved herself to be a highly effective advocate for charter school autonomy and equity. Prior to taking on the policy role Irene served KIPP D.C. as Director of Accountability and Assessment; Director of Student Data and Accountability; and Director of Operations. Irene also has seven years of teaching experience under her belt with Teach for America, DCPS, and KIPP. I’m sure you’ll agree with me that Irene’s experience, encompassing as it does advocacy, data, accountability, and classroom teaching, ideally suits her to lead FOCUS into the future. Many thanks for your support for me and FOCUS over the years. Kind Regards,
The Goodwill Excel Center PCS FOCUS was thrilled when The Goodwill Excel Center Public Charter School (GEC) was approved by the DC Public Charter School Board last month to open in the fall of 2016. The GEC will provide adult learners with an academic program leading to a high school diploma, building on a proven model operated by Goodwill organizations in three other states. The GEC participated in FOCUS’s School Design & Development program, along with the other two schools that were chartered, Breakthrough Montessori PCS and Washington Leadership Academy PCS. Colleen Paletta, Goodwill of Greater Washington’s Vice President of Workforce Development, said: “FOCUS was instrumental in helping us understand and navigate the rigorous charter application process. The expertise and knowledge helped us tremendously as we completed our application to the DC PCSB.” Click here to learn more about the support FOCUS offers charter school founding groups.
Exclusive Two Rivers PCS Tour! On May 20th we started the day at the elementary campus of Two Rivers PCS, one of the most sought after schools in D.C. After sitting in on a community meeting, where the entire school gathered to sing, play a game, and learn a math problem from the Math-Magical Wizard, Head of School Jessica Wodatch spoke with guests about the mission that drives Two Rivers: To nurture a diverse group of students to become lifelong, active participants in their own education, develop a sense of self and community, and become responsible and compassionate members of society. Finally, we had a tour of the school from the REAL Two Rivers experts - 4th and 5th grade students!
If you would like to be invited to future exclusive charter school tours, email Stine at ssvenningsen@focusdc.org.
FOCUS Startup Program More than 43 individuals attended a Charter 101 information session this spring, a level of interest that has more than doubled since last year. Charter 101 is a 90 minute presentation that FOCUS offers free to anyone interested in learning more about how to start a charter school in D.C. Participants cover the definition of a public charter school, a brief history of the charter school movement, the mechanics of charter school funding, the process for starting a charter school, and an explanation of the startup services that FOCUS offers. Due to the volume of interest this year FOCUS will host a free Charter Startup Webinar on July 1, 2015 from 12:00pm - 1:30pm. Click here to register.
The next stage of the 2015-2016 startup program will be the School Design Workshop series, scheduled to begin July 8. For more information, click here.
FOCUS Data Community During the last half of the school year, school data users across D.C. have convened monthly to learn and share best practices around student data use. Over 38 LEAs have attended monthly workshops on topics including data visualization, cleaning data, and using statistical methods to gain insight from student data. The D.C. Data Community is open to all student data users looking to improve their data skills and learn from their peers. The next workshop will be held June 30 and will cover using data to predict student outcomes.
For more information about D.C. Data Community workshops, contact Lindsay at ltempleton@focusdc.org.
First Fridays Tours Friendship Collegiate Academy PCS
In May we traveled to northeast D.C. to visit Friendship Collegiate Academy. Founded in 1999, Friendship Collegiate Academy is one of nine Friendship Public Charter School campuses in D.C. and serves 914 students in 9th through 12th grade.
A college prep high school, Collegiate Academy’s comprehensive curriculum prepares students for college and career. In order to expose its students to college-level majors and coursework, rising sophomores apply to and interview with one of the school’s five smaller career academies: Fine Arts, Health Sciences, Information Technology and Engineering, Arts and Science, and Early College. 92% of Collegiate Academy seniors graduate and matriculate to college, and Collegiate Academy has two staff members dedicated to ensuring their alumni persist and graduate from college. In addition to its strong college-going culture, Collegiate Academy emphasizes social emotional supports and extracurricular activities.
DC International PCS
June 5th was our makeup date for DC International PCS, which was cancelled in March due to inclement weather, and our final tour of the 2014-2015 school year!
 DC International School (DCI) is a collaboration between five language immersion public charter schools seeking a high-quality secondary school option for their students to continue their studies in Chinese, French, and Spanish. DCI employs an interdisciplinary approach, which combines multilingual instruction with a rigorous IB program in order to promote deep and authentic learning. Currently in its first year of operation, DCI serves 210 sixth and seventh graders and will eventually serve students through grade 12—reaching 1,500 students at full capacity.
The next First Fridays tour will be in October. To be added to the First Fridays invitation list, please email info@firstfridaysdc.org. We look forward to seeing you in the fall!
|
Friends of Choice in Urban Schools (FOCUS) promotes school reform in the District of Columbia in partnership with D.C.'s public charter schools. AmazonSmile Support FOCUS and all 61 of D.C.'s public charter schools while you shop.
If you select Friends of Choice in Urban Schools as your charitable organization of choice, Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to us. Thank you!
Upcoming Events
Click here for the 2015 schedule
Fair Funding Lawsuit
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.
FOCUS Media Page Our media page is LIVE! Check it out to see our daily compilation of published news about D.C. charter schools and the D.C. education policy environment, fair funding lawsuit updates, and more!
Data Corner
The chart above shows increasing average proficiency rates of the charter sector on the DC CAS from 2006 through 2014, compared to the citywide average. The DC CAS was introduced in 2006 and administered for the last time in spring 2014. In 2014-15 all DC public schools shifted to the new, Common Core State Standards-aligned PARCC assessment, so proficiency data for 2015 will reflect the new test. Results are not expected to be publicly available until late this year or early in 2016. |
