When D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced in August the results from the 2018 Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) student assessments, another year of improvement was tempered by another year of low proficiency overall. Only three in ten D.C. students meet or exceed expectations in math and English language arts. The outcomes for students who meet the D.C. definition of “at-risk” were even lower, with just 17 percent of those students meeting the proficiency standard citywide. While this trend holds true for some D.C. schools, there are DCPS and public charter schools at all grade levels demonstrating that there is no limit to how high scholars can achieve. EmpowerK12 is proud to honor them with 2018 Bold Performance School Awards. Friendship Chamberlain, Blow Pierce and Tech Prep are among this year’s 17 school award winners.
The entire Friendship community applauds our 2018 Bold Performance award-winning schools! Your hard work, dedication and unmitigated belief that every scholar can achieve to the highest standards has yielded extraordinary results. On behalf of our students, parents and staff, we thank you and we applaud you!
Around Friendship #62: Featuring Glen Mourning, 4th Grade Teacher
“We have great support within our building from our literacy and math coaches, who work great together as a team. Our business manager, leadership team, and office staff all work as a family. It is a different environment from a traditional public school or another charter network. It is like a home-cooked meal every day. That’s what it feels like. It doesn’t happen by accident – it’s intentional. People are willing to step in and help wherever they can. I have had this conversation with other teachers – it is consistent across the network.” Read more >
When scholars share their talents in and out school their confidence soars! Kudos to Teriauna Duran, our Director of Arts Integration, along with Anthony Jones, Angel Strong Archer, Bianca Jones, Jacquie Caulton and Bridgette Tillman for nurturing the melodic voices of the FPCS Community Choir. Their performance of the National Anthem at the Department of Justice this week was phenomenal!
Sweet Beginnings
A Message from CEO Patricia A. Brantley
Is there anything sweeter than the first week of school?
The sights and sounds of Friendship scholars as they return after the summer break always fills my heart with joy.
There’s lots of laughter, epic selfies and a little showing off of new backpacks and the coolest kicks.
Parents, teachers and school staff greet each other with big hugs, refreshed and excited about how they can work together to help our scholars grow.
And because of the tireless efforts of our campus and community office teams, our school environment reflects the high standards we expect of our students.
Shelves are stocked and more materials are on the way. Laptops are humming. Hallways and classroom walls are alive with creative clues that make learning fun and relevant.
Every Friendship school grew and achieved last year. Our intentional approach to mastering the highest academic standards, individualizing learning and augmenting field experiences for our scholars is paying off. So, it was gratifying to start the 2018-19 school year with an article highlighting our “record big gains on [PARCC standardized test] scores.” This news was followed by the Washington Post’s back-to-school story titled “It feels great to go back,” about our students and your work to help them to grow academically and socially
‘It feels great to go back’: The District’s students return to school by The Washington Post
Lakia Mines’s khaki shorts and white polo shirt were already laid out, her hair already styled in a long braid. She had just the right purple-and-turquoise leopard backpack, already stuffed with pencils and paper.
Lakia was ready for seventh grade.
So when her mother woke her up at 6 a.m. Monday in a cousin’s home, Lakia quickly dressed, laced her gray-and-purple Nike high-top shoes and posed for a first-day-of-school photo in the hallway.
Lakia is homeless and hasn’t had a permanent bed to sleep in for years, bouncing between friends’ and relatives’ homes. But each day, the 12-year-old completes her homework and prepares for school in the crammed room she shares with her mother and two sisters.
And the first day of school was no different. By the time the bus arrived at 7 a.m., Lakia was ready — and slightly nervous — to travel across town from the District’s Fort Totten neighborhood to Friendship Tech Prep Academy, a charter school in Congress Heights that greeted students with exuberant songs, chants and dances.
“It feels great to go back,” Lakia said. “I like my homeroom, I like math, science, social studies and English.”
#FriendshipSpotlight
#FriendshipSpotlight “It is an honor to work alongside the teachers that taught me. I love that I am continuing the legacy by teaching early childhood students who are just beginning their educational journey. My son now attends Friendship Blow Pierce. It’s amazing.”
—Jendayi Johnson, PreK4 Teacher at Friendship PCS Blow Pierce Campus
Read more >
Day 3! #StandardsUniversity
Day 3! #StandardsUniversity It’s our final day of sharing and learning with some of our nation’s top talent in education. But our work has only just begun. As we embrace a new school year, we will continue to grow as a community of learners, doers, creators and leaders!
#StudentFocused
#RaisingTheStandard
#FriendshipPCS