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DC Prep
USINFO | 2014-01-07 13:09
DC Prep was established in 2003 in response to the tremendous need in Washington for schools that work. Led by Founder and native Washingtonian, Emily Lawson, a diverse and dedicated group of citizens set out to develop an educational model built on academic rigor and character education, as well as to create an effective organization capable of opening and running high-quality schools at scale in DC. The goal: to bridge the educational divide in Washington by increasing the number of students from under-resourced communities with the academic preparation and personal character to succeed in competitive high schools and colleges.
From humble beginnings in 2003 with just 100 students in 4th and 5th grade in a church basement, DC Prep now enrolls 1,200 children in preschool-8th grade on four campuses in Wards 5 and 7 and is the highest-performing network of charter schools in the nation’s capital for the second consecutive year.
So much has been accomplished, yet much remains to be done to fully transform public education in our city. DC Prep’s teachers, school leaders, and management team work tirelessly to provide students with a life-changing education, but, tragically, thousands more children still attend low-performing schools in many parts of the city. This is unacceptable and it is a moral imperative that we address this inequity.
Over the course of its second decade, DC Prep will expand to ten schools, triple its student enrollment, and have graduated more than 950 8th graders to be prepared academically and socially for a successful future. By expanding the number of seats in academically rigorous preschool-8th grade programs, DC Prep will dramatically increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enroll in rigorous high schools and go on to earn a college degree.
DC Prep serves as a powerful proof point in urban education, and, at scale, we will educate more than ten percent of students in the most underserved communities in DC, demonstrating each day that we can, indeed, provide all students in the nation’s capital with a high-quality education.
From humble beginnings in 2003 with just 100 students in 4th and 5th grade in a church basement, DC Prep now enrolls 1,200 children in preschool-8th grade on four campuses in Wards 5 and 7 and is the highest-performing network of charter schools in the nation’s capital for the second consecutive year.
So much has been accomplished, yet much remains to be done to fully transform public education in our city. DC Prep’s teachers, school leaders, and management team work tirelessly to provide students with a life-changing education, but, tragically, thousands more children still attend low-performing schools in many parts of the city. This is unacceptable and it is a moral imperative that we address this inequity.
Over the course of its second decade, DC Prep will expand to ten schools, triple its student enrollment, and have graduated more than 950 8th graders to be prepared academically and socially for a successful future. By expanding the number of seats in academically rigorous preschool-8th grade programs, DC Prep will dramatically increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enroll in rigorous high schools and go on to earn a college degree.
DC Prep serves as a powerful proof point in urban education, and, at scale, we will educate more than ten percent of students in the most underserved communities in DC, demonstrating each day that we can, indeed, provide all students in the nation’s capital with a high-quality education.
