Message to the Community We Serve
In 2008, the Washington Highlands community of SEDC opened its arms and embraced a small proposed school named Achievement Prep. Twelve years later this proposed school has become a staple in the community and is, and has always been, proud to be part of the SE DC Ward 8 community. We take our mission to prepare students to excel as high-achieving scholars and leaders in high school, college and beyond very seriously. We are committed to developing and fostering strong character in them so that they, too, can be change agents in a world often set up against them. We also want the best out of ourselves, but we have faced some severe challenges in trying to provide a quality educational experience for our middle school scholars.
Families have vested in us the privilege of educating their scholars and we hold the privilege with the highest regard. We expect the best of ourselves, and we have faced some severe challenges in achieving our mission for our middle school scholars. We have not kept our promise to our middle school families and our middle school is not performing at the high standards we set for ourselves.
What matters to us most is our ability to offer our families and the Ward 8 community an excellent education where scholars grow academically and socially. Right now, Achievement Prep middle school campus is not offering that. Therefore, after much deliberation, our Board of Trustees made the very difficult decision on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, to close our Wahler Place Middle School campus at the end of the current school year.. This decision was not entered in to lightly.
Because our scholars matter most and we are determined to ensure our scholars are properly educated at the level they deserve, we have proposed a plan that will ensure scholars have a seat at a higher performing school. Simultaneously, the proposed plan will allow Achievement Prep to refocus its efforts and be the network that not only honors its commitment to the community, but thrives and serves as a proof point of what is possible in SE DC from prek3 through 8th grade. th grade.
How we plan to do this:
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- We are excited to partner with Friendship Public Charter School (FPCS). On Monday, February 24, 2020, The DC Public Charter School Board (DC PCSB) authorized FPCS to operate a new middle school at our Wahler Place Middle School campus location for 20-21SY. The intent of this partnership is to minimize as much disruption as possible to our current 3rd to 7th grade scholars. These scholars will have an opportunity to apply for a seat at the FPCS Wahler Place campus and become members of the FPCS network yet be located at Achievement Prep Wahler Place location.
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- Further, PCSB Enrollment Specialists will work with current middle school scholars and their families who desire an alternative to the FPCS campus at Wahler Place. We will also hold a school fair for families interested in learning about other middle school options. Our operations team will work directly with families who need support determining next steps should families not want to remain at the FPCS campus at Wahler Place.
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- Achievement Prep will petition the PCSB to reconfigure the current elementary campus to serve grades prek3 -8 so that eventually we can slowly restart our middle school campus out of an even stronger foundation. We have made great gains at the elementary campus and we expect that to continue.
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- For scholars currently enrolled in grades preK 3 through 2nd the elementary campus will remain open and thriving. Scholars will continue to attend Achievement Prep Wahler Place Elementary Campus with a strengthened elementary school.
This proposed reconfiguration of the Achievement Prep network and partnership with FPCS was approved on Wednesday, January 29, 2020, by the Achievement Prep Board of Trustees at a public board meeting and FPCS will go before the DC PCSB in February for their approval. We have put a lot of thought into this plan, with a focus on what is best for our scholars, their families and the community.
We are proud of our role in the community and will continue to play an active part with our elementary school and with our mission to help foster the next generation of leaders. We ask for your continued support as we move ahead with our new vision and look forward to celebrating our successes with you. Please do not hesitate to reach out at info@aprepacademy.org if you have any questions or call us at (202) 562-1307 ext.105.
Sincerely,
Jason Andrean
Board Chair
Shantelle Wright
Founder and CEO
