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DCPS and Achievement Prep to Engage Community About Upcoming Partnership in Ward 8

Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Current Malcolm X Building to Undergo $21 Million Modernization

Contact: Melissa Salmanowitz (DCPS) | 202-535-1096 | Contact Email

In order to expand the number of high-quality seats for families in Ward 8, District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and Achievement Preparatory Academy Public Charter School (Achievement Prep) will collaborate to create a new, innovative partnership school for the 2014-15 school year that will be located at a modernized Malcolm X Elementary School building.

In order to expand the number of high-quality seats for families in Ward 8, District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and Achievement Preparatory Academy Public Charter School (Achievement Prep) will collaborate to create a new, innovative partnership school for the 2014-15 school year that will be located at a modernized Malcolm X Elementary School building at 1351 Alabama Ave SE. DCPS and Achievement Prep will hold a community meeting on Tuesday, May 21 at 6pm to hear from the community and discuss the overview of the plan for the partnership.

“We heard from parents during our school consolidation process that they wanted more quality options for their students. Now we want to hear from the community again as we move forward with what I am confident will be one of our strongest partnerships to date,” said DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson. “This partnership with Achievement Prep will allow neighborhood students to benefit from the innovation and demonstrated success of a high performing charter school. I’m very excited about this opportunity for our students and grateful to Achievement Prep for spending the time to work with us to help all our students achieve at the highest levels.”

"We at Achievement Prep are passionate about and committed to increasing the quality of educational offerings to the District's children, especially those in our Ward 8 community," said Achievement Prep Founder and Head of School Shantelle Wright. "We are very excited to be a part of a partnership that will expand the resources and opportunities available to students and families in this community. We believe this is a great example of ed reform collaboration that prioritizes children and directly benefits the whole community, and we are eager to discuss it with the community."

In January, DCPS announced the final Better Schools for All Students consolidation and reorganization plan. In this plan, DCPS announced the goal of piloting an innovative partnership with a high-performing charter school. Since then, DCPS and Achievement Prep have been in close discussion to help bring this partnership to fruition.  

Achievement Prep has served and been committed to the Ward 8 community since opening its doors in 2008. The school has consistently been ranked by the DC Public Charter School Board as one of the city’s highest performing charter schools. Achievement Prep scholars have been among the highest performing students in the city, outperforming many of their peers from more affluent neighborhoods and backgrounds. 

In an effort to demonstrate the shared commitment to excellent public education in Ward 8, Mayor Vincent C. Gray has committed over $21 million in funds to the full modernization of the Malcolm X building. Given the scale of the modernization, Malcolm X students will move to the Green building (1500 Mississippi Ave SE) for the 2013-14 school year.  The plan is to co-locate Achievement Prep’s new elementary school campus (K-3) at Green to facilitate collaboration and shared best practices between the two school communities.  It will be a traditional co-location with two independent school administrations in the same building.

Information about the DCPS and Achievement Prep community meeting was distributed to families this week. The meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 21 at 6PM at Malcolm X Elementary School.