122 ★ HillRag |December 2007

by Natasha Abbas

“My child came to the Collegiate Academy from a magnet school in Montgomery

County,” says Edwan Fon about her daughter Fri-Maikah Fon, a 12th-grader at Friendship Public Charter School’s Collegiate Academy. “Usually the assumption is that it’s a DC school, so it might be less challenging and less rigorous, but I found that to be to the contrary. She has to work extremely hard because instruction is rigorous, and the curriculum is challenging.”

Founded in 1997, the Friendship Public Charter School (FPCS) grew out of the Friendship House Association, a 100-year-old social services agency, and opened its Chamberlain and Woodridge Elementary campuses in 1998. Today, with fi ve campuses and a sixth proposed, FPCS educates nearly 4,000 students annually and is the largest public charter school in the District.

“Th e school was founded to try to provide a bet-ter education for kids in the poorest neighborhoods. It was not a school that was opened for wealthy kids but to provide the same type of opportunity that stu-dents at private schools have,” says FPCS founder and Chairman Donald Hense.

Accordingly, FPCS students are off ered classes in art, music, foreign languages, media and technol-ogy, as well as advanced placement college credit classes, travel abroad programs and a multitudeof after-school activities. “What is available toany kid going to Sidwell Friends in terms of program-ming, we do at Friendship Public Charter School, and from day one, that was our intent.” With a 90 percent graduation rate, and 95 percent of graduates accepted into colleges and universities, FPCS seems to be making the mark.

Th e Friendship “family” consists of: the Cham-berlain Elementary campus on Potomac Avenue SE in Ward 6, serving approximately 700 students from pre-school through fi fth grade; the Woodridge El-ementary campus on Carlton Avenue NE in Ward 5, serving approximately 500 students from pre-school through eighth grade; the Blow-Pierce Ju-nior Academy on 19th Street NE in Ward 7, serving approximately 700 students in sixth through eighth grade; the Collegiate Academy at Carter G. Wood-son on Minnesota Avenue NE in Ward 7, serving approximately 1,200 students, grades nine through 12; and the Friendship Southeast Elementary Acad-emy on Milwaukee Place SE in Ward 8, serving ap-proximately 350 students from kindergarten to sixth grade.

Formerly called Edison Friendship Public Char-

ter School, FPCS’s 9-year partnership with the school management company Edison Schools Inc. came to an end this past June after a 3-year phase-out. As Hense describes, FPCS matured out of the partnership and began looking toward implementing their own unique academic design based around the concept of “the whole child.”

Th is school year has marked the fi rst year of phas-ing in the new academic design, which FPCS Chief Academic Offi cer Michael Cordell characterizes as standards-based, student-centered and focused on enrichment beyond the classroom. Th e curriculum design approach is referred to as “understanding by design” and is based on inquiry and problem solving. According to Cordell, it is a curricular approach that is unique in DC public schools. Before planning les-sons, teachers must identify the essential questions within a lesson, as well as the knowledge and skills that are needed to address these questions. “We try and push teachers to do two things: make global connections with their work and make connections to real world everyday activities,” says Cordell. Other characteristics of FPCS’s new curriculum will include individualized and small group instruction, the use of student-friendly language, and creating classroom environments that are student centered. For instance, rather than a teacher always being at the front of a classroom behind a desk, students and teachers can sit together.

The Whole Child“When you look at the whole child, you look at

their academic well-being, but also their physical, so-cial and emotional well-being,” explains Cordell. To meet the needs of the whole child, FPCS provides a mental health counseling program through which students can receive direct counseling, direct therapy, outside support for families and referrals to other types of outside organizations. Each campus also has a Student Staff Support Team consisting of teach-ers, parents, mental health clinicians, nurses, security, cafeteria staff , principals and experts such as speech pathologists who come together to support students who may be facing academic or emotional challeng-es. “Th e approach is how do we connect all the diff er-ent adults dealing with these kids, if they have issues? How do we connect them together so they might problem-solve about why a certain student might be struggling in school?” explains Cordell.

According to fi ndings from the California Healthy Kids Survey, an anonymous student and school staff study of attitudes and risk behaviors, students at FPCS were facing many pressures that were aff ecting their emotional well-being and thus

their ability to focus on school. “Being located in an area with a lot of high poverty, we found that some of the kids had social concerns that needed to be addressed within the school,” explains Charlene Roach-Glymph, who oversees the FPCS mental health program. “Most schools don’t have a mental health program,” she notes.

For students like Fri-Maikah Fon, knowing that the FPCS faculty is looking beyond just academic performance makes a diff erence. “Th e staff and facul-ty care about the students,” says Fon. “Th ey are there to teach and help and guide and not just be there as teachers.”

FPCS administrators admit the challenge then becomes recruiting teachers who can meet such high standards both in and out of the classroom. “Th e competition for good teachers is getting stiff , so you have got to look at how you can recruit,train and maintain teachers,” says Hense. To main-tain an exceptional faculty, this year FPCS increased teacher salaries, created a retirement program for faculty, and hired a director of talent to recruitskilled teachers. Hense explains that these ad-vancements were made possible with resourcesreallocated from their partnership with Edison Schools Inc.

Because it is a standards-based school, FPCS teachers also receive support in areas of professional development around standards and creative cur-riculums, describes Chamberlain Elementary school teacher Monique Abbott-Davis. “Friendship does a very good job with supporting their teachers,” says Abbott-Davis.

Th is school year also saw the creation of a culture team composed of parents, teachers, mentors and principals who work to create a school cultural envi-ronment conducive to both teaching and learning at each school. “Th eir fi rst area of concern was teacher morale, and the culture team worked on projects to make the teachers feel more appreciated,” describes Abbot-Davis. “Having a culture team really supports everyone.”

Bringing Technology To The ClassroomFor students, teachers and parents, technology

is a key component of the educational experience at FPCS. To keep students more engaged, classrooms are equipped with web-based and computerized in-struction tools such as interactive whiteboards that allow students and teachers to dialogue about lessons in inventive ways. Prem-Raj Ruffi n, an AP Calculus and Physics teacher at the Collegiate Academy says, “I would describe FPCS as a place where there is cre-ative teaching and creative methods.” With the help

kidsfamily

Educating the Whole Child Friendship Public Charter Schools:

of unique facilities called SmartLabs, Ruffi n says he is able to make podcasts of his lectures and then make them available on CD and DVD so that students can check out lectures on diff erent units. He can also develop inter-active tutorials for lessons that students can then use to work at their own pace.

SmartLabs are innovative high-tech learn-ing labs in each school building that allow stu-dents to explore science, technology and media technology. As of yet, few schools around the country off er this type of technology, in which there are diff erent stations centered around diff erent curriculums and concepts. For ex-ample, students can build virtual bridges when studying mass, investigate soundwaves when studying music, or learn about animation at an art station. “What we are also trying to do is learn how to do independent study and work in small groups. If you talk about what 21st century skill sets are, 21st century skill sets are working in teams,” says Hense. With the help of the SmartLabs, FPCS was one of the fi rst schools in the District to form a robotics team, which now competes nationally.

“Our technology around the school is great,” says Fri-Maikah Fon, adding that many students use the SmartLabs independently outside of class to work on projects such as producing music.

FPCS parents are also very pleased with the emphasis on technology at FPCS. “My child is a very curious child, and her teachers have to continue challenging her because she runs through her work,” says Edwan Fon. “Th e SmartLab has really given her support for the type of things she is thinking about because her head races. In that lab there are so many opportunities, it is one of the avenues that she gets to help her curiosity.”

Beyond The ClassroomTh e faculty and administration of FPCS

recognize the importance of stimulating this innate curiosity. When students express inter-est in certain areas, it is important to be able to

connect them with opportunities where they can further cultivate those interests, describes Director of Community Relations Barry Lof-ton. “We recognize that we are in a city with a lot of resources,” says Lofton. As a result, he says, FPCS focuses on creating partner-ships with many local organizations like the Kennedy Center, the YMCA, DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative, and Concerned Black Men, which has a strong mentorship program for young men. As Lof-ton describes, many local organizations are very excited to hear from schools that want to create partnerships and develop programs for local students.

Similarly, FPCS is committed to provid-ing a strong after-school program environ-ment so that young people remain stimulated through sports, band, dance, chess club, debate team and robotics club, just to name a few ac-tivities. “Our goal is to try to keep as many kids in school as possible until 6 or 7 at night,” says Hense, adding that some campuses re-main open until 10 p.m. “We are community schools, so you want students in safe environ-ments. If they are running their clubs, etc., after school, you feel relatively safe that they are OK.”

Tracy Scales, parent of an eighth-grader at the Woodridge Campus, says she is ap-preciative of the supervision and care students receive both during school and after. “Th ey don’t let kids fall behind, they always let you know where they are and what they need,” says Scales. Th rough regular reading and math assessments every six weeks, teachers who are always willing to stay after class for tutoring, and an array of after-school activities, Scales says FPCS parents can always feel comfort-able their children are being cared for. “Th at’s my daughter’s second family,” says Scales. “I never have to worry about her when she’s there.”

To learn more about Friendship Public Charter

Schools visit www.friendshipschools.org or con-

tact Barry Lofton at 202-281-1700. ■

capitalcommunitynews.com ★ 123

*Christmas and Hannukah Toys,Treats and Apparel for Dogs and Cats*Unique Gifts for Pet Lovers including Menorahs, Stockings, Mugs and Plates*Comfy Coats, Sweaters and Boots*Custom Made Gift Baskets

*Holiday Boarding for Small Animals and Birds

Happy Holidays from MacArthur Pet Shop!The Shops at Sumner Place 4611 -N Sangamore RoadBethesda, Maryland 20816

301-320-3998

Make it a magical holiday seasonfor your best friend.....

LEFT: Friendship Public Charter School Fourth Grade Student in ClassRIGHT: Pre- K Students at Friendship Public Charter School. Photos by: Friendship Public Charter Schools