DC Prep

From little seeds grow mighty trees! 🌱☀️🌳 This week our campus leadership teams across the six schools in our network came together to kick off our annual two-week July Leadership Retreat. Through learning, intentional planning, team-& relationship-building, and celebration, our leaders have been working hard to establish our collective vision and action plans for fostering high-quality school communities. We can’t wait to welcome and serve our DC Prep families in School Year 2024-25! 💙🎉💛

#WeAreDCPrep and we are still looking for Middle School general education and special education teachers to join our team in SY24-25! We are looking for educators who are intentional with their data, results-driven, and invested in supporting students’ academic growth and character development. To learn more about these roles and other available opportunities, visit our job board linked here: https://lnkd.in/gZymsZk

We are so proud of our very own Kyla & Ms. Moody from our Benning Elementary Campus, who were featured this morning on FOX 5 DC! Ms. Moody shared how she and her co-teacher, Mr. A, incorporate music into their teaching and how it helps their students learn! 💙💛 Check out our Instagram (@dc_prep) for more clips from the feature!

As we prepare for the start of July Leadership Retreat (JLR) next week, please join us in congratulating another familiar face who will be taking on an exciting new role this upcoming school year. Ms. Desiree Tucker Okah-Avae is the incoming principal of Edgewood Middle Campus (EMC)! Ms. Tucker joined DC Prep in 2022 and has served as an Assistant Principal at EMC for the past two years. She has brought a deep expertise of teacher coaching to her work, helping teachers deliver strong learning experiences for students. Ms. Tucker has a high bar for excellence and is relentless in her pursuit of what is possible for students. Her willingness to do the work alongside colleagues has helped her to build strong relationships.

DC Prep was founded in 2003 to help ALL students in our nation’s capital get the education they need – and deserve – to live up to their greatest potential. Every spring, we get to witness our mission being fulfilled as we find out where our Preppies and alumni are headed off to high school and college! Javada F. will be attending Carnegie Mellon in the fall. “I chose Carnegie Mellon for the academic rigor, their reputation for my intended major of Chemical Engineering, and the alumni network,” Javada told us. “My plan is to either get an advanced degree or do the 4+1 program and receive my master’s in 5 years. I am hoping to go into sustainability and/or medical research, which I’ve explored through an internship at Georgetown University doing research in the medical field.” Javada received a scholarship to attend Carnegie Mellon, for which he is “super grateful.” “I would not be going to school without it,” he said. “I’m thankful my parents don’t have to worry about financial strain.” Javada said that DC Prep prepared him for the academic rigor of high school (he attended Gonzaga College High School) and taught him the character values for success as a college student. “DC Prep fueled what I wanted to get out of school, and pointed me in the right direction for where I want to go in life,” Javada said. “DC Prep shaped my core values as a student. “I want to shout out Ms. Harbaugh for helping me a lot with preparing for high school,” he added. “And Ms. Jones helped me research high schools.” Ms. Harbaugh was a teacher at Benning Middle Campus (BMC) and is now the principal; Ms. Jones was a teacher and high school placement counselor at BMC and is now the principal of Anacostia Middle Campus! For those starting the college application process soon, Javada advised them to take advantage of PrepNext. “They provide a lot of information, [they have] availability to meet with students, and [they] ensure that students stay on top of applications and deadlines.”

Our campus leaders are taking some well deserved time off now before jumping into preparing for School Year 2024-25 at July Leadership Retreat (JLR) next month! In the meantime, we'd like to introduce to you a few familiar faces who will be taking on exciting new roles in the fall… First up: Ms. Phylicia Bridgewater, the incoming Resident Principal of Anacostia Elementary Campus (AEC)! Ms. Bridgewater will work alongside Ms. Kuzma until Ms. Kuzma moves across the country at the end of calendar year 2024, after which point Ms. Bridgewater will move into the Principal role. Ms. Bridgewater has been with DC Prep for 12 years and has worked at both Edgewood Elementary Campus (EEC) and AEC. Across the network, she is known as a strong and steady leader, effective at growing leaders and training new teachers. In her role as AEC’s Early Childhood Assistant Principal for the last six years, she has made a tremendous, positive impact on our youngest Preppies, making sure they are ready for Kinder and beyond!

Our campus leaders are taking some well deserved time off now before jumping into preparing for School Year 2024-25 at July Leadership Retreat (JLR) next month! In the meantime, we'd like to introduce to you a few familiar faces who will be taking on exciting new roles in the fall… Mr. Degarrius Cullum is the incoming Principal of Benning Elementary Campus (BEC)! Over the last 10 years, Mr. Cullum has served the BEC community in a wide range of roles: he has been an effective teacher on various grade levels (PK3, Kinder, and 2nd grade) and has experience leading, both as a Math & Science Academic Assistant Principal and as a Community Assistant Principal. Across all of these roles, Mr. Cullum has built tremendous relationships with staff, families, and students, who value his ability to make them feel heard and are drawn to the care he shows for our youngest learners. He is deeply committed to the BEC community and exemplifies what it means to be a values-driven leader.

DC Prep was founded in 2003 to help ALL students in our nation’s capital get the education they need – and deserve – to live up to their greatest potential. Every spring, we get to witness our mission being fulfilled as we find out where our Preppies and alumni are headed off to high school and college! Kylah W. is heading off to Florida A&M in the fall on a 3-year, full-ride scholarship through the National Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program. “I chose FAMU because I knew it was a great HBCU, and I knew I wanted to be immersed in that,” Kylah said. “I’ll be studying Civil Engineering, and I plan to become an [Army] officer post-graduation and serve at least 8 years in the Army.” Kylah attended Western Reserve Academy, a boarding school in Ohio, for high school through the A Better Chance (ABC) program. “DC Prep introduced me to the ABC program, which was my introduction to boarding school,” Kylah said. “[Without DC Prep] I definitely would have made a different choice for high school, because I likely would not have been introduced to boarding school or received the support of ABC in another middle school setting. My high school has prepared me to be well rounded and work with people across differences.” Kylah worked with her PrepNext counselors throughout the college application process. “The College & Career Access team was helpful with understanding the financial implications of my college choice, especially with the uAspire spreadsheet that compares out-of-pocket costs for each school I was considering,” Kylah said. For DC Prep alumni who will be starting the college application process soon, Kylah had this advice: “Keep in contact with PrepNext and lean into the Money Monday scholarship emails. They provide a lot of support.”

That’s a wrap on SY23-24! It has been so great to see how much our Preppies have grown this year. Wishing everyone a great summer! ☀️

#WeAreDCPrep and we are looking for Middle School general education and special education teachers to join our team in SY24-25! We are looking for educators who are intentional with their data, results-driven, and invested in supporting students’ academic growth and character development. To learn more about these roles and other available opportunities, visit our job board linked here: https://lnkd.in/gZymsZk