neighborhood news
Change Comes to Excel Academy School to Begin 2018 Academic Year with DCPS, New Principal by Elizabeth O’Gorek
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fter three months of uncertainty, students and families at Excel Academy (2501 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE) are finally sure that they can return to the school for the 2018-2019 academic year. The school will officially move to District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) under a new principal, Tenia Pritchard, in June 2018. An all-girls school serving preK-3 through grade eight, Excel Academy has the stated goal of “providing girls a solid academic foundation and enrichment opportunities to prepare them to success in high school and college and to develop the skills and confidence they need to make healthy, positive lifestyle choices.” Excel Academy had previously held a charter from the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board (DCPCSB). In January, DCPCSB voted unanimously to revoke Excel Academy’s charter because the school had not met its charter goals. The December 2017 DCPCSB assessment noted that “While observers saw Excel PCS students working to develop the skills and confidence they need to make healthy, positive lifestyle choices, they did not see the school meeting the academic aspects of its mission.” Many Excel Academy parents disagreed with the DCPSCB decision, saying they were initially ‘devastated’ when they learned of the news. Many believed that the DCPCSB had made up their minds before they heard from parents at the Charter hearing. They say Excel provided an excellent learning environment, clear communication and support to families and they are worried that the move to DCPS might cause all that to change. Parent Shamika Cherry is proud her daughter was a student at Excel Academy Public Charter School.
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“Every single staff member and teacher that I’ve had encounters with are professional, communicate effectively and are always detailed,” she said.
Tenia Pritchard (L) receives the 2018 DCPS Principal of the Year Award from Mayor Muriel Bowser at the Standing Ovation event, held February 8, 2018 at The Anthem Theater. Photo: Courtesy DCPS.
Cherry said the support provided to Excel families “was above and beyond. As the saying goes “it takes a village” --well as a parent I truly felt that at Excel.” Clifton Whitehurst said that he removed his daughter from public school after two years of pre-kindergarten to enroll her at Excel in kindergarten. He said he noticed an immediate change in the way that she was treated by teachers, and in her learning. He and his spouse had always worked with their daughter, he said, but they had to play catch up once she started at Excel. “Her first couple of months I immediately noticed that what we were doing was not enough,” he said, “because she was reading better, doing her arithmetic far better than what we were doing with her.” “She’s a first grader now, and though we take some credit for the way she articulates herself to the positive attitude she has towards her education, I feel Excel has to get most of that credit,” he said. Whitehurst also emphasized the constant communication from teachers, facilitated by an online system that allowed parents to keep track of behavior and academic progress and to communicate with staff.