Draft Brochure

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL Learn Achieve Grow

At Friendship Public Charter School, we focus on the future. We prepare students today to succeed tomorrow—in college, in a career, and in the world.

How do we do this?

First and foremost, we are passionate about education. We constantly seek new and creative ways to teach, to enable our students to leap over barriers and achieve. Each year, more than 90 percent of our students receive their high school degrees and 90 percent of these go on to some of the nation’s most prestigious college and universities. Many were the first in their families to do so.

At Friendship, we also consider how our students can contribute to—and benefit from—the global economy. In response to the number of retirees rising and decreasing numbers of applicants qualified for highly technical careers, we are preparing students for jobs of the future. We’ve recently opened a new school for intense study in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Our academic programs are demanding. Yet they are delivered by caring teachers and staff in a warm, nurturing environment. We invite you to join the Friendship family—and create a bright, successful future.

Donald L. Hense Chairman, Board of Trustees

Mission ................................................................2 Then and Now ................................................3 Why a Charter School ..............................3 Why Friendship ..............................................4 Friendship Campuses ..............................6 Partnership Efforts .....................................7 Chamberlain Elementary ....................................8 Southeast Elementary Academy .....................10 Woodridge Elementary and Middle ................12 Blow Pierce Junior Academy ..........................14 Collegiate Academy .........................................16 The Friendship Academy of Science and Technology .......................................18 The Friendship Academy of Engineering and Technology ................................19

In the Future ..................................................20

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Friendship’s mission is to provide a world-class education that motivates students to achieve high academic standards, enjoy learning and develop as ethical, literate, well-rounded and self-sufficient citizens that contribute actively to their communities.

It achieves this goal by providing innovative, challenging classroom learning experiences and extended learning programs.

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Then and Now In 1997, Friendship Public Charter School was founded as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Today, it is the largest charter school provider of public education on the East Coast. Nearly 4,000 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 attend its elementary, middle and high school campuses in the District of Columbia and Baltimore.

Why a Charter School?

Charter schools enjoy greater independence than traditional public schools and can focus on enabling students to achieve strong academic results—results for which the school is held accountable.

Parents choose charter schools when they want high academic standards, small and safer classes, innovative approaches and an education-focused philosophy.

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

WHY FRIENDSHIP? At Friendship, students achieve academic excellence in a warm, friendly environment.

Highly challenging academics enable Friendship students to score above the standards year after year and to receive elite scholarships and awards. Friendship delivers its rigorous curriculum in a supportive and disciplined atmosphere, giving students a “safety net” in which they can learn, experience and grow past their comfortable boundaries.

A dedicated, highly trained faculty ensures that students achieve the school’s ultimate goal—success in college.

Friendship’s after-school activities enrich students’ lives, opening doors to theater, dance, arts, poetry and engineering programs, national spelling bees and museums. Students can play sports, produce TV shows, and learn about the public safety profession or robotics.

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Partnership Efforts Friendship Public Charter Schools is known for developing successful campuses in the face of great challenges. As such, Friendship has entered a partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools to open two schools in Baltimore in the 2008-2009 school year.

The high graduation and college acceptance rate of Friendship’s Collegiate Academy proves its exceptional strength. As such, in a 2009-2010 school year partnership with D.C. Public Schools, Friendship will extend its model to lower-achieving high schools in the District to improve those students’ outcomes.

At Friendship, we take pride both in nourishing our current academic students and in taking time to build sustainable partnerships with other area schools, so that all children have equal access to a world-class education.

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

FRIENDSHIP’S FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

CAMPUSES FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Chamberlain Elementary Home of Champions

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Grades: Pre-K - 5 Location: Washington, D.C., Ward 7 1345 Potomac Avenue, Southeast

Highlights: Serves more than 700 students and has one of the strongest school performance records in the District of Columbia. Students in every grade are scoring on average at or above grade level in reading and in math and exceeding state goals each year.

Students took honors as finalists in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, hosts for U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu (LA) during National Charter School Week and ambassadors for the awareness campaign National School Breakfast Week.

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Grades: K-6 Location: Washington, D.C., Ward 8 645 Milwaukee Place, Southeast

Highlights: Features a new, technology-rich SmartLab™ where students may learn myriad tasks—to create electronic portfolios and graphics, program robots, make movies or digital photos, garden, manage ant farms, structure electricity, draw or paint, make music, build a car and more.

Extensively renovated after its purchase in 2005, the school has 16 new classrooms, a gymnasium, a student dining hall and interactive library, vaulted ceilings, bright light fixtures, red and ivory hallways, new textbooks and mobile computer laptop carts.

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Southeast Elementary Academy Home of the Tigers

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Woodridge Elementary and Middle

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Grades: Pre-school – 8 Location: Washington, D.C., Ward 5 2959 Carlton Avenue, Northeast

Highlights: Offers nurturing teachers and a SmartLab™ computer center, science lab, interactive library and art and music spaces. An intensive after-school program furthers students’ mastery of core subjects.

Students surpassed state goals for four years and exceeded the reading and math standards by more than 10 percent on the latest DC CAS assessment test; 70 percent of fifth graders received honors in one or more subjects.

School honors include a Blue Ribbon Schools nomination, a visit by President Bush and U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings, and a visit by Mrs. Bush.

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Grades: 4-8 Location: Washington, D.C., Ward 7 725 19th Street, Northeast

Highlights: Provides a successful transition to high school through academic and character education, extends learning opportunities and develops high achievers. Its Pre-Early College curriculum exposes students to accelerated English, Geometry and Algebra courses.

Blow Pierce is home to an award-winning robotics team and a National Junior Honor Society chapter. It is one of two campus bureaus for the Friendship News Network (FNN), a year-round journalism program where students create their own magazine and radio and television shows.

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Blow Pierce Junior Academy Home of the Phoenix

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Collegiate Academy Home of the Knights

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Grades: 9-12 Location: Washington, D.C., Ward 7 4095 Minnesota Avenue, Northeast

Highlights: Prepares students for college and for work in a global economy. Starting in ninth grade, students may take Collegiate Early College courses and earn up to two years of college credit. Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors courses and more than 40 Career Academy courses cover technology, science, engineering, law and communication arts.

Of the nearly 300 seniors enrolled last year, 92 percent graduated, with a majority accepted to college. Collegiate’s honors include an EPIC Award and a College Board Inspiration Award.

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

The Friendship Academy of Science and Technology Grades: 6-12 Location: Baltimore, Md. Canton Middle School 801 South Highland Avenue

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

The Friendship Academy of Engineering and Technology Grades: 9-12 Location: Washington, D.C., Ward 7 4095 Minnesota Avenue, Northeast Highlights: Opened in the fall of 2008, Friendship’s two newest schools provide an accelerated Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) focus and Early College pathway. Students may take pre-college courses in the middle school years and college courses starting in ninth grade. While completing high school, they may earn two years of college credit.

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Friendship Public Charter School is planning an additional school—and a brighter future—for students in DC’s Ward 8, which houses the city’s poorest neighborhoods. The new Tech Prep will offer grades 6-12. Adjacent to Southeast Academy elementary school, Tech Prep will cover 80,000 square feet and ultimately will serve 700 students.

There, low-income students can earn both a high school diploma and credits toward a bachelor’s degree, or toward an associate degree or certificate that meets industry standards— without paying tuition. Modeled on the Collegiate Academy, Tech Prep will offer Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors courses, as well as Career Academy courses in technology, science, engineering, law and communication arts.

Focusing on critical areas of education and employment in the DC region, Tech Prep will benefit not only students, but also employers and area residents.

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

FRIENDSHIP PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL LEARN. ACHIEVE. GROW

Friendship Public Charter School - Community Office 120 Q Street Northeast, Suite 200 Washington, DC 20002 | (202) 281-1700

www.friendshipschools.org