During Fight For Children’s School Night on April 24, 2008, School Night Chairman Sheila C. Johnson joined Fight For Children Chairman Joseph E. Robert and President and CEO Michela English to award $100,000 to three DC schools:

Fight For Children made these grants as part of its Quality Schools Initiative. The three “Champions of Quality” – one public, one public charter and one independent school – met multiple eligibility requirements for the program, including increased student achievement and demonstrated best practices based on quality indicators in the areas of leadership, instruction, and professional development. An independent selection committee of leaders across DC’s education spectrum selected the winning schools and four finalists. The best practices exhibited by the three winning schools will be captured in professionally written case studies and shared across the education spectrum. Fight For Children will also host forums to showcase these programs. Click here for additional information on the Quality Schools Initiative.

The four finalists–Cleveland Elementary School, Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, Capital City Public Charter School, and Washington Jesuit Academy–each received $10,000 cash grants at School Night.

About the Finalists

Cleveland Elementary School offers students a modern, well-organized facility and a motivating learning environment. It offers a unique Spanish immersion program that divides each instruction day equally into English and Spanish. The school’s leadership team teaches students and interacts regularly with the student body throughout the school.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School is the only DC Public School with a nationally board certified early childhood teacher. Its use of data to track success in early education is unique and is proving successful in preparing children to learn in kindergarten and beyond. To learn more, visit http://www.k12.dc.us/schools/MLKing/webmlking1205.htm.

Capital City Public Charter School works collaboratively with students, parents, and educators to plan vertically across all grade levels. Using curriculum mapping, the school establishes a scope and sequence for instruction for an entire school year. Capital City implements the Expeditionary Learning school design, in which teachers and students undertake long-term, in-depth investigations involving authentic research, community fieldwork, service, and technology. To learn more visit www.ccpcs.org.

Washington Jesuit Academy is a unique, tuition-free, middle school serving 75 young men. Its mission is to provide a rigorous, disciplined learning experience that prepares its student to succeed is college preparatory high schools. The young men who are students at the Washington Jesuit Academy experience a structured educational environment that requires them to be in school most days from 7:30am to 7:30 pm. To learn more visit www.wjacademy.org.