Author: Blog Master

By Naomi Shelton  The think pieces are in and folks are falling over themselves about King Bey’s #BeyChella performance. Late Saturday night (stupid early Sunday morning for those of us on the East Coast), Beyoncé took to the stage at Coachella Music Festival and gave us what I will refer to as her blackest performance…

The following schools have no or less than 100 students on their total waitlists: Cedar Tree PCS DC Prep PCS – Anacostia Elementary Eagle Academy PCS – Capitol Riverfront Friendship PCS – Blow Pierce Elementary Friendship PCS – Blow Pierce Middle Friendship PCS – Chamberlain Elementary School Friendship PCS – Woodridge International Elementary School KIPP…

The number of children on Washington DC charter school waitlists grew last year, as it has every year since the launch of the My School DC common lottery in 2014. Indeed, growth in charter school waitlists is accelerating as more and more families seek to enroll their children in public charter schools each year. Detailed…

DC Public Schools has done a disservice to the students within the district.  Instead of spending funds on the neediest students, officials spent funds on day-to-day operations, leaving students hurt by this decision. “There’s no way we are going to help those students rise out of poverty if we don’t give them what they need.”…

By Cheryl Coleman When I was asked to write a blog several months ago, my first thought was I don’t write! Yet, blogging has now become a very enjoyable and relaxing experience. On this blogging journey, my thought process has changed from “I can’t do this”, to “let me write to share my personal experiences…

By Natasha Coleman You may have heard Oprah talk about kids who have experienced trauma or watched Ted Talks featuring doctors who talk about the negative effects of trauma on kids. It is an issue that is increasingly rising and we need to bring more awareness to it. Children are experiencing trauma at a very…

Written by Hannah Allerdice Bricker Given the everyday stressful experiences of our city’s students, the stark reality that academic achievement will not come in a non-compassionate environment, and the massive resources found in our compassionate teachers and knowledge in our city – our schools cannot afford NOT to support – with both bills and funding…

This article was first published on www.freemindsbookclub.org In 2016, Free Minds member Nick came home after serving 10 years in federal prison for a crime committed as a juvenile. We met him a decade ago, at the DC Jail. He wasn’t surprised to find himself on the DC Jail’s juvenile unit at the age of…

NAEP scores for the Washington, DC area remained stagnant, much like the rest of the country.  DC education leaders are not discouraged by the stagnation, and hope for more academic growth for the area. “The scores on the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) highlight a persistent achievement gap between white and minority students and…

DC Keys, a program that is in partnership with Washington Performing Arts, is helping students learn in a concrete manner.  Instead of learning music through merely looking at sheet music, each student has access to a keyboard to learn experientially.  The DC Keys program continues to expand to other elementary schools. “Creativity is the first…