CAPCS "STARS" Shine at Tribute

David D'Ercole was named Most Outstanding Principal and Jacquline Peart was named Most Outstanding Teacher (Elementary) by the DC Association of Chartered Public Schools at its 2012 STARS tribute ceremony held on May 10 in our own Eckstine-Ellington Theater at the Amos 3 campus. The annual event recognizes the "best of the best" in DC charter schools. Mr. D'Ercole, who serves as Academy Leader at both the Butler and Rand campuses, was cited for establishing a system with clear expectations and standards and strong buy-in from teachers and staff. This inspires them to fulfill the CAPCS mission. Ms. Peart, a 4th grade teacher at the Butler campus, was cited for making a lasting impression on students and staff and for her ability to help her students achieve a high level of achievement. Mr. D'Ercole and Ms. Peart are representative of the dedication and high quality of the CAPCS administrative and instructional staff as a whole. Congratulations to both!

Get Fit at Amos 1

Two basic elements of a healthy life style are eating the right foods in the right quantities and getting plenty of exercise. Come join the families and friends of Amos 1 for a Family Fit Night on Thursday, May 10, from 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Sponsored by the CAPCS Wellness Council, there will be fun activities like basketball and hockey and tips on making healthy food choices. You can even make your own herbal plants to take home. This fun event is open to everyone at CAPCS, so stop by and see how a few simple changes will lead to a healthier life style and a happier family.

CAPCS Teams Compete in National Underwater Robotics Competition

Twelve CAPCS 8th graders did themselves proud as they competed in the 2nd Annual National SeaPerch Challenge held at the Manassas Park Community Center pool on Thursday, April 12. The Challenge attracted teams from as far away as Hawaii, with 70 high school and middle school teams from around the county taking part. Four of the five DC teams were from CAPCS. They were the only middle school teams from the city and were the only teams made up entirely of African-American students. The SeaPerch Challenge is funded by the Office of Naval Research and is designed to promote interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The STEM program is a major focus of the CAPCS Middle School.

Teams designed an underwater robot that had to overcome a series of challenges, including an obstacle course with rings at the bottom of the pool and a deep sea salvage mission. Students also made presentations explaining the scientific and engineering concepts behind their robots. Unlike most teams with ready access to pools, this was the first live underwater test for CAPCS robots. CAPCS team sponsor teacher Kevin Johnson and Instructional Math Coach Fred Davy admitted being nervous but came away proud and satisfied. Amos 3 Academy Leader Leonard Upson also was there to cheer them on.

The 12 students who participated were Aminata Sall, Leon Savoy, Jhanae Taylor, Margo Meade, Everildiz Cordoba, Charlene Lindsay, Eric Watson, Lambert Amadi, Timothy Pearson, Cheyene Rountree, Eric Osel-Ampedu and Darrius Cook. Congratulations to all who worked so hard on this ambitious project and acquitted themselves so well.

Washington Post story here

Blossoms and Bows for Amos 1 Artists

Washington's National Cherry Blossom Festival is always a highlight of the city's tourist season. This year it is even more special because it marks the 100th anniversary of the first donation to the U.S. of cherry trees by the Japanese. CAPCS had the honor of having several pieces of artwork by Amos 1 students selected to be in the Festival's Community Art Show. The exhibition showcases the work of students from DC public and charter schools in grades K-12. This year's theme challenged students to imagine a familiar place or landmark in Washington, DC, covered in pink blossoms or lights. The exhibition will be on display in the lobby of the National Postal Museum at 2 Massachusetts Ave., NE, until April 17th. Congratulations to art teacher Kyle Barrett and to artists Jada South, Luis Martinez, Oben Njock, Esther Nnaji, Amaka Ezeibe, Lorenzo Dooh, Keion Brown, and Kenia Alfaro for this outstanding achievement. All members of the CAPCS family and their friends are encouraged to visit the exhibit.

Rand Students Create a Buzz at Spelling Bee

Carli West took First Place in the 1st and 2nd grade level at the 3rd Annual DC Reads Spelling Bee held at George Washington University on March 24. Ezinne Anyanwu and Aymen Yibrie also ably represented CAPCS at the 3rd and 4th grade level. The Annual Spelling Bee is part of the city-wide DC Reads initiative designed to improve literacy skills by partnering tutors from local universities and other volunteers with schools and organizations. Reading Partners at Rand is a partner in DC Reads. Fifty-six students at Rand participate in the program.

Carli and her mother Charlene West-Thomas "practiced like winners" for the event, said Ms. West-Thomas. "Working with Reading Partners has given Carli confidence to speak publicly, read more challenging material, and identify with what she is learning."

Technology Kindles Fire for Reading at Rand

Teachers in the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades at Rand were selected to incorporate Kindle Fires into their classroom teaching as a way to boost proficiency in language arts. Using the Kindle, teachers introduced students to books and other apps through a cloud. The technology sparked great enthusiasm and motivated students to read. Students also learned responsibility in caring for the devices and seeing that they are properly recharged.

"The students have used the Kindles successfully for both remediation and enrichment after teaching the concepts tied to our curriculum," reported one of the participating teachers. "My students love the opportunity to use the devices for Reading and math!"

Parents were equally enthusiastic. "I wish we had these type of technology tools when I was in school," said one. " I really believe my child has made some gains with good instruction and the awesome tech tools the kids have access to."

For Teachers by Teachers

There's no substitute for experience which is why the 1st annual Teacher's Conference "For Teachers by Teachers" was such a success. The Conference was held on Saturday, March 10, as part of our Saturday Academy professional development program. Dr. Wil Parker, Director of Diversity Initiatives for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, offered an inspiring keynote speech in which he urged teachers to view themselves as professionals and every bit as important as physicians, lawyers and accountants. The highlight of the day was a series of 19 workshops conducted by 27 CAPCS teachers in which they demonstrated best practices and effective lessons on such topics as Curriculum and Instruction, Parent and Community Engagement, Using Data to Improve Instruction, Strategies to Reach Special Populations, and Integrating Technology into the Classroom. There were many opportunities for teachers to discuss among themselves real world classroom situations and why the best practices were effective. Non-presenters and outside guests were free to share their own insights and experiences. There was a true spirit of mutual sharing and most came away with ideas or lessons they could implement immediately into their classrooms.

Amos 2 to Expand and Relocate

The Amos 2 Early Childhood campus now located at 1351 Nicholson St. NW, will spread its wings in the next school year by relocating to 33 Riggs Rd., NE, home of our current Rand campus which will close at the end of this school year. The move will provide Amos 2 with the additional space and facilities to more fully implement the very popular and successful Reggio-Emilia-inspired program. It also allows CAPCS to offer this highly effective, art-infused program to more children. Amos 2 traditionally must hold a lottery for its available spaces, with some applicants put on a waiting list. A lottery for the 2012-2012 school year was held in early March; now all students on the waiting list are assured of enrollment and there is room for more students. We anticipate that bus transportation between Nicholson St. and Riggs Rd. will be available. CAPCS administrative offices will remain at Nicholson St.

Only Amos 2's location is changing. The leadership, teaching staff and overall environment will remain the same. Additional staff will be hired. They will all be trained or already certified in the Reggio-Emilia program and will work with current Amos 2 teachers to understand the CAPCS way of doing things.

Happy Birthday to Dr. Height

On Friday, March 23, Amos 1's first and second graders celebrated Dr. Dorothy Irene Height, our school's namesake! All of the first graders read their collaborative folk tale about Dr. Height's life: "The Woman Who Cried, 'That's Not Fair!'". A representative from Mrs. Lightbody's second grade dressed as Dr. Height and told the students about her life. Second graders from Ms. Jeter's class read a letter they had written to Dr. Height thanking her for all she had done to inspire our school and to inspire them as students. The celebration ended with singing "Happy Birthday" to Dr. Height who would have turned 100 years old on March 24, 2012.

CAPCS Butler Campus Named Tier 1 School by PCSB

Consistent improvement in academic achievement over time and solid DC CAS test scores propelled the Butler Global into the top tier of DC public charter schools under a new evaluation and rating system developed by the DC Public Charter School Board (PCSB). The Performance Management Framework (PMF) covers grades 3rd – 8th and high school and is used to produce an annual "report card" for each school. Schools are given points in four categories – student progress over time, achievement in reading and math, preparation for future success, and attendance and reenrollment in the school. The cumulative point total determines if a school is Tier 1 (high performing). Tier 2 (mid performing) and Tier 3 (low performing).