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Hanseul Kang, state superintendent of schools, recently visited Mundo Verde Bilingual Public Charter School in Northwest to meet with students for OSSE’s annual “Strawberries and Salad Greens Day” lunch.
City government officials and others who participated in the June 7 event — described as a celebration of locally sourced, seasonal foods — also visited schools throughout the District to participate in lessons and activities focused on the benefits of developing healthy eating habits for life.
Although DCPS students have participated in the event for the past six years, all public, public charter and private schools had the opportunity to participate in the event by serving local strawberries and local salad greens during the lunch meal service.
Twitter Town Hall
Schools Chancellor Antwan Wilson will hold a town hall via Twitter Thursday, June 22 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. To participate, follow @DCPSChancellor on Twitter and submit questions using #AskChantwan.
DCPS Goes to College
Derrick Rowell, a senior at Anacostia High School, grew up thinking he would attend college at North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro, but when he visited the campus, something unexpected happened.
“I’m a pretty religious guy, and God told me A&T wasn’t for me,” Derrick said. “But at Tennessee State University [located in Nashville], it just clicked.”
Derrick will be attending Tennessee State next year as an Economic Club scholarship winner, and he plans to study journalism to ultimately become a sports journalist.
Meanwhile, Sierra Queen, a senior at Columbia Heights Education Campus, cried when she found out she had been accepted to Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
She visited the school on a college tour with CHEC during her junior year, and was struck by how beautiful the campus was and how friendly the students were.
“I remember thinking, ‘This could be my new home,’” she said, adding that she chose Cornell because she “wanted a college that was going to help define [herself]” in ways she couldn’t do alone.
Campaigning for DCPS’ Future
DCPS launched an ambitious strategic plan five years ago that included five goals known as the “Capital Commitment.” Today, both academic performance and graduation rates have increased along with enrollment and student satisfaction rates.
With those accomplishments in mind, Chancellor Antwan Wilson has been leading a citywide engagement campaign that focuses on DCPS’ future.
Having heard over the past several months from more than 3,000 students, parents, educators, partners, and community members, who shared their experiences from every ward and every school, the chancellor’s administration expresses excitement to share that feedback.
Graduation Task Force
The DC State Board of Education has formed a new “High School Graduation Requirements Task Force” that comes under leadership of board representatives Laura Wilson Phelan of Ward 1 and Markus Batchelor of Ward 8.
Current graduation requirements in the District that were established 10 years ago, require students to earn 24 course credits and complete 100 hours of community service.
However, the task force will review, analyze and, as necessary, make thoughtful, implementable recommendations to adjust DC’s high school graduation requirements for all DCPS and public charter students. All applications for the task force will be open to public review.
“This task force will bring together key education stakeholders and leaders from across the District to discuss the elements of the graduation requirements that are working and those that need to be adapted to 21st century learning,” Phelan said. “We strive to create a pathway to graduation that will be motivating for all students, across all eight wards.”