Guerilla Educators

PROFICIENT AND I KNOW IT!

From my good friends and colleagues at Tech Prep in DC.  Proficient and I Know It! >

DC Teacher of the Year, Jon Rolle

Jon Rolle, 3rd grade Teacher at Friendship Southeast Elementary Academy Charter School, has been named the Washington DC Teacher of the Year by the DC State Board of Education.  Mr. Rolle teaches an all boys class. This is the 2nd consecutive year that a Friendship Charter School Teacher has earned this pretigious award.  Guerilla Educators is privileged to assist Friendship Charter Schools with Professional Developments for teachers and implementation of Project Based Learning in, and out of, classrooms.  Congratulations, Jon!  

Funding Needed for Anacostia High School Project

It has come to my attention that the project, attached, in which students from Anacostia High School in Washington, DC, as part of a year long water monitoring student initiative of the Anacostia River does not now have funding.  Ms Brenda Gadd, Director of the Little Cayman Research Centre (LCRC), Ms Carrie Manfrino, President of the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI), and Guerilla Educators have developed the project as a template that can be used for students from Oakland to Detroit to DC.  The Anacostia students are scheduled to travel to LCRC on Little Cayman Island for a week in February to study reef systems and island habitats as part of a year long "we all live downstream" water monitoring study of the Anacostia River System.  Their work will be academically, scientifically, and socially rigorous, technology driven, and FUN.  The Friendship Charter Schools CAO thought he had secured the $25,000 to send 20 students to CCMI, but this is apparently not the case at this time.  Funding for such a transformative project to involve historically under-represented DC students in NOAA type work is, to be colloquial, a "no brainer".  All of which to say that if there is an angel who would support this project, the money would be put to very good use on behalf of a hard working group of inner city DC teens.  I know this is a real long shot with such a short turn-around time but the return in terms of civic/academic/scientific leadership development of these students is enormous so it is worth that shot.

Download CCMI daily_schedule

Thank you for your time.

Education Based Job Opportunity in DC

Friendship Public Charter Schools, one of the nation's most innovative and effective charter school systems, is looking for Instructional Performance Coaches at their DC campuses.  The Summary Description of the Position(s) are as follows:

The Instructional Performance Coach is
a critical lever in improving student achievement. The role of the coach is to
improve student achievement by building teachers capacity and understanding of
instructional practices. The coach, in conjunction with the administration, is
responsible for ensuring high-quality instruction in classrooms through modeling, coplanning,
co-teaching and providing feedback to teachers. Coaches are expected
to support the instructional development of all teachers, which means they are
generalists who will work with teachers in a variety of subject areas. While
coaches may bring a particular subject-area expertise, their focus is on improving
instructional quality across all subject areas. Coaches will create a schedule with
their administration listing the teachers they work with on a rotational basis.
Coaches will work with high will teachers in ensuring that they meet their
Performance Management targets. Coaches will be required to build curriculum
and support teachers in understanding the curriculum and writing it. They must
have working knowledge of Understanding by Design, standards based learning
and data analysis. Coaches should come with the ability to build strong
relationships with teachers, administrator and other coaches. It is essential that all
coaches work collaboratively and as a team. Coaches will be evaluated jointly by
principals and the Instructional Performance Supervisor. Coaches will set
Performance Management goals 3 times per year and be evaluated on reaching
those goals. Evaluations will also reflect teachers that the coach supports reaching
their Performance Management goals as well as the school reaching AYP.

We here at Guerilla Educators have never recommended educators for specific professional employment openings but this is a singular opportunity for the right educators to become part of a truly dynamic, nurturing work environment.  Click here to see the full description: Instructional_Performance_Coach-_official_job_description  

If interested, contact [email protected] for more details

Michelle Obama at Anacostia High School Commencement

In 1939, the great Marian Anderson was to be scheduled to sing at the Daughters of the American Revolution's Constitution Hall in Washington, DC.  Provisions in the DAR's charter at that time prohibited "racial mixing" in the audience and "concerts by white artists only" were permitted, so Ms Anderson was denied permission to perform there.  As a result, First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt angrily resigned from her membership in the DAR and made it possible for Marion Anderson to sing at the Lincoln Memorial.

How apt, then, that today, First Lady, Michelle Obama gave a most powerful and poignant Commencement Address to the 164 graduating students from The Academies at Anacostia High School.  Take a look...

ABC News

Fox News

Anacostia High School, now run under the auspices of Friendship Charter Schools, has, until this school year, been one of the poorest performing schools in Washington. This inaugural year as part of the Friendship flagship, improvement at the Academies has been immediate and significant.  This year, about 90% of the graduating class will attend an institution of higher education.  Graduation rates are up, absences are down, academic performance has improved considerably and Anacostia is now a much safer, more nurturing place to attend.  So congratulations to the students, and a big thank you on behalf of those students to Mr. Donald Hense and all the educators who have made this day so special.  And of course, a special thanks to Mrs. Obama!

Friendship Tech Prep SEDS Award

On Thursday, May 27, 2010 the Alliance to Save Energy's, Saving Energy in DC Schools (SEDS) held their reporting out/celebration  for the '09-'10 school year.  First year school, Friendship Tech Prep Academy Charter School won for Best Data Collection, one of only 4 awards at this year's event.  This award went to the school for the best energy-based data collection and organization, synthesis, and presentation of that data.  Tech Prep held a school-wide Energy Audit Day where the entire student body participated in hands-on energy projects.  They took their data and understandings about energy and used that as the basis for their Science Fair Projects.  This data was then uploaded to their SEDS website.  At every step, the project activities were correlated across a range of curriculums and technology was used at everty step of the process.  On hand to accept the award on behalf of their students was Tech Prep Vice-Principal, Ms Desarmes and hard working teachers, Mr, Campbell and Mr. Bean. Congratulations, Tech Prep!

   

Guerilla Educators Charter School Services

Guerilla Educators is one of the nation's premier consulting advisers to prospective Charter School groups and to existing Charters, as well.  Our deep experience as Charter School Founder and consultant to numerous charters around the country positions us to help insure that your application will be accepted.  Upon acceptance, we will work with your staff to provide Professional Developments and ongoing support so your school provides quality teaching and learning opportunities from Day One.  Our Guerilla Educators Educational Facilities Design Service will also assist you with your physical facility needs.  We work with some of the finest school architects, planners, and designers to help you create spaces that will optimize your immediate facilities reality and, down the road, will work with you to create your ideal educational facility based on your specific needs.  Let's get started!

Friendship Charter Schools Science Fair

This video documents the Friendship Charter Schools Science Fair, which was held on a cold, sunny Saturday morning in February, in Washington, DC at Friendship Collegiate High School.  Students competed in such areas Botany, Engineering, and Environmental Science and in each project students displayed a high degree of rigorous, practical and theoretical knowledge of the subject.  The 1st and 2nd place winners of the Friendship Science Fair will now go on to compete in the District-wide DC Science Fair.