Hello everyone - Powell will be holding an open house at 9am next Tuesday, December 17, 9:00-10:00 a.m.
Tuesday's event was snowed out - sort of. This will be the same time, place, and itinerary next Tuesday at Powell, 1350 Upshur St. NW. Come in the front doors, turn left, and let folks know you are there for the tour. You won't have to RSVP. Let me know if you have questions in advance. As I mentioned last time - there are lots of reasons to be excited about Powell: Powell piloted the Tools of the Mind curriculum, now one of the most coveted Preschool and Pre-Kindergarten programs in DC Public Schools. There are small classes with two educators in each classroom and a highly qualified faculty who work in both English and Spanish as part of the school’s dual-language program. Powell has been a leader in home visits this year and we got to know our child’s teachers well quickly. Principal Janeece Docal arrived four years ago and since then Powell students and our community have done nothing but grow. She was a 2013 winner of a Rubenstein Award for Highly Effective Leaders. Powell was recognized as the second-best bilingual school in the United States by the Spanish Embassy (2012-2013), and was the 2012 recipient of Fight for Children Rising Star Award. It has everything from a robotics club to afterschool programs with the Latin American Youth Center to a student mayor and council who met Mayor Gray and Members of the DC Council in November to advocate on behalf of the school. Students returned to Powell in August 2013 with a renovation completed for all of the early childhood classrooms, which are now right-sized for preschool and pre-K, all equipped with bathrooms, and these new spaces all have great technology in each room. There are exciting plans for expansion and modernization of the entire building. My wife and I have been very pleased with what our son is learning in his preschool class and, after wading through the lottery process last year, are very happy to have found a great school for our family, responsive administrators and teachers, and an active parent community, Parents Organized for the Power of Powell (POPPs). We hope you’ll come by Powell next Tuesday morning at 9:00 to talk with Principal Docal, take a tour of our school, meet parents, take a peek into one of our early childhood classrooms, and learn why we feel so optimistic about our children’s future at Powell. Powell, located at 1350 Upshur St. NW (between 13th and 14th Streets, not far from Petworth Library and across the street from the lovely Upshur Park), is the DCPS elementary school for much of southern Petworth, 16th Street Heights and the southern half of Crestwood. Andrew Rowe andrewrowe@gmail.com |
Hello everyone - Powell will have its open house and tour tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.
We hope to see any and all there! No RSVP required, parents and the principal will be there and happy to talk to any and all with questions. Wishing you all success this lottery season! Andrew Rowe andrewrowe@gmail.com |
Does Powell have a language dominance based lottery like oyster? |
No, but on e you get to 1st grade you have to option of English Track only or Spanish track where it's 70% spanish versus 30% English |
The Hispanic population is over 70% at the school so there is no need for that type of lottery. Also it's against DC law for that. Oyster got permission several years back. |
English only option begins in K. |