Message
Hi all,
My name is Justin Lessek, and I’m the Founding Executive Director of The Sojourner Truth Public Charter School. Truth is currently accepting applications for 6th and 7th grade and will eventually go all the way through high school. With just a week left in the MySchoolDC lottery and a recent thread on DC Urban Moms and Dads (here) raising some questions, I wanted to provide some brief responses and background. While you are of course welcome to continue the conversation with follow-up posts and discussion, I likely won’t check back in for some time and so I encourage you to write me directly at jlessek@thetruthschool.org or call me directly at 202-747-0904 if you’re looking for a response or want to learn more about anything specific. Also, we have an open house coming up next Saturday (2/29) at 9:30am and we would love to see you there! If you are interested, please RSVP (here) so that we can have enough materials ready for you and your student.
I’m extremely proud of Truth’s leadership team and the staff we are bringing on for the upcoming school year. Founding Principal Denise Edwards and I were administrators in DCPS together at a grade 6-12 school which served a population where over 80% of students receive TANF or SNAP benefits. We led initiatives in personalized, competency-based learning with the goals of both promoting equity and encouraging student self-direction and agency, and over three years it led to a quadrupling in the number of students scoring levels 4 and 5 on PARCC in math and a nearly doubling of the students scoring levels 4 and 5 in ELA. Denise has an AMI certificate in Montessori leadership, and brings extensive experience and a track record of success serving students in the District that are furthest from privilege. Our Director of Operations has come here from Memphis, TN, where he was the Founding Director of Operations at Libertas Montessori, the state’s first public Montessori school (where 90% of families receive SNAP benefits). In addition, our board brings experience in education, diversity, equity, and inclusion (see bio’s here).
While “Montessori” connotes privilege and whiteness to many, we are working extremely hard to disrupt this and are confident our team has what it takes to do so. What Montessori really means - particularly at the middle and high school level - is focusing on meaningful work with real-life application, meeting students where they are, and emphasizing skills that prepare kids for real life. We do not think that these are approaches that favor privileged students, but rather that they are an ideal approach for all students - including those that will come to us significantly below grade level or with other gaps. Further, these are not unfounded convictions, as our team is comprised of individuals with a record of success serving students furthest from opportunity.
We have been excited by the families at open houses and the applications we are seeing on MySchoolDC. Some students are coming in with extensive Montessori experience, and many are coming in with no experience whatsoever - and we are thrilled to welcome both. Many of you who have studied Montessori know that adolescence marks what Montessori theory calls “the third plane” of development, and that this plane mirrors the first plane (infancy) due to all of the physical and emotional changes taking place. For this reason, Montessori methodology and approach is significantly different at the middle and high school level than it is in the elementary school years, and most Montessorians agree that adolescence is an ideal entry point for those that don’t have prior experience.
We look forward to being a place where students will be supported and challenged regardless of whether they come in above grade level or below grade level. We believe strongly that this will manifest itself not only in PARCC growth but also significant social and emotional growth, which we think is every bit as important.
Thank you again for your interest and the discussion, and please do contact me directly at jlessek@thetruthschool.org if you’re hoping for a response on any followup questions! We hope to see you at an event sometime soon (calendar here).
Justin Lessek
My name is Justin Lessek, and I’m the Founding Executive Director of The Sojourner Truth Public Charter School. Truth is currently accepting applications for 6th and 7th grade and will eventually go all the way through high school. With just a week left in the MySchoolDC lottery and a recent thread on DC Urban Moms and Dads (here) raising some questions, I wanted to provide some brief responses and background. While you are of course welcome to continue the conversation with follow-up posts and discussion, I likely won’t check back in for some time and so I encourage you to write me directly at jlessek@thetruthschool.org or call me directly at 202-747-0904 if you’re looking for a response or want to learn more about anything specific. Also, we have an open house coming up next Saturday (2/29) at 9:30am and we would love to see you there! If you are interested, please RSVP (here) so that we can have enough materials ready for you and your student.
I’m extremely proud of Truth’s leadership team and the staff we are bringing on for the upcoming school year. Founding Principal Denise Edwards and I were administrators in DCPS together at a grade 6-12 school which served a population where over 80% of students receive TANF or SNAP benefits. We led initiatives in personalized, competency-based learning with the goals of both promoting equity and encouraging student self-direction and agency, and over three years it led to a quadrupling in the number of students scoring levels 4 and 5 on PARCC in math and a nearly doubling of the students scoring levels 4 and 5 in ELA. Denise has an AMI certificate in Montessori leadership, and brings extensive experience and a track record of success serving students in the District that are furthest from privilege. Our Director of Operations has come here from Memphis, TN, where he was the Founding Director of Operations at Libertas Montessori, the state’s first public Montessori school (where 90% of families receive SNAP benefits). In addition, our board brings experience in education, diversity, equity, and inclusion (see bio’s here).
While “Montessori” connotes privilege and whiteness to many, we are working extremely hard to disrupt this and are confident our team has what it takes to do so. What Montessori really means - particularly at the middle and high school level - is focusing on meaningful work with real-life application, meeting students where they are, and emphasizing skills that prepare kids for real life. We do not think that these are approaches that favor privileged students, but rather that they are an ideal approach for all students - including those that will come to us significantly below grade level or with other gaps. Further, these are not unfounded convictions, as our team is comprised of individuals with a record of success serving students furthest from opportunity.
We have been excited by the families at open houses and the applications we are seeing on MySchoolDC. Some students are coming in with extensive Montessori experience, and many are coming in with no experience whatsoever - and we are thrilled to welcome both. Many of you who have studied Montessori know that adolescence marks what Montessori theory calls “the third plane” of development, and that this plane mirrors the first plane (infancy) due to all of the physical and emotional changes taking place. For this reason, Montessori methodology and approach is significantly different at the middle and high school level than it is in the elementary school years, and most Montessorians agree that adolescence is an ideal entry point for those that don’t have prior experience.
We look forward to being a place where students will be supported and challenged regardless of whether they come in above grade level or below grade level. We believe strongly that this will manifest itself not only in PARCC growth but also significant social and emotional growth, which we think is every bit as important.
Thank you again for your interest and the discussion, and please do contact me directly at jlessek@thetruthschool.org if you’re hoping for a response on any followup questions! We hope to see you at an event sometime soon (calendar here).
Justin Lessek
Hi all,
Thanks for all of the interest regarding our plans for Truth. The questions are great ones, and each has been a focus with our various design and leadership teams.
For those that are interested and have some time, our charter application can be found here and has chapters devoted both to our academic model and the need and demand for a public Montessori middle and high school in D.C. We also have a few info sessions in the next couple of weeks, and these will be great opportunities for questions and answers around some of the concerns raised above (and also any others):
· Thursday, April 4th at 7pm at the Woodridge Public Library (1801 Hamlin St NE)
· Tuesday, April 9th at 7:30pm at the Petworth Public Library (4200 Kansas Ave NW)
· Wednesday, April 10th at 6:30pm at the Francis Gregory Public Library (3660 Alabama Ave SE)
Our hope is to open with both a 6th and 7th grade class. Most (with some exceptions) Montessori upper elementary programs go through the 6th grade, and so our incoming 6th graders would largely be students without prior Montessori experience and many of our incoming 7th graders may arrive with some experience. One of our goals is to make the Montessori approach more accessible to families without prior experience, and so much of our promotion and outreach thus far has been outside of the current Montessori community. We have been working hard to build relationships with counselors, administrators, and families from non-Montessori public schools around all 8 wards of the city to inform them of our model and our hope to be an option for their students in the fall of 2020. These efforts will continue, and please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly (jlessek@thetruthschool.org) if you would like to arrange an info session or connect me to a group or community that you think would be interested.
Our leadership team has a great deal of experience serving in Title I public middle and high schools in D.C. and serving students with diverse needs – including English learners, those that have disconnected from high school, students with disabilities, those performing significantly below grade level on standardized metrics, and those performing at or above. We are eager to do the same at The Sojourner Truth School, and to following the Montessori Method’s personalized tenet of always “following the child.” To that end, we have developed a competency-based model and approach that will allow the focus to remain on each individual learner’s needs rather than just age or grade level. The competency framework includes not only traditional and standards-aligned academic skills, but also social-emotional facets. We are excited to bring a model that puts as much emphasis on the development of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, healthy relationships, and responsible decision-making (CASEL’s five pillars of social emotional learning) as it does on traditional academic skills. We know that students arrive to middle and high school with varying needs with respect to these skills, just like they do with math or reading, and that a deliberate and intentional approach to their development is most effective.
We are proud of the Board of Directors that has been brought together, and particularly the diverse skills and experience that the members bring. Multiple Board members have committed their careers to effectively promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools, and we’re leveraging their expertise in order to recruit equitably and to create a culture, environment, and curriculum where everyone who walks onto campus feels welcomed and experiences both windows and mirrors in our coursework and staff.
We have chosen a bold namesake in Sojourner Truth. She was a forceful advocate for abolition, women’s suffrage, and prison reform throughout her life, making an example of fostering community, identifying injustice, actively pursuing positive change, and always evolving as an individual. She is the ultimate embodiment of our school’s four core values: (1) honor self-development, (2) design for positive impact, (3) pursue justice everywhere, and (4) challenge the mind, body, and soul. We do not take the namesake lightly, and by incorporating these values into our instructional model and competency framework we aim to honor her legacy daily and directly.
As has been mentioned above, legislation would currently be required for a feeder pattern and there is no preference in public charter schools for Montessori experience. Our team believes strongly that Truth’s model and approach will be transformative for students regardless of Montessori experience, and that the school’s success will not be contingent on the establishment of any kind of pattern. We acknowledge, however, the deep investment that families at public Montessori elementary schools have made in a Montessori education, and we do want to be an option for them – and for all families of DC - that would like a personalized, Montessori approach through the 12th grade.
We look forward to serving at-risk students, and would absolutely welcome an at-risk preference. Since that is not a possibility under current charter regulations, however, we will continue to enthusiastically recruit and promote among all populations, including those most under-resourced and at-risk.
Facilities procurement, as many of you probably know, is one of the biggest challenges for public charter schools. As far as a location, we are considering and have toured sites all over the city. The current Montessori elementary schools are mainly in Ward 5, and so this is an area we are looking at closely. We are eager to recruit outside of this Montessori community as well, however, and so accessibility for families from all around the District is a priority.
Thank you once again for the interest and questions, and I do hope that some of you will consider joining for one of our upcoming info sessions! I will check DCUM every so often, but if you have a question or feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at jlessek@thetruthschool.org.
Justin
Thanks for all of the interest regarding our plans for Truth. The questions are great ones, and each has been a focus with our various design and leadership teams.
For those that are interested and have some time, our charter application can be found here and has chapters devoted both to our academic model and the need and demand for a public Montessori middle and high school in D.C. We also have a few info sessions in the next couple of weeks, and these will be great opportunities for questions and answers around some of the concerns raised above (and also any others):
· Thursday, April 4th at 7pm at the Woodridge Public Library (1801 Hamlin St NE)
· Tuesday, April 9th at 7:30pm at the Petworth Public Library (4200 Kansas Ave NW)
· Wednesday, April 10th at 6:30pm at the Francis Gregory Public Library (3660 Alabama Ave SE)
Our hope is to open with both a 6th and 7th grade class. Most (with some exceptions) Montessori upper elementary programs go through the 6th grade, and so our incoming 6th graders would largely be students without prior Montessori experience and many of our incoming 7th graders may arrive with some experience. One of our goals is to make the Montessori approach more accessible to families without prior experience, and so much of our promotion and outreach thus far has been outside of the current Montessori community. We have been working hard to build relationships with counselors, administrators, and families from non-Montessori public schools around all 8 wards of the city to inform them of our model and our hope to be an option for their students in the fall of 2020. These efforts will continue, and please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly (jlessek@thetruthschool.org) if you would like to arrange an info session or connect me to a group or community that you think would be interested.
Our leadership team has a great deal of experience serving in Title I public middle and high schools in D.C. and serving students with diverse needs – including English learners, those that have disconnected from high school, students with disabilities, those performing significantly below grade level on standardized metrics, and those performing at or above. We are eager to do the same at The Sojourner Truth School, and to following the Montessori Method’s personalized tenet of always “following the child.” To that end, we have developed a competency-based model and approach that will allow the focus to remain on each individual learner’s needs rather than just age or grade level. The competency framework includes not only traditional and standards-aligned academic skills, but also social-emotional facets. We are excited to bring a model that puts as much emphasis on the development of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, healthy relationships, and responsible decision-making (CASEL’s five pillars of social emotional learning) as it does on traditional academic skills. We know that students arrive to middle and high school with varying needs with respect to these skills, just like they do with math or reading, and that a deliberate and intentional approach to their development is most effective.
We are proud of the Board of Directors that has been brought together, and particularly the diverse skills and experience that the members bring. Multiple Board members have committed their careers to effectively promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools, and we’re leveraging their expertise in order to recruit equitably and to create a culture, environment, and curriculum where everyone who walks onto campus feels welcomed and experiences both windows and mirrors in our coursework and staff.
We have chosen a bold namesake in Sojourner Truth. She was a forceful advocate for abolition, women’s suffrage, and prison reform throughout her life, making an example of fostering community, identifying injustice, actively pursuing positive change, and always evolving as an individual. She is the ultimate embodiment of our school’s four core values: (1) honor self-development, (2) design for positive impact, (3) pursue justice everywhere, and (4) challenge the mind, body, and soul. We do not take the namesake lightly, and by incorporating these values into our instructional model and competency framework we aim to honor her legacy daily and directly.
As has been mentioned above, legislation would currently be required for a feeder pattern and there is no preference in public charter schools for Montessori experience. Our team believes strongly that Truth’s model and approach will be transformative for students regardless of Montessori experience, and that the school’s success will not be contingent on the establishment of any kind of pattern. We acknowledge, however, the deep investment that families at public Montessori elementary schools have made in a Montessori education, and we do want to be an option for them – and for all families of DC - that would like a personalized, Montessori approach through the 12th grade.
We look forward to serving at-risk students, and would absolutely welcome an at-risk preference. Since that is not a possibility under current charter regulations, however, we will continue to enthusiastically recruit and promote among all populations, including those most under-resourced and at-risk.
Facilities procurement, as many of you probably know, is one of the biggest challenges for public charter schools. As far as a location, we are considering and have toured sites all over the city. The current Montessori elementary schools are mainly in Ward 5, and so this is an area we are looking at closely. We are eager to recruit outside of this Montessori community as well, however, and so accessibility for families from all around the District is a priority.
Thank you once again for the interest and questions, and I do hope that some of you will consider joining for one of our upcoming info sessions! I will check DCUM every so often, but if you have a question or feedback, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at jlessek@thetruthschool.org.
Justin
Hi all --
I am part of a team trying to launch a new public Montessori middle and high school in D.C. If approved, it would be called the Sojourner Truth School and now that the school is getting closer to reality I wanted to introduce our vision.
With a mission to empower students to transform the world, Truth aims to become D.C.'s first public Montessori middle and high school, and a high-quality option for all students of D.C. - regardless of whether or not they have prior experience with Montessori.
Truth's leadership and design teams combine individuals with backgrounds teaching and leading in local public Montessori schools with those who have extensive experience and success innovating in non-Montessori D.C. public middle and high schools, and we are working to ensure that all staff receive aligned training.
The leadership and design teams strongly believe in the original tenets of the Montessori Method and its underlying philosophy of inclusivity. We have intentionally designed our model to be accessible to all students, and one of our goals is to reach families that have not yet had Montessori access and may not even be aware of Montessori as an option. Truth seeks to provide continuity of programming through the 12th grade for those that are already invested in Montessori, and also to utilize open enrollment as a way to provide broad access to anyone from around the District looking for a personalized and holistic approach that deliberately prepares students to become independent, confident, and resourceful adults.
As a seventeen-year veteran of Chicago and DC Public Schools and the parent of two public school students here in D.C., I'm thrilled to be part of the team for Truth. If you are interested in a new and high-quality public school option for middle and high school, there are a number of ways to learn more and help support our effort.
To learn more about our model:
• Please visit us at www.thetruthschool.org
• Send an email with questions or ideas directly to me at jlessek@thetruthschool.org.
• Attend one of our upcoming info sessions (dates available here). Our next sessions will be in Wards 5, 4, and 7.
• Read our charter application here.
To show your support:
• Take 20 seconds to sign on to our petition here
• Send a quick email to the Public Charter School Board (public.comment@dcpcsb.org) expressing your support for the Truth School. Just one or two sentences is fine!
To get involved:
• Come join us at a public hearing pf the D.C. Public Charter School Board on April 22nd. RSVP here.
• If you're interested in joining one of our design teams (academic, culture and climate, or parent), please email me (jlessek@thetruthschool.org) to coordinate.
Thank you to all for your consideration of the above, and please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly (jlessek@thetruthschool.org) with any questions, concerns, or to continue the conversation.
Justin Lessek
I am part of a team trying to launch a new public Montessori middle and high school in D.C. If approved, it would be called the Sojourner Truth School and now that the school is getting closer to reality I wanted to introduce our vision.
With a mission to empower students to transform the world, Truth aims to become D.C.'s first public Montessori middle and high school, and a high-quality option for all students of D.C. - regardless of whether or not they have prior experience with Montessori.
Truth's leadership and design teams combine individuals with backgrounds teaching and leading in local public Montessori schools with those who have extensive experience and success innovating in non-Montessori D.C. public middle and high schools, and we are working to ensure that all staff receive aligned training.
The leadership and design teams strongly believe in the original tenets of the Montessori Method and its underlying philosophy of inclusivity. We have intentionally designed our model to be accessible to all students, and one of our goals is to reach families that have not yet had Montessori access and may not even be aware of Montessori as an option. Truth seeks to provide continuity of programming through the 12th grade for those that are already invested in Montessori, and also to utilize open enrollment as a way to provide broad access to anyone from around the District looking for a personalized and holistic approach that deliberately prepares students to become independent, confident, and resourceful adults.
As a seventeen-year veteran of Chicago and DC Public Schools and the parent of two public school students here in D.C., I'm thrilled to be part of the team for Truth. If you are interested in a new and high-quality public school option for middle and high school, there are a number of ways to learn more and help support our effort.
To learn more about our model:
• Please visit us at www.thetruthschool.org
• Send an email with questions or ideas directly to me at jlessek@thetruthschool.org.
• Attend one of our upcoming info sessions (dates available here). Our next sessions will be in Wards 5, 4, and 7.
• Read our charter application here.
To show your support:
• Take 20 seconds to sign on to our petition here
• Send a quick email to the Public Charter School Board (public.comment@dcpcsb.org) expressing your support for the Truth School. Just one or two sentences is fine!
To get involved:
• Come join us at a public hearing pf the D.C. Public Charter School Board on April 22nd. RSVP here.
• If you're interested in joining one of our design teams (academic, culture and climate, or parent), please email me (jlessek@thetruthschool.org) to coordinate.
Thank you to all for your consideration of the above, and please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly (jlessek@thetruthschool.org) with any questions, concerns, or to continue the conversation.
Justin Lessek