Reply to Sojourner Truth Montessori PCS (grades 6-12)

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[quote=JLessek]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 ([url=https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/853767.page]here[/url]) 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 ([url=https://www.eventbrite.com/o/sojourner-truth-montessori-public-charter-school-29151545321]here[/url]) 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 [url=https://thetruthschool.org/our-team]here[/url]).

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 [url=https://thetruthschool.org/new-events]here[/url]).

Justin Lessek
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