Yesterday marked 72 days since the 2018 graduation, the last official day of our previous school year. It was great to see many of you at our first ever beginning of the year parent-advisor conferences. If you were unable to come in, feel free to reach out to your child’s advisor to schedule an alternate meeting time.
We begin Year 13 in the school’s history full of hope and excitement. Teachers and students are still buzzing about fun summer experiences, including school-sponsored travel, fellowships, panel presentations and so much more. We have added several new positions. New courses have started to meet. We now have four alumni on our full-time staff. And we are looking forward to our convocation ceremony in two weeks.
This year, we hope to engage you in parent book clubs, our re-launched mentoring efforts, our career awareness and classroom guest programs and our dialogues across difference. You can take a look at our volunteering listand get started on one or more projects this fall. Do you want to help out in the library? Do you want to know how to benefit the school while you shop? Do you have a terrific idea for the fall festival? Visit the Latin website parents’ home page often for continually updated ideas for how you can get involved or support the school. And watch this space for more information on our upcoming speaker series.
We also strongly encourage all of you to attend our first PFA meeting of the year next Thursday (August 30) at 6:30 p.m. at the school. We will begin with my welcome to you all and some information about the school’s strategic priorities and various initiatives for this year. Dr. Diana Smith will then offer an updated version of her study skills workshop. And we might have Councilmember Todd as a special guest.
As we prepare for graduation on Monday, at UDC, I am sure our seniors are filled with emotion and memories. There is so much to recall. Times of laughter, such as when they dressed up in suits and petticoats for Ms. Seid’s Jane Austen tea party. And moments of solemnity, like visiting the 9/11 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania as a part of Mr. Hagerty’s history class. They will undoubtedly remember friends they made, some over four years, and others over eight years at our school, and the two trips to Camp Letts to build esprit de corps with their classmates and either accept to confer the mantle of leadership.
Congratulations to the seniors for their hard work and for their accomplishments within and without the classroom. They have earned more than 6 million dollars in merit aid for college, including “Beat the Odds” and “Posse” Scholarships. The DC Public Charter School Board chose one member of the class to represent all students in the City who attend Tier One schools. Students in this class took Forensic Science at Syracuse, photography at Occidental College and college prep courses at Georgetown University. Some worked after-school and summer jobs as lifeguards, baristas, or ice cream scoopers. Others participated in internships, including one on Capitol Hill with a Texas Congressman. They also had stunning success in the athletic arena, earning All-State selections, excelling in playoff appearances and receiving numerous awards. One even won a Division I scholarship for basketball.
Also, and equally importantly, our seniors learned about the importance of service to the broader community. They were “reading buddies” with fifth graders, mentors to eighth-grade students, peer mediators and tutors to middle schoolers. They made and delivered Valentine’s Day cards to senior citizens and veterans with Ms. Foster, and volunteered at the Gethsemane Baptist Church having lunch with senior citizens. They helped develop a program called Latin Soul, to volunteer to deliver cups of soup and hot cocoa to homeless people in the district, and they worked with a nonprofit called Little Lights to provide homework help.
The lessons they have learned at Washington Latin will help prepare them for the next step in life. We hope to see the class of 2018 visit the school in future years, stay in touch with Ms. Eleby-El and actively participate in the new alumni organization that we are working to build. And who knows? Maybe a member of this class will return someday to work here. I think one or two have expressed an interest in my job. On behalf of the whole school, I wish the Class of 2018 the best of luck in all their exciting adventures!
Throughout my career I have been deeply concerned about how students use out of school time, especially the summer break. In March, I referenced the phenomenon known as “summer slide.” This is the loss of content knowledge, conceptual understanding and academic skills suffered by many students during the summer months. This may even be a contributing factor to the achievement gap.
The summer is particularly unforgiving on reluctant readers. The research shows that, to prevent from regressing, students (particularly those whose skills are not advanced) need to read at least six books. These ought to be books that are not too hard and not too easy. While we require students to read certain texts, parents should encourage their children to select additional books that match their interests. We will post suggested reading lists on our website beginning late next week. They should read something everyday – whether from a newspaper, online source, TV captions or a hard cover book. And there is still value, even when students are in high school, to spend time reading aloud – this could be a fun family experience two or three times per week.
Learning loss is greater in math than in reading. This is why we have elected to prepare summer math packets for each grade level to help students continue to practice their skills. Besides this, students will benefit from playing games that are full of logic and calculations. They can gain much from visiting museums, watching sports and tracking the statistics and using recipes to cook. Older students also gain much from teaching math to younger students.
The summer should be a time of enrichment and renewal. Both children and adults benefit from new experiences or exploring new places. Thanks to the Faculty Fund, several of our teachers and administrators will be able to pursue personal and/or professional growth opportunities outside of D.C. Ms. Khashiffa Roberts plans to visit schools in Finland where she will observe classes. Mr. Rickey Torrence will do scientific research while visiting Mt. Rushmore. Ms. Caroline Rose will explore Paris and Rome. Ms. Stephanie McDaniel will attend a conference in Prague. Several of our students have also won language immersion scholarships that will take them to places like China, Jordan, Rome and Greece.
One exciting option for the summer – whether for three weeks or six – is the Washington Latin Summer School. There are opportunities for advancement, review and enrichment, featuring everything from cooking to creative writing or from Algebra I to Underwater Robotics. And it is not too late to sign up.
While reading and practicing math is important, students need to engage their minds in other ways. Help them plan for a balanced experience. Encourage community service. Give them the chance to work with their hands, whether on crafts, in the kitchen, or in the garden. Make sure they have time outdoors. And, above all, adults and children alike need to have fun!
On Wednesday evening I had the chance to discuss the state of the school. However, before talking about our performance in the past 10 months, it was important for me to acknowledge the many parents who selflessly and sacrificially give of their time, talent and treasure to make our community special. While Washington Latin is an intricate tapestry weaving together the creativity and industriousness of our teachers and administrators and the camaraderie and persistence of our student body, it would easily unravel without the diligence of our parent body. You provide the invisible stitching that holds our whole school together.
We are so appreciative of the energy you expend to reinforce our values, through meaningful discussions with your children around the dinner table about the topics they are learning, for the homework help, organizational support, and keeping children on a healthy eating and sleeping schedule all year, but especially throughout these challenging final weeks of school. Please take some time this weekend to remind students to at least clean out their backpacks and review their study guides as they prepare for end-of-year projects and final exams.
I encourage you to review the PowerPoint presentation that I shared with parents last night. I welcome your feedback, including your suggestions for how we can continue to improve as a school. However, please allow me to elaborate on a couple of points below.
We are in solid financial shape in terms of managing our debt and budget, including in terms of having the required cash on-hand. This careful fiscal management has put us in the Tier 1 category of schools. Managing our $15M budget is crucial but bolstering it with fundraising is equally so. We use donations, including from parents, to support our faculty and in turn retain them, provide new opportunities to enrich our students’ experiences, provide programming that improves their academic achievement, and more. Latin Pride helps us fund our core operations, and other funds (including Faculty Fund, Equal Access, Academic Support) allow us to constantly test and improve our model. We ran out of time last night, but there is still a key challenge in finance: garnering the donations we need to accomplish the improvements to our school that benefit students from across DC.
If you have not yet had a chance to contribute to our Faculty Fund or to one of our other fundraising campaigns, it is not too late to do so and anything that you can give will be greatly appreciated. And, if you didn’t have a chance to volunteer at Latin this year, we hope to have you more involved next year. Volunteering at our school helps maintain our loving, warm community.
This week, upper school track athletes competed in the PCSAA Championship. And, on Sunday, several of our students, teachers, and parents plan on participating in the Capitol Hill Classic 3K, 10K or Fun Run events. This got me thinking about the importance of athletics and running in the classical tradition.
Competitive running evolved out of religious festivals and military training as far back as the second millennium BCE. The modern-day marathon was named after a run undertaken by a Greek soldier, from a battlefield near a town called Marathon to Athens in 490 BCE. The Olympic Games in Ancient Greece featured several running contests, including the “preeminent test of stamina and speed:” the stade race (which was about 200 meters).
Beyond the clear origins of this athletic endeavor in Greek history, it is not a surprise that Latin has terrific track and cross country programs, because so many of our teachers run for pleasure. Running is affordable, accessible, and requires stamina and persistence, with a focus on meeting long-term goals – all skills we value as a school.
Our coaching staff works to push our athletes beyond where they feel comfortable, spurring them on to greater speed, strength, and endurance. And, while we might think of running as an individual pursuit, teamwork is critical to our program. The athletes and their coaches go to great lengths to work together and support each other.
For a small school with limited facilities (such as no onsite track), we have had remarkable success in our cross country, indoor and outdoor track programs. We have a nationally ranked long-distance runner. We have been the number one or number two school in the public charter school league each of the past three years. We have had students qualify for nationals each of the past two years.
While these teams show just how far (and fast!) students can go with strong coaches, we are lucky at Washington Latin to have so many talented teacher coaches, in several different sports, who coordinate daily practices, supervise workouts (often on their own time), and manage games and meets that go late into the evening and on the weekends. I salute their commitment to continuing their teaching outside the classroom, helping facilitate wellness, camaraderie, and self-esteem.
As I think about teacher appreciation week which ends today, a statement that I have made to students and teachers over the years keeps replaying in my mind: “Be great.” Some may see this as a trite, simplistic, idealistic or naïve statement. But isn’t that what we are called to do? There’s far too much mediocrity, there are too many content with doing enough to just get by. But our students and our community deserve a commitment to greatness.
Great schools are more than books, buildings or benchmarks; they are more than standards, schedules or software. While curriculum, assessments, field trips, Socratic Seminars and individualized education plans all make a difference, they do not determine the greatness of an institution. Great schools are always about people – who work together with a common vision and great faith.
Study after study shows the single most important factor determining the quality of the education a child receives is the quality of his/her teacher. Great teaching can change a child’s life. That kind of teaching is a remarkable combination of art, science, inspiration, talent, gift, and — always — incredibly hard work. It requires relationship building, subject expertise and a deep understanding of the craft. Celebrated athletes and performers have nothing on our best teachers.
Teaching and learning are not mechanical processes but deeply human ones that call upon not just our minds but our hearts and souls. Great teaching requires teachers who can fully show up day-after-day and year-after-year, cultivating their own identity and integrity in the face of both heartbreaking challenge and exhilarating success.
We have the capacity for greatness because we have the cornerstone already in place – great people. These are people who demonstrate tenacity. When students don’t get it the first time, these teachers try again. And again. And again, until the students do get it. They don’t give up; they figure it out. Some sacrifice lunchtime, coming in early and staying late, working tirelessly with students one-on-one or in small groups. These are people who show humility. They quietly work miracles in the classroom every day, asking for no recognition, and rarely receiving praise. It is often a thankless job, but they do it anyway. They love children and selflessly give them their very best each day. Only a great teacher can transform the illiterate into expert readers, the ignorant into life-long learners, struggling, self-doubters into scholars.
To those who dare to be great, thank you for all that you do for our children. You make our lives richer because of it.
