Senior Isaiah Smith is the 2017 winner of the DC Public Charter School Board’s Student Excellence award, recognizing his dedication, excellence, and care demonstrated in his work at Washington Latin. This is the inaugural year for the award, and Isaiah was selected from many students nominated across the District. When he spoke at the award ceremony on Monday, Smith noted that he appreciated Latin’s “Socratic seminar style of learning, where I can hear opinions and ideas from my classmates instead of just being talked at by a teacher.” He said it “has made it easier to learn and also has allowed me to develop my own ideas while still being able to listen to others. Overall, this environment has made high school an enjoyable experience.” You can see what led Latin to nominate Isaiah in this DCPCSB video.
It’s been an exciting fall for Smith, who just nabbed a full-tuition scholarship to the University of Rochester. Smith has been a star at Latin since his first year. After joining the school in his freshman year, and was selected to speak on The National School Choice Week panel with congressional leaders at the Cannon House Office building that year. Washington Latin has previously had four students gain scholarships to Bucknell, one to Pepperdine, two to Lafayette, and one to the University of Wisconsin through the Posse Scholarship. The program brings together a “posse” of students from specific cities to provide a support system for college students who are traveling far from home. You can find more information at www.possefoundation.org.
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