District of Columbia International School

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District of Columbia International School
Old Walter Reed Delano Hall 2020c.jpg
Delano Hall, the home of the District of Columbia International School
Location
District of Columbia International School
1400 Main Dr NW

Washington, D.C.
20012

United States
Coordinates 38°58′23″N77°02′03″W / 38.9730°N 77.0342°W / 38.9730; -77.0342
Information
Type Charter school
Established2014(11 years ago) (2014)
Head of schoolMary Shaffner
FacultyApproximately 280[ citation needed ]
Grades 6-12
Enrollment1,200[ citation needed ]
Average class size27[ citation needed ]
Color(s)Blue and white
  
Athletics conferencePCSAA and DCSAA
MascotThree-headed dragon (representing three language tracks)
Website dcinternationalschool.org

District of Columbia International School (DCI) is a public charter school in Washington, DC. It offers an International Baccalaureate education to students in grades 6 to 12. Each student learns in a partial language immersion program in Spanish, French or Chinese.

Contents

It is overseen by the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board.

History and campus

DCI was founded in 2014 by five elementary charter schools with language immersion instruction models: Latin American Montessori Bilingual Public Charter School, Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School, Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School, Mundo Verde Public Charter School, and DC Bilingual Public Charter School. [1] The schools joined forces to allow their students to continue their language education into middle and high school.

Graduating fifth grade students in from those five schools get first preference for admission to DCI through the city's lottery system for charter and public schools.

At the time the member schools first conceived of DCI, D.C.'s charter school law did not allow for such a model that would give rising fifth grades preference in admission to the school. The D.C. Council amended its charter school law in June 2014 to authorize the school and allow it to obtain city funding. [2]

After initially operating out of temporary space in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, in 2017, the school moved into its permanent campus, the Delano Hall building of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center. The new building, a former dormitory for nurses, can accommodate up to 1,450 students. [3] [4] [5]

Student body

DCI is a diverse school with no majority race, consisting of about 40% African-American, 40% Hispanic, and 15% Caucasian students in the 2018-19 school year. 8.3% are English language learners and 51.6% are economically disadvantaged. [6]

Academic program

Students in grades 6-10 follow the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Program and students in grades 11-12 can either study for the International Baccalaureate Diploma or International Baccalaureate Career-related Program. [7] All students choose to focus on Chinese, French, or Spanish, and can pursue the IB Bilingual Diploma. [8]

Results

In 2019, the DCI middle and high school were both rated Tier 1 by the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board. [9] [10] The same year, 61% of DCI students achieved proficiency in the English Language Arts/Literacy section of the PARCC exam and 41% achieved proficiency in the math section. [11]

References

  1. ↑ Brown, Emma. "D.C. charter schools band together to form new high school with focus on foreign language". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  2. ↑ https://app.cfo.dc.gov/services/fiscal_impact/pdf/spring09/FIS%20--%20Fiscal%20Year%202015%20Budget%20Support%20Act%20of%202014.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  3. ↑ Perlmutter, Alexa (September 6, 2017). "DC International charter school unveils new Walter Reed campus". Current Newspapers. Archived from the original on January 14, 2019. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  4. ↑ "District of Columbia International Charter School". Building Hope. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Agreement will enable Washington, D.C., charter school to move to Walter Reed campus". American School & University. October 3, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  6. ↑ "District of Columbia International High School (DCI) | District of Columbia Public Charter School Board". www.dcpcsb.org. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  7. ↑ "IB Mid-Atlantic - DC International School". www.ibmidatlantic.org. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  8. ↑ "DC International School". www.ibyb.org. Archived from the original on December 9, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2018.
  9. ↑ "District of Columbia International High School | DC PCSB". dcpcsb.org. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  10. ↑ "District of Columbia International Middle School | DC PCSB". dcpcsb.org. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
  11. ↑ "OSSE NGA Web Report". results.osse.dc.gov. Archived from the original on February 7, 2020. Retrieved January 26, 2020.
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