[VIDEO] Ward 8 Parent: "We Can Get Our Community Back"

by Keisha Clark, Proud Ward 8 Parent

On April 14, 2015, Rocketship held a groundbreaking ceremony for our first elementary school in the Washington, DC region. The K-4th school in Ward 8, to be opened in August 2016, will be a 54,000 square foot building on a campus of nearly four acres. The school’s cafeteria, learning lab, outdoor gathering space, playgrounds and southern-facing classrooms will enjoy a spectacular view of the surrounding trees and hills.

The campus will also include a nature trail for students to enjoy, a unique offering in the school’s urban setting. The Washington, DC community is dedicated to providing every student access to a stellar education. And while the city has made great strides towards this goal, less than half of students in Washington, DC are on grade level. The southeast communities in the District demonstrate an even greater need with less than a third of students on grade level. Rocketship is committed to partnering with these families so their children receive the education they deserve.

The groundbreaking ceremony featured many speakers, including Anthony Lorenzo Green, Chairman of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, and Scott Pearson, Executive Director of DC Public Charter School Board, but for the keynote, proud Ward 8 parent Keisha Clark delivered a heart-felt speech.

DC Parent: “We can get our Community Back” from Rocketship Public Schools on Vimeo.

Keisha Clark has lived in the Woodland Terrace Community (across the street from Rocketship’s first DC campus) for five years. She has three daughters: Britteny (11-years-old), Lonisha (17) and future Rocketeer Ky-Arnie (4). Keisha visited Nashville Northeast Elementary the week prior to the groundbreaking to learn more about what it means to be a Rocketship Rocketeer. 

Published on April 27, 2015