As a student at the Social Justice School (SJS), Kennedy Lewis discovered her voice and began her journey as an advocate.
“It was really motivating knowing that I had people in school telling me that I could be something — especially something like an advocate. It’s a bold statement,” said Kennedy.
Located in Northeast Washington, DC, SJS serves students from fifth through eighth grade, with rigorous academic instruction rooted in love, learning, and liberation. The mission of SJS is to catalyze an integrated community of middle school learners to be Scholar-Activists who are designers of a more just world.
“Inequality was designed, and so social justice is the act of redesigning the world for a more just place,” said Myron Long, SJS Executive Director and Founder.
Continuous growth is an integral part of the SJS academic model. That includes preparing students to improve their achievement on annual standardized tests. To prepare for the most recent exams, every teacher worked with a small group of students — including Kennedy — on skill-building. Called “Empower” classes, these sessions helped students to practice areas of the test where they needed to grow.
“I think those classes really helped because [they] were designed for all the things that we didn’t understand or the things that we scored low on,” said Kennedy. “…[On] the test, it really helped me a lot. I’m glad I actually paid attention because on those parts of the test, it was not as hard as it was previously.”
That investment in student growth is paying off, and not just for Kennedy. Data from the most recent DC statewide assessment shows SJS achieved the highest growth in English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency for at-risk students of any middle school or elementary/ middle school in DC. SJS students’ growth in proficiency was also above the city middle school average in math, across both traditional public and public charter schools.
“We are immensely proud that our students are growing at such significant rates,” said Long.
Ed Forward DC has partnered with Social Justice School since 2019, investing in their launch and strategic planning to open in school year 2020-21. Since then, we have also enabled several initiatives to advance student supports at SJS, including the Panorama student well-being survey and data project, administrative and evaluation assistance for a guaranteed income pilot, and talent programs for leaders, educators, and a school-based mental health clinician.
“Ed Forward DC is a strong partner. If there is a challenge that we feel that we are facing, we don’t feel that we’re being critiqued or criticized for engaging them as partners to help us think through the challenge. That’s not always the case with funders in the community. We’re really appreciative of all the support that [Ed Forward DC] has given us since we first started.”
Our grantee schools show what’s possible for students. Ed Forward DC is proud to invest in leaders like Long, support them as they work to serve students better, and connect them with others to replicate that success across the city, so that every DC student has access to a high-quality learning experience.
You can support Ed Forward DC’s investments in high-quality education by donating today!
