Happy September! The leaves are beginning to fall, and our students have officially reached their 40th day of school. While students and families are quickly getting acclimated to the new school year, our community relations team has also been out and engaging members of the KIPP DC family and entire D.C. community. Take a look at what’s been up this month with the team at KIPP DC.
Joyful Food Market comes to Benning and Smilow Campus – Since 2015 we’ve partnered with Martha’s Table and local nonprofits to bring healthy pop-up grocery markets to our Douglas Campus in Ward 8. This year, we’re proud to kick off the first of many Joyful Food Markets at Benning and Smilow Campuses in Ward 7. It was a pleasure to see so many students and families, neighbors, and community members come together to shop for fresh, healthy produce, pantry items, and sample new products – all at no cost! Learn more and mark your calendars for the next Joyful Food Markets at Benning and Smilow Campus.
Councilmember David Grosso & Restorative Justice at KEY Academy – Councilmember David Grosso and staff member Darby Hicks visited KEY Academy school leaders at Benning campus in Ward 7. Councilmember Grosso stopped in to get an in depth look at some of the restorative justice practices and learn how they are positively changing the way our staff, students, and families approach discipline and student-staff relationships!
Smilow Parent Community Meeting – We’d like to extend huge thanks to all of the families that joined us at the Smilow Community and Parent Meeting on September 14. Your open and honest conversation regarding a potential KIPP DC high school location, course offerings, and culture was invaluable! We look forward to many continued conversations, across all our campuses, with our families on the future of our students’ education! Be sure to join us for upcoming October meetings at Douglass Campus (10/3), Webb Campus (10/11), and Shaw Campus (10/18). More information to come.
Breanna Bledsoe visits KIPP DC Douglass Campus – Breanna Bledsoe, Legislative Counsel to Councilmember Robert White, visited KIPPsters at our Douglass campus on September 12. Ms. Bledsoe visited the Douglass Campus to get an inside look at the early childhood and elementary educational design at our tier 1 Discover and Heights Academies. Learn more about the quality of KIPP DC early childhood schools here.
Back to School Nights at KIPP DC – This month we continued to meet new students and families and reconnect with
returning students and families at Back to School Nights across KIPP DC campuses. Our teachers and leaders were eager to meet their students’ families and are excited to build sustaining partnerships to ensure an excellent year. If you need a copy of the 2017-18 handbook, your school’s lunch menu, or additional resources, head to our Students & Families page!
KIPP DC College Preparatory Students Attend Women’s Leadership Summit – On Friday, September 15 KIPP DC College Preparatory students attended the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Leadership Summit! As part of the summit, students got the opportunity to sit in on the Women Inspiring Design, Equity in Architecture lecture featuring renowned architect Dina Griffin. Dina 
gave inspiring remarks on women in architecture and even discussed her most recent journey to becoming one of the architects of the Barack Obama Presidential Center in Chicago!
What an exciting September! Check back next month to see what the community relations team has been up to across the District. As always, and don’t hesitate to reach out to Althea Holford or Nathan Woods with questions or to learn more about where KIPP DC is in the community. Excited to see what October has in store!
