KIPP DC Promise Academy, a public charter elementary school in the Benning Ridge neighborhood of Ward 7, has been named a 2018 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. KIPP DC Promise Academy is one of only three schools in the District of Columbia to receive this distinction.
The National Blue Ribbon School award honors public and private elementary, middle, and high schools where students achieve at high levels. Since 1982, more than 8,000 of America’s schools have received this prestigious award. For 2018, a total of 349 schools nationwide have been named National Blue Ribbon Schools.
Principal Erin Huseby shared, “There is not a team or a group of students more deserving of this award. Each and every student who walks through our doors feels special, challenged, cared for, and happy. Our staff’s hard work year after year has resulted in incredible achievements for our kids. I am so proud that Promise is not only one of the best schools in Washington D.C., but one of the best schools in the country.”
Promise Academy was founded in 2009 and is KIPP DC’s oldest and highest-performing elementary school. The school’s vision is:
Promise Academy is a welcoming, joyful, positive and productive school. Great instruction is key to our success. We are intentional and urgent every day, in every classroom. All of our children can and will learn. Every child is known, loved, and celebrated as a reader, writer, mathematician, thinker, and growing human being. Our classrooms are beautiful, challenging, and engaging. We partner with our families. Everyone owns everything. We can always be better.
The promises we make to our children and families are sacred.
Promise Academy believes that excellent academics, safe and structured classrooms, empowered teachers, an emphasis on a sense of belonging, and support through college are the foundation for student success, and strives to provide this for every student. Teachers and staff develop strong relationships and truly know each of their students and families, helping them realize their full potential. On the 2018 PARCC assessment, KIPP DC Promise Academy students ranked as the highest performing charter elementary school students in the District of Columbia.
Promise Academy is KIPP DC’s second school to be designated a National Blue Ribbon School. KIPP DC KEY Academy received the award in 2008. Since 2003, 14 KIPP schools nationwide have been named National Blue Ribbon Schools.
KIPP DC chief executive office Susan Schaffeler shared, “I am exceptionally proud that KIPP DC Promise Academy students are achieving at levels that rival the city’s most affluent schools. This national recognition highlights what our school community already knows well, we we have some of the brightest students and hardest working teachers in the nation at KIPP DC.”
KIPP DC, the largest public charter school network in Washington, D.C. and second largest system behind DCPS, has been operating high-quality schools in the District for 17 years and currently educates 6,300 students in grades PreK3 through 12 at 16 schools.
For more information, please contact Adam Rupe.
