Courtesy of: National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
Linda Moore, founder of the Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School, was inducted into the National Charter School Hall of Fame. The school, which offers dual immersion in English and Spanish or French, has grown from 25 students in 1998 to serving 350 students with a waitlist of 600. It is a tier one performing DC charter school, with graduates attending prestigious universities. Moore emphasized the importance of diversity, community engagement, and the need for continued struggle to achieve educational equity. The session concluded with a call to action for increased funding for public charter schools.
Transcript
Outline
Linda Moore’s Introduction and Achievements
- Nina Rees introduces Linda Moore, founder and executive director of the Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School in DC.
- Elsie Whitlow Stokes believed in providing a solid foundation in core subjects and community service to help students succeed academically and become responsible citizens.
- Linda Moore opened the school in 1998, starting with 25 kindergarteners and first graders, and it now serves 350 pre-K through sixth graders, with a waitlist of 600 students.
- The school offers dual immersion instruction in English and Spanish or English and French, and Linda is a strong advocate for teaching children in two languages.
Elsie Whitlow Stokes School’s Success
- Nina Rees highlights the school’s success, including its label as a tier one performing DC charter school by the DC charter school board.
- Students at the school score well above average in reading and math proficiency, and graduates have attended prestigious colleges like the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard.
- Linda Moore is also the chair of the DC Association of Chartered Public Schools and is starting an innovative charter high school called the District of Columbia International School.
- Linda emphasizes the importance of community service and the school’s dual immersion program, which she personally supports as a parent.
Linda Moore’s Vision and Commitment
- Linda Moore shares her personal connection to Elsie Whitlow Stokes, her mother, and the school’s mission to create a welcoming community for all students.
- She discusses the school’s intentional diversity and the importance of recruiting students from various backgrounds to learn to work with people from different cultures.
- The school provides language immersion programs, with students spending at least half of their time learning in two languages.
- Linda invites parental participation and engagement, emphasizing that the school cannot succeed without community involvement.
Challenges and Achievements in Charter School Education
- Linda Moore reflects on the challenges and successes of starting the school, including the initial naivety about the difficulty of the process.
- She highlights the importance of being driven and committed to making a difference in education.
- The school has been successful in sending graduates to college, with four classes entering college and several graduates becoming posse scholars and attending Harvard.
- Linda emphasizes the need for continued struggle and commitment to deliver on the original dream of charter schools, quoting Frederick Douglass on the importance of struggle for progress.
Conclusion and Future Plans
- Nina Rees wraps up the general session, expressing hope that attendees have been inspired to improve efforts in quality, equity, and innovation in education.
- She announces that the next day’s focus will be on expanding and improving efforts, with notable speakers including Secretary Arne Duncan, former chancellor of education Joel Klein, and Mayor Vince Gray from DC.
- Nina also mentions the announcement of the winner of the Broad Prize and encourages attendees to sign a call to action to Congress to increase funding for public charter schools.
- She thanks the panelists and Hall of Famers for their participation and contributions to the conference.
Get QR Code
