School History
The first César Chávez Public Charter School (Chávez) was founded in 1998 in response to lagging academic performance and exceedingly low high school graduation and college matriculation rates among District of Columbia public school students, especially among minority and low-income students. Founder Irasema Salcido wanted to provide inner-city students with a rigorous, high-quality education that would prepare them for college and inspire them to civic engagement.
The founding Chávez school quickly earned a strong reputation for its rigorous academic curriculum, unique public policy program, top-notch faculty, and comprehensive student support services, which together have ensured that 100% of graduating Chávez seniors have been accepted into at least one college or university. By 2003, Chávez had risen to the top of its local DC market and could not begin to meet the strong parental demand for its program. Thus, the school took the first steps towards expansion, developing a vision of growth that would ultimately have Chávez serving some 3,000 District of Columbia students in grades 6 to 12. The school then redeveloped its board of trustees, gained Charter Board approval to replicate and expand to the lower grades, and partnered with Sallie Mae’s Building Hope A Charter School Facilities Fund.
In 2004, Chávez began its first phase of replication: it opened its second campus – a combined middle and high school. Chávez also transitioned the leadership at the founding high school, established a home office structure to support both Chávez schools, and secured permanent, new facilities for both campuses. These new, top-of-the-line school facilities opened their doors to 900 District of Columbia students in the fall of 2005. In just three years, Chávez had gone from a single high school serving 250 students in temporary facilities, to two permanent campuses providing a high-quality public education to nearly four times as many students.
By taking the bold step of transforming its single school into a network of small schools, Chávez intends to: 1) ensure that significantly more Washington, DC students have access to a high-quality education that prepares them for success in college and life, 2) develop an ever-growing force of young leaders who have the skills and knowledge to create positive change in their communities and the world around them, and 3) provide a model of replication and school network design for other successful schools to follow.
School Model
Chávez schools provide nurturing, safe learning environments where every student is expected to meet rigorous academic and personal behavior standards. It is challenging, but Chávez is a public school of choice, and among both the students and faculty there is a sense of pride and excitement in being part of a network of schools that is beating the odds and achieving success. The Chávez school model is characterized by the following five components:
I. Rigorous College Prep Program
All Chávez students are held to high academic standards that will prepare them for college. The Chávez curriculum is aligned with DCPS standards and evolved from the Modern Red Schoolhouse plan, integrating their standards along with national standards in core subjects (such as those of the National Council of Teachers of English and National Council of Teachers of Mathematics), and is designed to ensure that students achieve or exceed grade level content and standardized test expectations, graduate from high school, and are prepared for college.
All students are expected to demonstrate mastery of core academic material in English, history/politics, math, science, and public policy as well as competency in a foreign language, health, and art. Double classes in English reading and writing are requirements for ninth graders, ESL instructors focus on non-English speakers, and Resource teachers support students with special needs. For accelerated students, Chávez offers AP Calculus, AP Chemistry, AP English, AP American History, and AP Computer Science courses. All students take standardized tests such as the PSAT, SAT, and ACT; are required to research and select college preferences during their junior year; and are expected to gain acceptance to at least one college or university.
II. Unique Public Policy Program
Chávez makes use of the incredible wealth of public policy resources located in the nation’s capital, developing students into engaged citizens able to affect change in the world around them. Public policy themes are incorporated into the curriculum in every subject. In middle school, student are introduced to policy issues through community service, field trips, discussions on current events, and public polciy classroom units. High school students must integrate what they learn in policy-themed, interdisciplinary “Capstone Units” at the end of their freshman and sophomore years. In their junior year, students participate in three-week-long fellowships at respected public policy institutions, and, in their senior year, are required to write a 15-20 page public policy thesis. This program is intended to help students connect their studies to the real world and prepare them to become leaders in their own communities.
III. Meeting Student Needs through Comprehensive Support Services
Chávez serves a culturally, linguistically, and academically diverse student body, but is committed to an inclusive program and doing whatever is necessary to help every student who walks through its doors succeed. To ensure that all students meet its rigorous standards, Chávez operates an extended school day and year, provides a variety of student support services and programs (e.g., mental health specialists and social workers), and adapts courses to address the wide range of abilities among our students, including for special needs students and those with limited English proficiency. Chávez is committed to a mainstreaming model for both ESL and Special Ed Students. Fostering supportive relationships between students and adults and maintaining a school environment that is safe and conducive to student learning are priorities at Chávez schools.
IV. Safe, Supportive Learning Environment
The small class and school size, rich programs and support services, and well-defined standards for academic and personal behavior create a safe, supportive learning environment. This environment is key to ensuring that no Chávez student falls through the cracks or feels threatened at school – it is one of the primary features that differentiates Chávez from other local, public schools.
V. Outstanding Faculty & Staff
Chávez attracts outstanding faculty and staff who are extremely dedicated to the students and the practice of teaching. As a group, they bring uncommonly strong academic credentials from the nation’s top universities into the classrooms of Chávez. Many have been and continue to be actual practitioners in their field of study. For instance, one science teacher works part-time at the Carnegie Institute in addition to teaching at Chávez. As their work experience and academic backgrounds attest, Chávez teachers are possessed of a passion for their subject matter and for the art of teaching. They bring this passion as well as a result-oriented focus into the classroom.