(Washington, DC) Today, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) Chancellor Michelle Rhee announced the launch of Saturday Scholars, an academic intervention initiative designed to assist students in grades 3 through 6 in preparing for the spring 2008 District of Columbia Comprehensive Assessment System (DC-CAS).

"When it comes to academic success, sometimes class instruction just isn’t enough," said Mayor Fenty. "Chancellor Rhee, her teaching and learning team and school faculty are prepared to work overtime to ensure our students achieve success. That’s dedication, we can all be proud of."

 

True to its name, Saturday Scholars will take place each Saturday from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm at site schools across the District, beginning Jan. 26 and continuing through April 26. Approximately 7,500 students from 91 schools have been asked to participate in the 14-week program.  Academically, the targeted students are on the cusp of proficiency in reading and math and are all attending DC public schools that are currently classified as either "needs improvement", "corrective action" or "restructuring" schools as defined by federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) standards.

According to Michelle Rhee, "Our children deserve to be armed with the academic knowledge and test-taking skills needed to perform well on standardized tests. Saturday Scholars will give District students confidence and instill lifelong testing competence."

The 47 Saturday Scholar sites will be adequately staffed with 331 teachers, 47 coordinators, 47 security guards, 47 custodians and 34 engineers. Each weekend, students will receive 90 minutes of literacy instruction; 60 minutes of math instruction; and 30 minutes of skill building testing.  Awards will be given to students with perfect attendance, and their parents will be recognized for their commitments and efforts during the End-of-Program Ceremony.

In addition to improving assessment gains, the program seeks to increase attendance and student interest in school activities as well as parental involvement.

Saturday Scholar Site School	Partner School(s)
Plummer	Benning
Kimball	River Terrace
Birney	Savoy
J.F. Cook	Montgomery, Emery
Drew	C.W. Harris
Ferebee-Hope	Handley, Draper
Garfield	Malcom X, Turner
Miner	Gibbs
Patricia Harris EC	Patterson, Leckie
Moten	Wilkinson
Kenilworth	Thomas
Orr	Ketcham
Marshall EC
Park View	Powell, Raymond
Rudolph
Shaed
Winston	Stanton
Walker-Jones/Terrell
Webb/Wheatley
Young
Aiton	Smothers
Bowen	Amidon
Bancroft
Randle Highlands	Beers
Brightwood	Whittier, Sheperd/Takoma
Bunker Hill
Clarke	Barnard
Reed LC	H.D. Cooke
Nalle	Davis
Garrison	Seaton
Green	Terrell-McGogney
King	Simon
LaSalle
Tubman	Meyer, Bruce Monroe
Slowe	Noyes
Stevens	Ross
Truesdell	West
Gage-Eckington	Cleveland
Watkins	Brent, Tyler
Burroughs	Langdon
Ludlow-Taylor
Maury	Payne
Brookland
Thomson
Burriville	Houston
J.O. Wilson