Community College Preparatory Academy Public Charter School

THE MISSION OF THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE PREPARATORY ACADEMY PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL IS TO PROVIDE THE EDUCATION AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT TO EMPOWER AND PREPARE UNDER-CREDITED ADULTS FOR POSTSECONDARY EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS, VIABLE EMPLOYMENT AND LIFELONG LEARNING.

THE DESIGN OF THE CHARTER SCHOOL WAS IN RESPONSE TO TWO MAJOR CHALLENGES CONFRONTING THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, NAMELY: 1. THE INCREASING NUMBER OF ADULTS IN THEIR PRIME WAGE EARNING YEARS, ENTERING POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION UNPREPARED TO SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE AN ASSOCIATE DEGREE OR ADVANCED VOCATIONAL CERTIFICATIONS; AND 2. THE OVERWHELMING NUMBER OF DC RESIDENTS UNABLE TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE CITY DUE TO THE LACK OF CORE ACADEMIC SKILLS AND THE LACK OF CERTIFICATED WORKFORCE SKILLS REQUIRED BY THE CITY'S KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY. PROGRAMS AND SERVICES: THE INSTRUCTIONAL MODEL FOR CC PREP RESPONDS TO THESE CHALLENGES BY PROVIDING A COMPREHENSIVE, PROVEN, BLENDED LEARNING APPROACH. PROGRAMMING INCLUDES: REMEDIATION IN CORE ACADEMIC SKILLS; CORE SKILLS IN COMPUTER LITERACY; ON-LINE LEARNING THAT LEADS TO A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA VIA THE NEW GED EXAM, COLLEGE ENTRY AT FRESHMAN LEVEL VIA SUCCESSFUL PREPARATION FOR THE ACUPLACER EXAMINATION. ADDITIONALLY, TRAINING AND NATIONAL CERTIFICATION IS PROVIDED IN HEATING AND VENTILATION (HVAC). THE CAREER FOCUSED PROGRAMMING TITLED CAREER PATHWAYS INCLUDES PREPARATION FOR A RANGE OF HIGHLY PORTABLE, NATIONAL CERTIFICATIONS TO SUPPORT ENTRY TO THE CITY'S KNOWLEDGE-BASED ECONOMY AND JOB MARKET. SPECIAL FOCUS PREPARES STUDENTS FOR EMPLOYMENT IN THE TECHNOLOGY AND TECH-RELATED FIELDS. THIS FOCUS WAS SELECTED AS IT OFFERS THE BROADEST RANGE OF OPTIONS FOR ENTRY- LEVEL EMPLOYMENT, INCLUDING EVERYTHING FROM A DATA ENTRY CLERK TO CERTIFIED HELP DESK AND CABLING TECHNICIAN. CC PREP HAS A STAFF OF 44 FULL TIME AND 5 PART TIME AND SCHOOL YEAR 2022 OPERATING BUDGET OF OVER 9.0 MILLION THIS YEAR. CC PREP WAS APPROVED BY THE DC PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL BOARD IN JANUARY 2012 AND CLASSES BEGAN IN SEPTEMBER 2013. THE FOUNDER, C. VANNESSA (CONNIE) SPINNER, HAS MORE THAN 30 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. CC PREP CAN MAINTAIN ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL INFRASTRUCTURE AS PART OF THE CITY'S ONGOING PUBLIC DOLLAR FUNDING COMMITMENT ESTABLISHED BY THE CHARTER SCHOOL LEGISLATION. THE SCHOOL'S CHARTER WAS REVIEWED AND APPROVED IN SY2018 AND WILL UNDERGO TENTH YEAR REVIEW IN SY2023. IN SY2020, THE BOARD REDESIGNED THE STRUCTURE TO INCLUDE A C SUITE WITH A CHIEF ADVOCACY OFFICER AND A CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER. THE CHARTER SCHOOL'S PROGRAMMING IS BASED ON THE FOUR OUTCOMES FOR CC PREP ADULT LEARNERS: 1. SUCCESSFUL HIGH SCHOOL COMPLETION VIA THE NEW HIGH SCHOOL EQUIVALENCY EXAMINATION (GED); 2. SUCCESSFUL ENTRY INTO COMMUNITY COLLEGE AT FRESHMAN LEVEL AS A RESULT OF PREPARATION FOR THE ACCUPLACER ENTRY EXAMINATION AND / OR DUAL ENROLLMENT; 3. SUCCESSFUL COMPLETION OF NATIONAL ENTRY-LEVEL EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATIONS IN THE EMERGING FIELDS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (I.E., TECHNOLOGY, ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT AND HEALTH CAREERS); AND/OR 4. SUCCESSFUL ATTAINMENT OF NECESSARY SKILLS IN REASONING, MATHEMATICS, COMPUTERS, AND ON-LINE RESEARCH REQUIRED FOR LIFE-LONG LEARNING IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY. THE SCHOOL HAS CONTINUED TO EXPAND ITS ROLE AS A MICROSOFT OFFICE ACADEMY SCHOOL. CC PREP IS CURRENTLY THE MOST PRODUCTIVE MOS ACADEMY SCHOOL IN THE CITY. BASED UPON REVIEW OF STUDENT DATA, THE ORGANIZATION CONTINUED AS A YEAR- ROUND SCHOOL AND OPERATED FROM 9:00 AM TO 8:30 PM DAILY, PROVIDING INSTRUCTION IN THREE-HOUR SESSIONS: 9:00 AM TO 12:00 NOON, 1:00 PM TO 4:00 PM, AND 5:00 PM TO 8:45 PM, MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY EVENINGS. ALL ADULT LEARNERS ARE ASSESSED INITIALLY AND AT REGULAR INTERVALS (EVERY 6 TO 8 WEEKS BASED ON INITIAL GRADE EQUIVALENT SCORES) USING THE ETABE (TEST OF ADULT BASIC EDUCATION). THE ETABE WAS SELECTED AS IT IS MOST CLOSELY ALIGNED WITH MY FOUNDATIONS LAB, THE CORE CURRICULUM AND THE NEW GED. THE GED PREPARATION PROGRAM WHICH WAS DEVELOPED TO ALIGN WITH THE COMMON CORE STANDARDS AND HAS REMAINED THE DECLARED GOAL FOR 45% OF ALL ENROLLED STUDENTS. BASED ON THE ASSESSMENT ANALYSIS, STUDENTS COMPLETE AN INDIVIDUAL LEARNING PLAN (ILP) WITH THEIR ASSIGNED STUDENT SUCCESS SPECIALIST. ALL STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO SPEND A MINIMUM OF FIFTEEN HOURS A WEEK IN CLASS. IN ADDITION TO REGULARLY SCHEDULED ETABE ASSESSMENTS, STUDENTS ARE ASSESSED FOR SKILL MASTERY AS PART OF THE CURRICULAR DESIGN. ONCE STUDENTS REACH THE 7TH GRADE 5TH MONTH LEVEL IN READING, THEY ARE ELIGIBLE TO BEGIN MICROSOFT WORD TRAINING, WHICH IS NOW RECOMMENDED FOR ALL STUDENTS. WHEN STUDENTS REACH THE 9TH GRADE LEVEL IN READING AND MATHEMATICS, STUDENTS PARTICIPATE IN EITHER GED OR ACCUPLACER BOOT CAMPS (WEEKLY INTENSIVE WORKSHOPS FOCUSING SPECIFICALLY ON TEST TAKING SKILLS). AS A DIRECT RESULT OF COVID 19 THE SCHOOL OPENED IN THE FALL WITH THE ABILITY FOR STUDENTS TO ATTEND IN-PERSON, ENTIRELY ONLINE (SYNCHRONOUS OR ASYNCHRONOUS MODELS), OR A BLEND OF BOTH.