Recent Accomplishments
Thurgood Marshall Academy’s school-wide recent accomplishments include the following:
75% of the Class of 2011 received scholarships and financial aid
100% College Acceptance since 2005
Over 90% of alumni since the Class of 2008 are still enrolled in college
153 Bill & Melinda Gates Achievers Scholars receiving over $5.5 million dollars
3 Stephen J. Trachtenberg Scholarship recipients to the George Washington University; each scholarship is valued at $250,000
1 POSSE Scholarship Recipient, valued at $175,000
In total, the Class of 2011 received over $3.3 million in scholarships
For the third consecutive year, Thurgood Marshall Academy was among the highest-performing open-enrollment high schools in the District of Columbia. Thurgood Marshall Academy students scored over thirty percentage points higher than the average of all public high schools in DC and more than three times the scores of neighborhood DC Public Schools.
See graphs of the 2011 DC CAS and other tests here
Thurgood Marshall Academy received Fight For Children’s Champion Award, which recognizes three schools annually through their invitation-only Quality Schools Initiative program. In addition to being featured by Fight For Children throughout the year, Thurgood Marshall Academy received a $50,000 grant, which will be used to expand the Advanced Placement program.
The 2011 Mayor’s Art Award for Teaching went to Thurgood Marshall Academy’s art teacher and was presented at the Kennedy Center in April. The Mayor’s Arts Award is the highest honor given by the District of Columbia in recognition of artistic excellence and service among artists, arts organizations, and arts patrons in the city.
The Boys’ Basketball Coach is the 2011 Washington Charter School Athletic Association’s Coach of the Year.
Through a partnership with the Earth Day Network, Thurgood Marshall Academy installed 15 solar panels on the school’s roof and built the District’s largest organic teaching garden, shared with neighboring Savoy Elementary School. In 2011, Thurgood Marshall Academy became the first school to win the Mayor’s Environmental Excellence Award in recognition of the school’s green initiatives.
The Department of Education featured Thurgood Marshall Academy on the Doing What Works website, which serves as a library of resources for educators nationwide to implement research-based instructional practice in their own schools. Thurgood Marshall Academy is the only charter school and one of only six public schools nationwide to be featured on the website for effective use of student data.
- Named “Most Improved School in DC” by Great Schools/Business Week.
- Named one of US News and World Report’s best high schools in the magazine’s annual survey in 2010.
- Recognized by The College Board for our growing Advanced Placement (AP) program and increasing student demand for AP classes.
- Fully accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
- Featured in “Driven By Data: A Practical Guide to Improve Instruction” by Paul Bambrick-Santoyo, which has become the definitive guide for implementing a data-driven culture in urban schools.
Recent speaking engagements by faculty and staff have included:
- National College Access Network (NCAN). “How High School Alumni Programs Can Increase College Enrollment/Retention.” September 2011. St. Louis, Missouri. Emma Levine and Alexandra Pardo.
- Harvard University. The Achievement Gap Initiative. “How High Schools Become Exemplary.” June 2009. Boston, MA. Alexandra Pardo, Tara Allen, and Rebecca Jones. Watch the video here.
- National Charter School Conference. New Orleans. “Creating and Sustaining College Enrollment and Persistence.” June 2011. Sanjay Mitchell & Emma Levine.
- AP Annual Conference. “Establishing an AP Program in an Urban School.” July 2011. San Francisco, CA. Brian Rohal & Alexandra Pardo.