Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School


	Help every child achieve at his or her highest capacity;
	Teach children to speak, read, write, and think in two languages: English and French, or English and Spanish;
	Involve our students in active service to the community while preparing them for responsible citizenship in a multicultural society;
	Increase our students' knowledge of, and respect for, their own culture and the cultures of others.

The second language goals are met by enrolling all students in a two-way language immersion program in either French and English or Spanish and English. The citizenship goal is approached largely through an active program of community service learning. Among the key characteristics of Stokes school are:

	Small student-staff ratios;
	A language immersion program (English, French and Spanish);
	A multicultural student body and faculty;
	Curricula that focus on how children develop, retain knowledge and that explicitly include the arts, whole language and thematic learning, early second language learning, hands-on math and science experiences, project work, physical education, community service learning and mechanisms for social interaction that develop higher-order thinking and emotional well being; and
	A commitment to excellence in academic performance, service to community and preparation for citizenship, respect for self and others.

The school’s curriculum is based on a variety of educational philosophies, theories and practices, including Erik Erikson’s stages of socio-emotional development and Jean Piaget’s theories of how children think and learn, and on accepted principles of physical development. Educational activities focus on learning through active exploration of the child’s environment for socio-emotional, cognitive, and physical development. The curriculum is developmentally appropriate, using flexible activities that are geared to the developmental level of the student.


Founded in 1998 with an enrollment of 35 kindergarten and first grade students, Stokes School has added one grade each year and currently enrolls 250 kindergarten through sixth grade students. While 60 percent of Stokes' students live within a 1½-mile radius of the school, the remaining students come from all sections of Washington, DC. Nearly 90 percent of the Stokes School scholars are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches and over 50 percent are English language learners and are from homes in which a language other than English (including Spanish, French, Amharic, Woolof, Arabic, and Yoruba) is spoken. 57 percent of our students are Hispanic; 39 percent are African American; 2 percent are Asian American; and 2 percent are white. Over half of Stokes School's students and their families have immigrated to the United States from West and East Africa, Central and South America and Europe. Fifteen percent of our students receive special education services.


Parents who choose the Elsie WhItlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School for their children commit to active involvement in their children's education and to helping fulfill the mission of the school. Our parents are an active and vital component within our school community.


Stokes School’s Board of Trustees is responsible for ensuring that the school implements programs and activities that are consistent with the school’s mission. The Board ratifies the school’s mission statement and reviews it throughout each year as it reviews programs and government and chartering authority policies and Stokes school policies. The board communicates the school’s mission and programs to the general public and advocates to public officials, funders and the chartering authority on behalf of the school.


Elsie Whitlow Stokes was an elementary school teacher in Arkansas for 36 years. During that time, she applied three basic principles that helped her lay the foundation for success educational development of over 1,000 students:

	Every student can succeed academically and become a responsible citizen


	Every student must receive a solid foundation in reading, mathematics, social studies, science, and the arts



	Community service activities prepare children to become caring neighbors and good citizens