The Knightly News
Kingsman Academy Community Newsletter
Winter Edition
Marion S. Barry
Summer Youth Employment Program
This is the last week to apply for the Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program!
Applicants must be students living in DC ages 14-24. Students get paid to receive practical, hands-on experience and become developed leaders for the 21st century. The program starts June 28 and ends on August 6.
Be sure to choose Kingsman as your job site!
If you need any help contact Mr. Deane (ddeane@kingsmanacademy.org) or Ms. Foster (kfoster@kingsmanacademy.org)
Back to School Night
Kingsman held Back To School Night on Wednesday, November 18th, but this year it was virtual!
During a Zoom call, students, teachers, families, alumni and staff were able to connect and reconnect. Even with mild, yet expected, technical difficulties the Kingsman Knight Community was all smiles to be in each other’s virtual presence. Each Academic program was released into breakout sessions where students and their families learned about Kingsman’s newest initiative, 80 E.A.C.H. Our newest initiative ensures at least 80% of our learners excel in Engagement, Academics, College and Career Readiness and High School Completion. Students have committed to driving their education on to ensure they achieve their goals and post-secondary success.
In addition to learning about the 80 E.A.C.H. Initiative, the Kingsman community participated in raffles where families won $50, $100 and $200 Gift cards. Three families in each academic program were awarded gift cards and more gift cards were raffled off the next day at Wellness Day. Kingsman students also were awarded at least 1,000 YouEarnedIt points just for attending!
Kingsman Academy’s first Virtual Back To School Night was a great success!
Kingsman Students on Virtual Learning
Kingsman Success Story
with Mr. Everette!
Middle School Humanities Teacher
60 Seconds on Virtual Learning
Kingman is excited to announce that on January 11, FOUR Kingsman students began the University of the District of Columbia CARE Dual Enrollment Program!
Congratulations to:
T'Kaelyn Robinson
Kristian Cunningham
Dashawn Dolberry
and
Sky Chambers!
The entire Kingsman Academy Community is so proud of all of you!
Go Knights!
Mr. Everette
Middle School Humanities Teacher
I have been teaching at Kingsman Academy for 1 year strong....
and have been enjoying every moment of it!!
Knightly News: Virtual Learning Comments? Any Advice?
Mr. Everette: Virtual learning is just what it says. You have to take charge, and ask ALL the questions when you do not understand. WE CAN DO THIS!! One piece of advice that I would like to give students is that this is new to ALL...
Knightly News: Best day of virtual learning so far?
Mr. Everette: The best day of virtual learning so far, has been when Middle School Students were excited to do research on their African-American History Project "Woo-hoo!"
Kemonte Stuckey did an excellent presentation on Frederick Douglass. Here is some of his artwork from his presentation!
Ed Fest
Check out the video that Kingman Academy featured at EdFest!
College and Careers Week
Kingsman Academy hosted a virtual College and Career Week from December 7th through December 10th. Middle School and High School students heard from successful people in many different fields about post secondary paths after graduating. Middle School students began College and Career Week with a discussion on health literacy with Nurse Tumani Jackson. The information she provided was especially essential given the current climate. She emphasized hand washing, wearing masks, and taking lots of vitamins. The Middle School students also learned how they can be involved in their community now with the Civic Engagement discussion with Ms. Nova Costa and Markita Bryant. The Middle Schools ended College and Career Week with wise words from Ms. Elizabeth Newman, a sports journalism professor at Howard University. She advised, “Think about what makes you happy and do what you want to do.”
Our High School students had an entrepreneurial start to College and Career Week with Duane Rollins from SEED SPOT, an organization that helps people turn their ideas into real businesses. High Schoolers dove deeper into business in their conversation with Imani Blackmon and Autumn Smith about financial literacy and economics. They suggested that a great way for any student to guarantee themselves future success is to start networking as soon as possible. They stressed the fact that big companies want to talk to young people and urged Kingsman students to use their voices while companies are listening. High School students also had a community building conversation focused on problem solving with Mr. Ebbon Allen. Lastly, High School students learned how to convey their voices with Nicole Sharp who works with Griffin Consulting Partners. She spoke on digital literacy and discussed search engine success and digital presence.
Kingsman Academy students were actively engaged in each College and Career Week session. The Kingsman Academy Community would like to send another special thank you to our presenters, Ms. Elizabeth Newman, Ms. Nicole Sharp, Ms. Markita Bryant, Mr. Ebbon Allen, Ms. Nova Costa, Mr. Dimone Long, Ms. Autumn Smith, Mr. Imani Blackmon, Ms. Tumani Jackson and Mr. Duane Rollins.
Meet a Board Member!
Steve Messner is a father, a runner, an amateur pianist and the President and Chairman of the Board at Kingsman Academy, since 2015. His position can be considered the bridge between the Board, the Governing body, and the Head of the School. He is the first point of contact for the Public Charter School Board and provides support for our Executive Director, Ms. Kennesha Kelly. Not only does he work with our current Executive Director but he also works closely with our former Executive Director, Shannon Hodge!
His desire to help, along with his belief in the Kingsman Academy mission, drove his attraction to the Kingsman Academy Board. He has instilled in his children the values of advocating for one-self and being involved in their community. So it is no surprise he hopes people like Ms. Kelly, Ms. Hodge, and our staff, continue to showcase the amazing work that Kingsman Academy is doing.
During his time as President, he hopes to accomplish, Success for our students and success for our school.” He wants to show the world Kingsman is meeting the goals set out in its mission: to prepare our scholars for the real world and post-secondary success. To do this, he hopes to help Kingsman track and celebrate the successes of its alumni. He believes it is people like Ms. Kelly who can help our alumni achieve their goals and that those accomplishments should be well-publicized.
S.T. Hodge Fellows Update
JEWEL CHIOSI
"The fellowship has been informative, and I have particularly learned a lot about working remotely, which I had not done before. My biggest piece of advice for those applying next year is to get comfortable working backwards. The fellowship is largely project based — you are going to need a clear understanding of your goals to create actionable plans. When you have a clear goal it makes it easier to plan out the individual steps, so don’t be afraid to ask your project manager clarifying questions. My biggest highlight so far was getting a chance to speak with Shannon Hodge, who the fellowship is named after. She offered some wonderful networking advice that I will definitely use once this pandemic is over and we can all attend social events again."
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KERITA GLENN
"So far the fellowship has been a wonderful learning experience, this fellowship is my first experience in the educational field and to be able to have such understanding and knowledgeable mentors has been an amazing opportunity. Right now I’m beginning to connect my academic knowledge in real life applications which is something I really value. For possible applicants I would advise for them to look at what they want to build on academic wise to lead to their career, I find that the fellowship is so diverse that there are plenty of opportunities to gain experience under different “traditional” fields. My biggest highlight so far would have to be the people I get to work with, I genuinely feel like I’m gaining valuable insight and they’ve been so great at sharing their experiences and knowledge."
JAKEYA HARDY
"The fellowship had been a tremendous experience so far. We’ve been working with very well experienced school officials and learning directly from them. It’s very time consuming if you need it to be as well as flexible for college students which is also a major plus. My advice for anyone considering applying would be to do your research on what it is you would like to do in your career. Make sure you're still eager to learn but ready to work. It’s an amazing opportunity."
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RAYANNA ROXAS
"The fellowship has been going very well and I have been enjoying it greatly! From my fellowship, I am able to pursue two avenues of potential career paths I am interested in: grant writing and curriculum development. My project coordinators, Rachel and Ms. Brown, have been very supportive and have provided amazing guidance with both of my projects. Working with them has definitely been the highlight of my fellowship, as I get helpful feedback and learn new skills because of these lovely ladies. The advice I would like to give for those interested in applying is to explore your interests, as you can apply them in creative ways. My background does not necessarily relate to education; however, at Kingsman I am able to fine-tune a wide variety of skills, as well as contribute to an amazing community."
Community Meeting Spotlight
with Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White!
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Councilmember Trayon White spoke during our High School community meeting on Monday December 14, 2020. He is the youngest councilmember and from Ward 8. With two learning disabilities, he recognized he was an at-risk youth and says that he was someone who was following others, rather than valuing his own opinion. He admits to having made poor choices and he says he is lucky not to have a criminal record. However, what really inspired him to want to make a change in his community were the experiences he had with.the mentees and athletes he coached, who he felt he was losing to DC violence.
Trayon White worked hard to become an elected official, a Councilmember. He even ran a second time after losing the first race. Currently, Councilmember Trayon White is working to combat food deserts across DC, especially in Wards 7 and 8. He has worked hard to bring two new grocery stores, one in each ward bringing the total to five. Additionally, he passed a bill to help those who can not afford the rising cost of living in DC. As property values, taxes and cost-of-living increases, Councilmember White has worked hard to find ways to ensure residents of DC can still afford to remain residents of DC. His presentation during this Community Meeting truly inspired the staff, faculty and students at Kingsman. Councilmember Trayon White says his life motto, “If you keep doing what everyone else is doing, you’re going to get what everyone else is getting.” He recommends students use that idea to find out what they want to be and what they want out of life.
Now Kingsman Uses PCBE. What's That?
A Conversation with Doug Finn of Marzano Academies
A typical school in the United States accepts an average of 60% as an eligible score to move to the next stage of learning. However, Kingsman Academy is not a typical school. While traditional school structures often require students to learn at the same pace and in the same way, with our personalized competency based education model, time is not the driving factor in whether students earn credit. A Personal Competency Based Education model is defined in two main parts. The first is the personal element., Student’s voice, choice, and pace allow them to take ownership of their learning. The second is competency. Across all content areas students have multiple opportunities to learn and show mastery within specific academic content.
Doug Finn has been with Marzano Resources for many years. Now, Doug works with Marzano Resources and their non-profit organization, Marzano Academies. He also works directly with the Kingsman staff to improve personal professional development. , He says one of the major benefits of a PCBE model is that students are able to learn more. Students place on a scale of one to four at the beginning stages of learning so each student starts where they need to. From there they work to master content and move up!
Doug says that this style of learning allows teachers to meet students where they are in their education, to reduce learning gaps. He explains that Marzano Academies offers a whole framework, which provides the opportunity to support students in a deeper, more complete, way.
A Special Thank You
To all of our donors
In December of 2020, Kingsman Academy participated in Giving Tuesday and would like to send a very special and heartfelt thank you to those who donated:
If you are interested in donating to Kingsman Academy or finding out more information on ways to help Kingsman Academy, please visit our website https://www.kingsmanacademy.org/donate.
Shannon Hodge
Susan Grich
Patty Williams and Kazoo
Maria Blaeuer
Stephen Messner
Steve Messner
President and Chairman
How has the fellowship experience been so far?
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Key Dates & Information
Marion S. Barry Summer Youth Employment Program applications due March 6
Second Trimester ends March 23
No School March 24
Third Trimester begins March 25
Spring Break is April 12 to April 16
Wellness Day happens every Thursday Afternoon!
Now enrolling! Kingsman Academy is enrolling new students for next school year.