Downtown
c o m m u n i t y of s c h o o l s
OUR VISION
We commit to inspire and cultivate school ecosystems that develop a culture of care throughout institutional, academic, and community spaces to keep students at the center.
INNOVATION GRANTS
In an effort to meet the local needs of schools within our Downtown Community of Schools, we have developed pilot projects aimed at promoting student wellness and achievement and that cultivate promising practices that can scale across our district. Our Downtown Community of Schools was awarded over $400K in grants to fund these projects.
Through our Social Issues Book Club, teachers will receive professional development and coaching as they co-facilitate a social issues book club at their schools. Throughout the project, students will use the power of reading to transform how they see others and to show them new ways to be kind, to connect, and to stand up for what is right. This project will culminate in an Advocacy Symposium facilitated by our young advocates.
By providing students greater access to our accelerated math programs in middle school, while simultaneously revolutionizing math instruction to ensure alignment with student needs, the rigor of career and college readiness, and the development of independent learners, we aim to ensure that students are prepared to succeed in college-level math courses.
Our Elementary Multimedia Pipeline, we will provide students with opportunities to learn how to skillfully and creatively wield technology for learning and expression, making them a community of learners prepared to meet the future demands of the creative industries locally and globally. This project will culminate in the presentation of student work at a Movie Premiere Night Event at their school site.
Our Transforming Classroom Ecology professional development, teachers will learn to seamlessly integrate equity-centered pedagogy into their instructional practices through a series of trainings and coaching sessions, thereby cultivating much needed spaces for healing and academic reconciliation and academic acceleration. This project will culminate in a presentation of warm demander classroom spaces developed across school sites.
