Who We Are

Background

The Multicultural Career Intern Program (MCIP) was founded in 1979 with a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor as an alternative school designed to serve the growing number of limited-English-speaking refugees and immigrants in the District of Columbia.  In 1989, MCIP merged with Bell Career Development Center and became Bell Multicultural High School.  MCIP continues to serve the community as the nonprofit arm of the high school by providing basic academic skills, English as a Second Language, vocational instruction, and employability training for immigrant, refugee, and inner-city minority youth.  An additional role of MCIP is to strengthen the services of Bell which support educational and economic opportunity, to encourage self-sufficiency of the student population and their families, and to foster multicultural education.  MCIP is governed by a twenty-three-member Board of Directors.

 Bell Multicultural High School, home of the Griffins, has the school motto “Excellence through Diversity.”  The school enjoys a 97% attendance rate, making it second among District high schools.  It also has a drop out rate of only 10% for US born minorities at risk and immigrant youth, as compared to the district rate of over 40%.  Another impressive accomplishment is the consistent high rankings of students taking the nationally normed Advanced Placement Exams.  Bell has a wide range of programs that go beyond the traditional definition of a high school including adult literacy, parenting skills, drop out prevention, vocational-technical training, and career development.  Bell's definition of a high school grows out of integration in the community and recognition of the community's needs.  Several years ago, Bell was selected to be a Renaissance 2000 high school as well as an Enterprise School by the D.C. Public School System.  These exciting initiatives allow Bell to completely redesign its curriculum, instruction, standards and educational programs as deemed appropriate.

Bell and MCIP have strong links to the community.  Both organizations have developed an extensive network of linkages with community-based organizations, corporations, and federal and local government agencies.  MCIP also has a Board of Directors, an Amigos Corporate Advisory Council, and Partners in Education that support the success of both the Multicultural Career Intern Program and Bell Multicultural High School.

The Bell family enjoyed series of nation and district wide recognitions during SY 2008 - 2009. Newsweek ranked the Bell 76th high school in the United States and 12th in the D.C. metropolitan area. The school also made adequate yearly progress, marking the highest gains in student achievement of any secondary school in the District.

In 2008, Bell, MCIP and Lincoln Middle School to become the only 6-12 Early College Campus in the District. Abraham Lincoln Middle School was built in 1967 at the same site which currently houses both schools.