Families in Anacostia will now have convenient access to early education programs for children ages 6 weeks to 3 years, thanks to a new child development center at Ketcham Elementary School, the recipient of multiple awards and honors in recent months.
Amid a crowd of government officials, community members and small children, Mayor Muriel Bowser cut the ribbon on the new center on Jan. 30, when she also announced the District had received a $10.6 million federal grant to expand its early childhood services.
DC Public Schools and the United Planning Organization (UPO), a community action agency serving low-income residents of the District, will jointly operate the new center at Ketcham’s 1919 15th St. SE campus. More than 30 children will enter the program starting at the end of February, with first priority given to siblings of current Ketcham students and then to children in the Ketcham school zone.
“Because we are opening this site, we will have many new high-quality seats available right here in this neighborhood,” Bowser said. “[It’s] especially helpful for families that already have a child here at Ketcham. They can get one-stop child care.”
The center will create a pathway for students to receive instruction at Ketcham for 10 years — from when they’re first eligible for child care at six weeks up through fifth grade, according to Principal Maisha Riddlesprigger. UPO intends to develop long-term relationships with students and parents, providing support services and helping children transition from child care into pre-K.
Just last week, Riddlesprigger was honored with the Principal of the Year award at the Standing Ovation for DC Public Schools ceremony sponsored by the DC Public Education Fund. That same night, Ketcham received the Together With Families award — accompanied by a $25,000 school prize — for its successful efforts to “create meaningful partnerships and collaborate with families and the community to drive academic results, attendance, and joyful school culture.”
Riddlesprigger said the new center builds on the school’s commitment to welcome families and students into the school community from birth and to provide them with the support they need.
“Our motto here at Ketcham Elementary School for the past six years since I’ve been here has been, ‘Our students, our future, our responsibility.’ And it’s our promise we make to families that we serve daily and a reminder of how we view our work with the community,” Riddlesprigger said.
The DC education nonprofit EmpowerK12 has also recognized Ketcham Elementary as a Bold Improvement and Bold Performance school for its efforts in exceeding standardized testing expectations and closing the socioeconomic achievement gap.
At the ribbon-cutting, acting DCPS Chancellor Lewis Ferebee praised the new child development center as “a huge boost to the youngest members of the DC community, the youngest members of DCPS.”
The center is part of Bowser’s goal to create 1,000 new spaces for infants and toddlers across the District over the next three years. According to the mayor’s office, Ketcham is now the third DCPS elementary school to offer “a high-quality early education program for infants and toddlers.” UPO had already partnered with the city on the other two centers, at Marie Reed Elementary School in Ward 1 and C.W. Harris Elementary School in Ward 7.
The Jan. 30 event also included an announcement that the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) will use a new $10.6 million preschool development grant from the U.S. Department of Education to measure where improvements are needed in DC’s early childhood education program.
“This federal grant is going to help us look at how we can truly provide a coordinated system across all of the different channels we have to support our young children from birth to 5 years old,” State Superintendent of Education Hanseul Kang said.
The funding will help OSSE, the DC Health Department and the State Early Childhood Development Coordinating Council assess the city’s existing programs and create plans for outreach and education accessibility. Currently, the Bowser administration’s My Child Care DC and Thrive by Five initiatives provide information to parents about child care and early childhood development.
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