Washington Lawyers' Committee DC Public School Partnership Fall 2016 Bulletin

FALL 2016 BULLETIN | Washington Lawyers' Committee

View this email in your browser

Facebook

Twitter

DONATE NOW

Law Firms Provide School Supplies, Coats, and Software

Law firms are responding to a variety of needs at the schools they have adopted through the Washington Lawyers' Committee Partnership program. Software was at the top of wish lists for Cleveland Elementary School and Jefferson Middle School Academy, two schools determined to provide opportunities for students from low-income families. BuckleySandler worked with the Cleveland Parent Teacher Organization to raise money for i-Ready, a math program that helped raise the number of students performing on grade level by 45 per cent. A recent fundraising drive at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft is making it possible for the student pictured above and 149 others at Jefferson to benefit from that math program.

School supply drives at Hogan Lovells, K&L Gates, and Reed Smith got students at their partner schools ready for the school year. The effort at Hogan Lovells was especially ambitious. The firm donated 912 fully stocked backbacks to nine public schools. Drinker Biddle & Reath is having a coat drive for Ann Beers Elementary School, and DLA Piper is looking forward to a toy drive for Payne Elementary School.

Washington Lawyers’ Committee’s Litigation Efforts to Ensure Equality of Educational Opportunity

Our School Partnership Program plays a major role in the Washington Lawyers’ Committee’s work to ensure equality of educational opportunity regardless of a student’s race, disability or family income level. The Education Project has been involved in two amicus briefs recently in important cases that affect the education rights of children. One filed in a school funding case brought in the U.S. District Court for D.C. supports the DC Council’s right under the Home Rule Act and the School Reform Act to make equitable adjustments in the Per Student Funding Formula to optimize funding for DC public schools, including those attended by the city’s poorest and “at risk” student populations at Title I schools. The other brief filed in U.S. Supreme Court supports a stronger standard of measurable goals supported by peer-reviewed research to ensure that disabled students can secure an appropriate public education under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

Grant Will Help Law Firms and Parents Bring Enrichment to Schools

A $215,000 grant from The Morrison & Foerster Foundation will make it possible for the Committee’s Education Project to expand the parent engagement and academic enrichment activities that proved so successful during a pilot program last spring. This Parent Engagement Program assists parents with limited resources to help shape the education of their children. An example is the summer reading program that Hogan Lovells, working with the school’s PTA, made possible at Kimball Elementary School. The reading program was launched at an expanded version of the annual Kimball Karnival, pictured above. The event featured reading sessions, a dunk tank for administrators, and a booth for the PTA, which recruited new members. The seven books that each student took home for the summer are expected to produce significant gains in reading comprehension.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld, BuckleySandler, and Zuckerman Spaeder also worked with the parent teacher organizations at their partner schools last spring to raise funds for academic enrichment programs. The grant will make it possible for parents at approximately 20 additional schools in low-income neighborhoods to play a more significant role in their children’s education and in their school communities.

Law Firms Contribute to Tournament Success

Numerous student teams coached and sponsored by Committee School Partnership law firms took part in the annual fall citywide GeoPlunge Tournament on November 15 at the National Portrait Gallery, one of the largest academic events involving DCPS students. Pictured above are Betsy Johnson and Alyssa King from K&L Gates with the team they coached from Bancroft Elementary School. Invented by Arent Fox partner Alan Fishel, GeoPlunge is a set of very engaging geography games that also help students develop strategic thinking, rapid analysis, and teamwork. For many of the students at our partner schools, where field trips and outings are rare, it is their first opportunity to participate in a citywide competition and to visit the Portrait Gallery.

Students and teams coached and supported by Beveridge & Diamond, McDermott, Will & Emery, Reed Smith, Veris Consulting, Debevoise & Plimpton and Zuckerman Spaeder won a variety of prizes. Other firms that made it possible for their partner schools to participate in the tournament include Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, DLA Piper, Hogan Lovells, and Kelley Drye.

Special Events at Hendley Elementary Made Possible by Savills Studley

Savills Studley is collaborating with the Monumental Sports Entertainment Foundation to provide three special days for students at Hendley Elementary School. The first of these Arts Alive took place on October 20. Pictured above are Hendley students and teachers and volunteers from Savills Studley learning swing dancing from the Washington Capitals Cheerleaders’ Choreographer. Arts Alive also featured activities led by the Shakespeare Theater Company and Graffiti Artists. Because most students at Hendley rarely leave their far southeast neighborhood, the focus of this partnership is bringing cultural and academic enrichment to the school.

In January, Hendley students will have the opportunity to team with Savills Studley volunteers and some Washington Wizards and Capitals to provide service for Central Union Mission, So Others Might Eat, and DC Central Kitchen. In April, the students will be treated to a STEM expo. This Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math themed event will engage students with the wonders of science, which included cool chemical reactions and a live bat exhibition last year.