Thurgood Marshall Academy

Local Flavor Week Kicks Off at Thurgood Marshall Academy

Courtesy of Rhoda Shirk

  Thurgood Marshall Academy students helped kick-off Local Flavor Week on Tuesday, September 22. Sponsored by the DC Farm to School Network, the initiative promotes the use of local produce and healthy eating in schools. In addition to hosting the event, Thurgood Marshall Academy participated by using vegetables from the organic garden in the week's lunches.

Mr. Batchelor Goes to (another part of) Washington

Thurgood Marshall Academy junior Markus Batchelor is spending the fall semester at The School for Ethics and Global Leadership (SEGL), located in Dupont Circle in Washington, DC. The semester-long, residential program features a program centered around international politics, leadership development and public policy. Markus applied for a spot at the very competitive program with enthusiastic recommendations from teachers at Thurgood Marshall Academy. He is living and studying with 63 other talented juniors from across the country.

In addition to his core-curriculum classes- Pre-Calculus, AP English, Spanish, and AP U.S. History- Markus takes Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, and Ethics and Leadership, a day-long class that connects students to leaders in public service and international policy. So far, Markus has attended a House Committee Hearing on Afghanistan and Pakistan,visited the Pentagon and the United Nations DC Information Center, and questioned Carl Wilkens, the only American to stay in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide.

Orientation: The First Days at Thurgood Marshall Academy

Returning and new students visited Thurgood Marshall Academy for orientation last week to become familiar with the school's policies, programs, and expectations for the year.

"How many of you want to go to college?" college counselor Mr. Mitchell asked a group of tenth-graders. Most of the small crowd raised their hands. "How many of you are left handed? How many of you play an instrument?" The students who raised their hands are in luck---Mr. Mitchell used these examples to show the different kinds of scholarships available for various talents or attributes.

In another session, students heard about some exciting extracurricular programs, like the Mentoring Program, Law Day, and the new Pep Squad, which will cheer for the Warriors at home games in our new gym!

What are Thurgood Marshall Academy students looking forward to this year?

"I'm planning on studying." "And asking questions!" said sophomores Monet Tucker and Patrice Young. 

Freshman Amana Everett said she's looking forward to music class and "getting to know the teachers." With two sisters and a cousin already enrolled at Thurgood Marshall Academy, she's practically a veteran.

It's all systems go for the first week of school! Best wishes to all for a successful year.

Summer Does Not Mean Vacation for Thurgood Marshall Academy Students

True to form, Thurgood Marshall Academy students worked hard throughout the summer. Participants in Summer Prep, Summer School, and summer Advanced Placement enrichment programs hit the books alongside students in the DC Superior Court Internship program.

DC Superior Court Internship Program- Led by Mr. Hendricks, the DC Superior Court Internship Program paired nine rising seniors with a DC Superior Court judge. The student interns worked with the judge and his/her chambers for six weeks during June and July. For four days per week, the interns headed to the court to assist with and observe a variety of trials, including a few murder cases. In class on Fridays, they discussed their experiences during the week, reviewed legal vocabulary, and heard about law in action from guest speakers.

In its second year, the internship is experiential learning that focuses on issues affecting the Thurgood Marshall Academy community. Culminating in a final analysis of one of the observed cases, the internship gave these rising seniors a chance to apply what they learned in the classroom to a real-life situation. "They're getting to do what most law students would be doing for their internships," commented Mr. Hendricks.

Students Tidy DC Park

About 35 American University students found everything from Cadillac tires to wheelchairs to mix tapes while cleaning up a creek in Marvin Gaye Park in northeast DC Saturday morning.

The cleanup of the creek - Watts Branch - was part of the 15th-annual Anacostia River Cleanup and Earth Day Celebration. Members of the AU-George Washington University community service group DC Today ... DC Tomorrow found out about the event through the non-profit organization Washington Parks and People. School of Public Affairs Leadership Program students also participated in the cleanup.

"We think that it's interesting to come here and you see the trash," said Sarah Lehar, a senior in SPA and member of SPA Leadership who participated in the event. "And at the end, when we walk away, it's going to be absolutely gorgeous. You see the product of your work."

Also present at the worksite were four students from Thurgood Marshall Academy, a public charter high school in Anacostia. The students were part of Teen Action, a group that meets weekly with DC Today ... DC. Tomorrow and also helps on community service events, said Sharon Strich, a GW sophomore.

"We have kids who come back every week," she said. "Every week, because they enjoy it."

Other events include working at homeless shelters and cooking meals at the Ronald McDonald House, the Thurgood Marshall Academy students said. One freshman said she already had the 100 hours of community service she needed to graduate but continued to come to the events anyway.

"Either we come because we want to get out of the house, or because we like the people we work with," said another Thurgood Marshall Academy freshman.

Working with the students at the academy was a large part of the organization's mission, according to Justin Bibb, a co-director and co-founder of DC Today ... DC Tomorrow.

"Part of our job is to engage them in meaningful ways to not only gain their hours to graduate but also to engage them in the urban issues based in their community," Bibb, a senior in SPA, said.

The cooperation of groups like Teen Action, D.C. Today ... D.C. Tomorrow and the SPA Leadership Program was vital to organization's goal of revitalizing city parks in D.C., said Washington Parks and People Maintenance Chief Behnam Mehrabkhani.

"We are a non-profit organization, and we don't have a lot of people," he said. "Without the volunteer help, we cannot do anything. We have like six or seven people, and this is a 1.6-mile park."

Lehar said she enjoyed helping out.

"The result is there," she said. "You can see it. This is a way to have a direct impact on the community in a short amount of time."

2009 Commencement Exercises

The Board of Trustees, the Faculty, and Administration of Thurgood Marshall Academy are pleased to announce the Commencement Exercises of the Class of 2009.

The ceremony will be held at 10:00 am on Thursday, June 18, 2009, at THEARC. This is a limited-capacity event and admission is by ticket only. Please contact Allison MacBride at amacbride@tmapchs.org for tickets or additional information.

Parking will be available.

Thurgood Marshall Academy senior Dayna Hudson received the Stephen J. Trachtenberg Scholarship to the George Washington University on Friday, April 3. The scholarship was presented at the Duke Ellington School for the Arts. Dayna did not know about the award until arriving at the ceremony where she was greeted by her mom. Dayna was ecstatic about her accomplishments and full of tears!

The scholarship program, now in its 20^th year, selects DC seniors students based on class rank, GPA, SAT scores, course of study, teacher recommendations, leadership qualities, community service, and other extracurricular activities and achievements. The scholarship, worth more than $200,000 each, is renewed annually provided the recipients meet the university’s academic progress standards.

Dayna is the first—and only— charter school student to receive the scholarship, which has not been open to charter students in the past. This year, nine students city-wide received the award.

You can learn more about the award through this video by NBC or in this article in USA Today.

Every Day is Earth Day at TMA

Thanks to the Thurgood Marshall Academy Green Club, our school participates in green practices every day. After learning about the environmental impact of trash, the students started to regularly weight and monitor trash production across the school, measuring the weight produced and challenging the school community to produce less waste.

Students expanded their green vision when they began a worm compost pile, fueled by scraps from the cafeteria. The students use the compost created by the worms to use in the school garden; students then grow food which they take home for their families.

For their next project, the Green Club is making a documentary about the school's food. More information about a film screening and the school's Earth Day fair will be available soon.

Check out what else the Green Club is up to -- they're featured in an article in Green Right Now, available here.

TMA Participates in Power Shift 2009

Students in Sam Ullery's Environmental Sciece class, along with members of the Green Club, participated in Power Shift 2009, the largest youth summit in the country with over 10,000 high school and college students attending. Power Shift 2009 focused on the climate change, clean energy policies, and voter registration. The organizers included voter registration to emphasize the importance and empowerment of civic participation; by registering to vote, students are empowered to create change within their own communities.

Find out more about Power Shift 2009 (and Thurgood Marshall Academy's role in the DC Green movement) in the Examiner.

TMA Named "Most Improved" by Great Schools/Business Week

Thurgood Marshall Academy was named DC's "Most Improved" school in a recent report by Great Schools/Business Week. In the study, Great Schools compared grade level test scores from the most recent year available to the year before to see which schools showed the greatest improvement.

Congratulations to all students and teachers -- this is a true testament to your hard work and dedication!