* All schools and offices closed.
** Holiday begins at sunset of the preceding day. PGCPS prohibits scheduling of any meetings or activities during or after the regular school day. (Does not apply to state or regional events.)
*** Subject to change due to inclement weather.
Please check back periodically for updates. Also, if you complete the Contact Us form here, we will inform you about upcoming events.
Sporting wild hairdos, zany socks, and silly hats, members of our community hosted the first annual “Spirit Week” in April. To promote school pride and unity, students and teachers participated in a number of fun activities, including dress-up days and a sports day, and showed the spirit of giving by donating items each day. All the clothing, canned goods, and candy collected during the course of the week were donated to local community charities, shelters, food banks, and the U.S. troops.
The Scholastic Book Fair came to our campus in April. Sponsored by the Imagine Andrews PTO, this two-day event promoted reading and family involvement. Students, teachers, and parents browsed and purchased the newest selections of children’s books. The Imagine Andrews PTO raised funds that will be used to support reading instruction in the classroom.
April marks national “Month of the Military Child,” which was established to underscore the important role children play in the Armed Forces community. In recognition of this celebration, Imagine Andrews invited all staff and students alike to participate in “Purple Up! For Military Kids” Day, to be held on Friday, April 13th. On this day, everyone wore purple as a sign of support and thanks to all military children for their strength and sacrifices. Why purple? According to Operation: Military Kids (OMK), which is organizing the event, purple symbolizes all branches of the military because it is the combination of Army green, Coast Guard blue, Air Force blue, Marine red, and Navy blue.
Congratulations to Bonita Gunn, a Grade 2 Math/Science teacher, who has been selected as the 2012 Imagine Andrews Teacher of the Year. The annual Teacher of the Year award, which recognizes individuals for their outstanding work and dedication to their school community, is one of the highest honors an Imagine school can bestow on a staff member. Gunn, who is the first winner of this award for Imagine Andrews, is eligible to be considered for the Maryland Region Teacher of the Year award. The regional winner will then be nominated to enter the Imagine Schools Teacher of Year award, announced later this year.
The Imagine Andrews PTO is sponsoring the first annual “Family Fitness Night” on March 26 at the Community Activity Center located on Joint Base Andrews. All students and parents are welcome and encouraged to attend this new and fun-filled event, which runs from 6-8 pm. Among the night’s activities will be games, exercising, dancing, and health and nutrition education. So dress comfortably and plan to “learn and burn” (some calories)! Admission is free to PTO members, and $5 for non-PTO members (proceeds will directly support the students of Imagine Andrews). We hope to see you there!
Imagine Andrews students recently got a “living history” lesson. Trent Dudley, president of the East Coast Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., was the guest speaker for the school’s Black History Month celebration on Tuesday, February 28.
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Dudley, who flew aircraft during his career in the USAF, addressed students in Grades 2-4, discussing the history of the Tuskegee Airmen and their mission, and how his organization works to provide outreach to students through scholarships to encourage them to become aviators.
In preparation for Tuesday’s lecture, Imagine Andrews students watched video clips of the Tuskegee Airmen. Lieutenant Colonel Dudley, who has met film producer George Lucas and many members of the cast of “Red Tail,” a new movie that tells the story of the Tuskegee Airmen, delivered a 15-20 minute presentation to each class and answered questions from the students.
For more information, please contact the school at (301) 350-6002.
Imagine Andrews welcomes Sharon Moore as the new School Liaison Officer for Joint Base Andrews (JBA). Moore’s role is to serve military families in matters concerning school-age children, such as relocation and deployment issues, school transition, student/parent advocacy, school- or district-level special education system navigation, home-schooling support, post-secondary school preparation, and other family-related issues. Click here to learn more about the office or to contact her for an appointment.
The Imagine Andrews PTO recently sponsored a night of “fun” for all Imagine Andrews families. The “Family Fun Night,” held February 16, at the Chick-fil-A in Capitol Heights, featured food, entertainment, and a “special surprise.”
Lynne Michael Blum, PhD
Imagine Andrews Public Charter School announced it has formed a partnership with a leading child psychologist to provide a multipart training program intended to enhance the educational experience of students from military families.
Beginning in the fall of 2011, Lynne Michael Blum, PhD, a clinical psychologist and an adjunct faculty member at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, initiated a series of workshops and training sessions designed to help Imagine Andrews teachers and administrators improve the way they meet the needs of children from military families. Dr. Blum also will be conducting training sessions and workshops specifically designed for Imagine Andrews families.
A growing body of research indicates that students whose parents are deployed in active war zones or have experienced frequent moves due to job relocations often experience many emotional ups and downs, including depression, acting out or negative behavioral adjustment, poor academic performance, and increased irritability and impulsiveness.
The main goals of the program, according to officials, are to raise awareness of the kinds of problems encountered by children from a military family, and to adapt research-based practical approaches to the school environment so that all students may thrive.
“This initiative is ideal because it directly supports our mission to meet the needs of the military child,” says Marquis Dwarte, Principal of Imagine Andrews. “And it is going to be conducted by one of the leading minds in this field of study. Therefore, everyone, from the staff at Imagine Andrews to the students and their families, will be able to benefit from this unique and important collaboration.”
Dr. Blum, who has extensive experience working with the military and military base community leaders, has conducted similar training seminars around the country through the Military Child Initiative, an arm of The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Center on School, Family and Community Partnerships.
Dr. Blum will teach the 13-module course, entitled “The Military Child Initiative,” in phases using half-day (3.5 hours each) and full-day (7-hour) sessions. The first two sessions were held in August and September 2011. Additional dates will be forthcoming. Session topics to be taught include “Dealing with Transitions,” “Deployment and Resilience,” “School Connectedness,” “Community Engagement,” and “Partnering with Parents.”
Dr. Blum is a child/adolescent clinical psychologist in clinical practice as well as an adjunct assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in the Department of Mental Health. She is co-director of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Military Child Initiative, where she is leading the Best Practices Component. Her work currently includes the development of the Military Child Initiative web course and in the future will include the development of an online Best Practices library.
The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health Military Child Initiative assists public schools to improve the quality of education for highly mobile and vulnerable young people with a special focus on military children and their families by providing national, state and local
education agencies, as well as schools, parents and health, child welfare, juvenile justice and educational professionals with information, tools and services that enhance school success.
To read more about Dr. Blum, click here. For more information about the seminars at Imagine Andrews, including dates for upcoming sessions, please call the school’s main number at (301)350-6002.
Following his recent visit to Imagine Andrews, Col. Kenneth Rizer, Commander, 11th Wing, Joint Base Andrews, sent a letter to the community, praising the efforts of the staff and families for “making such a positive impact” on the base, and encouraging parents to get involved in their child’s education by joining the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO). Click here to read the full letter.
In December, students and teachers at Imagine Andrews were treated to two very special visits by several very important people. On December 19, Major General Darren McDew, Commander of the Air Force District of Washington, DC, and his wife, stopped by Imagine Andrews to address several student groups. Gen. McDew spoke to second graders about the importance of attending and excelling in school and getting a great education. Ms. McDew read to the Kindergarten students and discussed the holiday season and the value of being grateful. Earlier in the month, on December 12, Colonel Jacqueline D. Van Ovost, 89th Airlift Wing Commander, and Colonel Kenneth Rizer, 11th Wing/Joint Base Andrews Commander, spoke with the students in Grades 3 and 4 about character, leadership, work ethic, and decision-making. Both engagements are part of the school’s ongoing effort to support the character development program.
As commander of the Air Force District of Washington, Gen. McDew organizes, trains, and equips combat forces for the aerospace expeditionary forces, homeland operations, civil support, national special security events, and ceremonial events. Col. Van Ovost is responsible for worldwide special air mission airlift, logistics, aerial port and communications support for U.S. senior military and elected leaders. Col. Rizer leads the 11th Wing and Joint Base Andrews, providing security, personnel, contracting, finance and infrastructure support for 6 Wings, 2 Headquarters and over 50 tenant organizations, as well as 60,000 airmen and families in the national capital region and around the world.
Here are some photos from the December VIP visits. Click on the images to see a larger view.
In an attempt to inspire students in military families to excel in school, officials at Joint Base Andrews have initiated “The Military Student Reward Program.” Under the program, military students who earn a grade of “B” or higher will receive a “You Made the Grade” coupon book for the Andrews Exchange. Students who visit the store, accompanied by a parent, present a valid military ID card and proof of an overall “B” or better average, will receive one coupon package for every qualifying report card. The exclusive offers include free meals at the Exchange, a free Burger King kids meal, a free Subway combo meal, a free magazine, $2 off any newly released CD or DVD, and discounts on the purchases of merchandise. Students can also register for a drawing to win a savings bond worth up to $5,000.
For more info on this program, click here.
Shout Out to the students of Imagine Andrews for placing 3rd in the countywide Sumdog Math competition!!! Nicely done Imagine Andrews; next year we take 1st place!
The AFCU continues to pledge its support of Imagine Andrews! Last Friday, the AFCU made a $1,000 donation to support Imagine Andrews. Additionally, AFCU will be providing Financial Literacy Lessons to the students of Imagine Andrews. The first of which is scheduled to take place this Friday, November 4, 2011 for 3rd and 4th grades.
The students at Imagine Andrews have just earned their wings and are ready to soar. No, they haven’t gotten their pilot’s licenses (not yet, at least). But they have been given something to screech about, thanks to the Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO). At its meeting on October 25th, the PTO unveiled the school’s new mascot. We are now the Imagine Andrews Eagles! More details about the mascot will be forthcoming, according to members of the PTO. All families are encouraged to attend PTO meetings and to participate in the PTO activities. For more information about upcoming meetings and the PTO, please email them at imagineandrewspto@gmail.com.
In an effort to promote high expectations and academic success, Imagine Andrews will be implementing a “College and Armed Services Shirt Day.” On the first Friday of each month, students will be permitted to wear a T-shirt, sweatshirt, or “hoodie” in lieu of their uniform shirt and tie. However, these shirts MUST bear a clearly visible college or armed services logo and nothing else. All other uniforms requirements will remain in effect. This year’s “College and Armed Services Shirt Days” will be held on the following dates: October 7, November 4, December 2, January 6, February 3, March 2, April 13, May 4, and June 1
Parents and students eagerly flooded the hallways of the new Imagine Andrews Public Charter School as it opened for the
first day of school on August 22.
Government officials recently released a report outlining a wide-reaching plan to strengthen military family support by offering new programs and cooperative efforts to improve quality of life and well-being for military families.
The new report, titled Strengthening Our Military Families: Meeting America’s Commitment, identifies the key issues military families face — from child care to health care to education to spouse employment — and presents programs and resources that a collaborative effort between government agencies will use to address them.
Among the initiative’s main priorities is the education and development of military children, many of whom attend public schools such as Imagine Andrews. In announcing the initiative, President Obama praised the efforts of agencies such as the Education Department, which gives military families priority in some of its grant programs, and the Interior Department, which plans to create more opportunities for military children under the plan.
For more information, you can download the report here or click here to visit the website devoted to the initiative.
Military families at Imagine Andrews now have access to a free online educational resource. The Tutor.com website offers tutoring and homework help from live, professional tutors in more than 16 subjects. Through the program, which is funded by the Department of Defense MWR Library Program, children of military families who move frequently or deal with a deployed parent can now get the extra help they need from qualified instructors 24 hours a day, without an appointment. For more information, or to find out if you are eligible to use the program, click here.
The new Parent/Student Handbook and Class Supply lists for Imagine Andrews are complete and have been posted on this website. Both documents are available for download. Click here for a copy of the Handbook and click here for a list of supplies requested by your child’s teacher. Both documents also may be found here.
A Third Grader at Imagine Indigo Ranch in Colorado Springs, Colorado, recently received a surprise visitor — his father, a medivac with the Army National Guard, who returned home from Iraq two days ahead of schedule to attend the boy’s concert. Approximately 20 percent of the students at the school have family members in the military. Watch the video to see the full story.
Newly accepted on-base families attended Enrollment Fairs on April 26 and April 28. Parents and guardians, along with a number of new students (and siblings), met with Imagine Andrews officials to formally enroll for the 2011 school year, pick up important documents, and have their questions answered. More than 120 on-base students, in Kindergarten through Grade 4, were enrolled during the two-day event. Additional enrollment-related meetings will be held at a future date, so please keep checking this site for updates.
If you missed the meetings and would like more information, please contact us at info@imagineandrews.org or fill out the Contact Us form here.
Here are some photos from the Enrollment Fair, held on base on April 28.
Click on them to see a larger view.
Business and county officials hope Imagine Andrews will be an asset to attract people to Joint Base Andrews who may be considering living off-base. Click here to read the article at Gazette.net.
Our goal is to keep everyone interested in Imagine Andrews as informed as possible. To that end, we have held several community events since the fall of 2010, including
At all events, officials from Imagine Schools were on hand to provide a progress report and answer questions from the audience. If you missed the sessions and would like more information, please contact us at info@imagineandrews.org or fill out the Contact Us form here.
Click here to download a PDF of the latest presentation.
Here are some photos from our open house on December 14, 2010.
Click on them to see a larger view.
From The Washington Post:
Andrews Charter School uses community approach to unite on-, off-base students
From CharterSchoolCenter.org:
Charter School on Joint Base Andrews Expects to Open in August.
From Gazette.Net:
Two new Imagine charter schools open in Clinton area.
Also in Gazette.Net
New Andrews facility could boost economy in Prince George’s County.
New charter school to open on Andrews.
More from The Washington Post:
Public charter school to open at Andrews.