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Foster said that about 14 volunteers came to the school Monday, August 26 to help prepare the school for students, building desks, cleaning furniture impacted by the rebuilding process, assembling teacher supply kits and hanging motivational signs throughout the building. “That’s been a really positive piece for us.”
Read More“Whenever there’s a challenge or problem, we tell our scholars to think about our values,” Ashton said. “One of our values is growth, which is that failure and difficulty is just feedback. And this is definitely difficulty — an opportunity to grow.”
Read More“We are the first computer science middle school in all of Washington D.C. We believe that Computer Science is the digital literacy of the 21st century. So while our students are creating websites and coding, they’re also focused on the computational thinking skills like communications, and thinking critically, and thoughtfully and creatively to solve the world’s most complex problems.”
Read MoreAs we steadily become more digital, the need for computer-savvy job candidates continues to grow, yet almost 50 percent of students still have no access to computer science courses in school. America is creating a 5G network, but we’re not developing a 5G workforce — it’s like creating a highway system without teaching driver’s ed.
Read More“Computer science-focused schools are not so rare anymore. Neither are those that mention “innovation” and “21st century skills” in their mission statements. But the Digital Pioneers Academy does those things while serving a student population that is 100 percent black and Latino—two underrepresented demographics in computer science education and the workforce.”
Read More“Our mission is very simple,” says Mashea Ashton, DPA’s founder and the head of school. “We want to develop the next generation of innovators. We want our students not just to consume the digital economy, but to be a part of creating it.”
Read More“As you know October is National Bullying Prevention Month,” she told the students from the Digital Pioneers Academy, a new computer science charter school in southeast Washington, D.C. “I encourage everybody to be kind to each other — treat each other with respect in everyday life and on social media.”
Read MoreThe idea is to address a shortage of computer-science education in the nation’s capital, as well as income inequality and a lack of gender and racial diversity in tech.
Read MoreComputer science remains a topic of increasing interest in K-12, with states introducing new standards in computer science and the College Board touting the popularity of its new Advanced Placement course on computer science principles —even as districts struggle with the realities of the “computer science for all” call to action.
Read More“It is my hope that Digital Pioneers Academy will show what amazing things can happen when students receive the tools and instruction they need to achieve success.”
Read MoreThe first computer-science-focused middle school will be opening shortly in Washington, D.C. Digital Pioneers Academy is a tuition-free, open-enrollment public charter school that will kick off with an expected 120 students in a sixth-grade cohort.
Read More"Mashea Ashton is working to open Digital Pioneers Academy in Ward 7. The charter school will focus on building high-level computer-science skills for sixth- through 12th-grade students."
Read MoreDigital Pioneers Academy is proud to announce its selection as a member of the 2017 Invent cohort at NewSchools Venture Fund.
Read MoreDigital Pioneers Academy (DPA) will be the first school in a new charter network based in Washington, DC. It will open Fall 2018 and eventually serve over 700 students in grades 6-12.
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