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Chairman Hense celebrates with Woodridge kindergarten graduate. Chairman’s message Volume 1 • Issue 3 • Summer Edition Graduation 2006 Inside this issue: Chairman’s Message ................................... 1 Collegiate Grads Prepared for College Success ................................... 1 Blow Pierce Raises Expectations ................................... 2 Woodridge Sows Seeds of Learning ................................... 3 Chamberlain Continues Tradition of Excellence ................................... 3 Southeast Elementary Makes School History ................................... 4 Friendship Calendar ................................... 4 About Friendship ................................... 4 Collegiate Grads Prepared for College Success Friendship Scholars Program e Friendship Scholars Program awards college scholarships to Collegiate seniors that have demon- strated exceptional academic and civic leadership. All applicants submit a personal statement, transcripts and are interviewed by Friendship administration. is year, 13 students were awarded scholarships of $2500 each. 2005-06 Scholars: Donesha Bullock Edward Freeman Ashley Butler Carnelius Halmon Khadijah Dargan Treyvon Jackson Emerald Jackson De’Von Robinson Rajaa Qadri Keith Wiggins Ronee Simmons Henry Williams Tyeshia Watkins Continued on next page “Our teachers convert raw material into polished gems. ey have invested their hard- earned experience in us so that we are poised to face the challenges of the future. I extend my thanks to my institution by saying lucky are those who are destined to be here.” Rajaa Qadri, Collegiate Academy valedictorian Bucknell University, fall 2006 2005 Posse Foundation Scholar, $120,000 in scholarships T , F’ . Our five campuses collectively held nine grad- uation and promotion ceremonies for more than 700 students in pre-kin- dergarten to 12th grade. As your chairman, it was a joy to share in every moment – pre-kindergarten- ers clad in cap and gown; jubilant 8th graders eager to become high school freshman; and euphoric seniors marching to thunderous applause as they accepted their diplomas, the an- chor leg in a 12-year journey of aca- demic perseverance. For the Friendship community, grad- uation season represents the fulfill- ment of a sacred promise. When your child enters one of our elementary, middle or high school campuses, we pledge that he or she will leave aca- demically prepared and ultimately ready for a college education. I am proud to report for the eighth con- secutive year, Friendship has done its job! In a city where barely 52 percent of young people graduate from high school, this year, Friendship’s Colle- giate Academy achieved a 92 percent graduation rate among a senior class of nearly 300. Bucknell University, the College of William and Mary, Carnegie Mellon University, How- ard University and the Rochester In- stitute of Technology are just a few of the institutions that will welcome Friendship seniors in the fall. Blow Pierce Junior Academy, one of two Friendship middle schools, not only achieved one of the District’s largest eighth grade graduating classes; both the valedictorian and salutatorian are young black boys – a stark contrast to the pervasive images of underperforming, at-risk black youth. Friendship’s Chamberlain Elemen- tary continued its tradition of pro- ducing some of the city’s highest academic achievers; Woodridge El- ementary and Middle graduated its second pre-kindergarten class; and the new Southeast Elementary Acad- emy made school history with its first generation of kindergarten and 6th grade graduates. “It takes a village to raise a child, and our village has prepared us to reach new heights,” said Torrin King, Blow Pierce salutatorian. Indeed, the Friendship community is gratified by the success of our students and schools. As the 2006 senior class savored the final moments of graduation and high school life, I shared these words inspired by Dr. Benjamin E. Mays – eminent educator and former Morehouse College president whose incomparable leadership helped to create a village of learning for me. “It is expected that the student who enters a Friendship school will do well. It is expected that the student who graduates from Friendship and bears our insignia, will do exception- ally well… May you forever stand for something noble and high. Let no person dismiss you with the wave of a hand or the shrug of a shoulder. May you get in the arena of life, perform in an exemplary manner and emerge victorious. It is expected of you.” To our graduates, parents, school staff and community, Congratulations! Donald L. Hense Chairman Board of Trustees
