By: Allysa Turner
Ingenuity Prep Public Charter School in DC opened its doors for the first time in August to 107 kids in grades PreK3-K. Out of all of the charter school visits I’ve done while being with CER, this one stood out to me in a way that the others did not. I have seen the inside of a single-sex school, a bilingual school and even a school that focuses on sustainability but Ingenuity Prep was the first school that I’ve seen to incorporate a classroom model that has three to four teachers at one time.
My first concern was that students at this age cannot possibly thrive without the familiarity of one, or maybe two, instructors and that three or four would be too hectic for their young minds in terms of transitioning from one teacher to another throughout the day and keeping focused. I was lucky enough to have my tour guided by co-founder and principal of the school, Aaron Cuny, and learn just why they prefer this model to another student-teacher ratio model. The classroom structure put in place at Ingenuity Prep has multiple lessons going on at one time with instructors that specialize in each lesson whether it’s math, reading comprehension or civic leadership. This model gives teachers less students at one time to provide more individualized attention to while at one time it provides the students with an instructor that excels in that particular lesson.
Besides providing their students with content-specialized teachers in the classroom, Ingenuity Prep promotes extended school days, which in turn makes for extended years. Over the course of a school year, Ingenuity Prep students benefit from thirty-three percent more learning time than students as neighboring District schools. I am personally all for extended school days because they give students a leg up in the amount of content they can get each day. The school also is the first in the District to open with a blended learning model, leveraging digital content to target students’ individualized learning needs and track development.
After visiting the school and being inside the classrooms, I can see just why Ingenuity Prep was named Ingenuity Prep. Being first to utilize a blended learning model in the District and having content-specialized teachers in the classrooms is really towards the students’ advantage. Even though the school is in its first year with plans to expand through high school, I have high hopes that they will continue to live up to their name with co-founders Aaron Cuny and Will Stoetzer’s strong foundation of unique ideals.