Columbia Heights Educational Campus: A Story of Transformation and Educational Equity
Columbia Heights Educational Campus (CHEC) stands as a testament to the power of vision, unwavering commitment, and community collaboration in transforming the lives of underserved students. Its history is rooted in addressing systemic inequities and providing opportunities for students often marginalized by traditional educational systems. From its humble beginnings as the Multicultural Career Intern Program (MCIP) to its current status as a leading educational institution, CHEC's journey is one of innovation, resilience, and a relentless pursuit of educational equity.
The Genesis: MCIP and Addressing Systemic Inequities
In 1979, Maria Tukeva, a visionary educator and later an inductee of the DC Education Hall of Fame, recognized a critical gap in the educational landscape of Washington, D.C. Many young lives were slipping through the cracks due to poverty, language barriers, and an education system that failed to recognize their potential. Tukeva understood that the crisis of school push-out was a multifaceted problem, stemming from cultural and linguistic incompetence, systemic indifference, inadequate teacher training, low expectations, and insufficient curricula. Punitive measures like suspensions and expulsions only exacerbated the issue, further isolating those most in need of support.
To combat these inequities, Tukeva founded the Multicultural Career Intern Program (MCIP). Starting as a modest program for 40 "at-promise" students overlooked by DC public schools, MCIP quickly evolved into a transformative force. The program's novel approach involved holding nontraditional students to even higher academic standards than their US-born peers. By 1989, it was serving 600 students daily, becoming a full-fledged alternative school renowned for its rigorous academics and innovative educational approach. MCIP's success and acclaim underscored the need for a more comprehensive and supportive educational environment for marginalized students.
Growth and Adaptation: Bell Multicultural High School
As MCIP continued to flourish, it became clear that a more permanent and structured educational institution was needed. In 1989, MCIP's instructional component consolidated with Bell Career Development Center to become Bell Multicultural High School (BMHS), a fully accredited DC public school. This merger marked a significant step forward in providing a comprehensive educational program for a diverse student body.
However, the new school community inherited a significant challenge: a hazardous and severely under-equipped facility that was deemed by the Army Corps of Engineers to be the worst in the DCPS facilities inventory. Designed originally for vocational training, the Bell vocational facility was ill-equipped to support a comprehensive academic program. Essential elements for a complete educational experience were missing, including a gymnasium for physical education, a cafeteria for communal dining, and science labs for STEM instruction.
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Despite these challenges, BMHS remained unwavering in its commitment to providing a high-quality education. The school continued to adapt to meet the needs of its expanding and diverse student body, fostering a culture of academic excellence and innovation.
The Campaign for a New Campus: A Community United
The inadequate facilities at Bell Multicultural High School posed a significant obstacle to the school's mission. Years of advocacy yielded little progress, and the situation deteriorated to an untenable point. The tipping point came when students organized a protest that garnered national attention, spotlighting the dire state of the facilities and the urgent need for change.
In response, MCIP, bolstered by significant support from philanthropists Lois and Dick England, launched an innovative public-private partnership to champion educational equity. In March 2001 Lois and Dick England launched the campaign for CHEC by issuing a $1 million challenge grant that required the MCIP Board to raise $3 million. This initiative went beyond fundraising; it galvanized the entire community-parents, educators, business leaders, and policymakers-to demand the facilities their students deserved.
The campaign marked a pivotal moment for MCIP and BMHS, emphasizing the critical role that physical infrastructure plays in educational success and student well-being. Over the next five years, other individuals and organizations would lend their support to the CHEC capital campaign. In time, other distinguished D.C. residents and foundations including Calvin Cafritz of the Gwendolyn and Morris Cafritz Foundation and Anne Loeb Bronfman would step forward with their own generous $1 million donations. Not to be outdone, DC Public Schools committed $63 million to make CHEC a reality. These tremendous efforts are permanently memorialized through the named gifts bricks that adorn the entrance of the campus that opened in February, 2006.
The effort raised millions of dollars, which, coupled with renewed commitment from DCPS, led to the construction of a new, state-of-the-art facility. The success of this campaign underscores the power of community action and the importance of advocating for the resources necessary to unlock every student’s potential.
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The Birth of CHEC: A Unified Educational Approach
In 2008, MCIP’s journey took a significant leap forward with the merger of Bell Multicultural High School and Lincoln Multicultural Middle School, resulting in the Columbia Heights Educational Campus (CHEC). This consolidation created a unified educational environment spanning middle and high school, allowing for a more cohesive and comprehensive approach to student development.
The formation of CHEC was transformative for the community, enabling MCIP to extend its innovative programs to younger students and bridge the gap between middle and high school education. For MCIP, this expansion meant the opportunity to influence and shape the academic trajectories of students from an earlier age, addressing educational disparities before they could take root.
The creation of CHEC also served as a model for other educational institutions, demonstrating the benefits of a cohesive and unified approach to education across different grade levels.
CHEC Today: Innovation and a Focus on Belonging
Today, MCIP stands as a powerful example of what can be achieved when vision is paired with unwavering commitment. Serving 1,700 students annually at CHEC, MCIP continues its mission to close the achievement gap, proving that with the right support, every student can realize their full potential. In thirty-six years the MCIP and CHEC partnership has successfully served 28,000 youths and their families, consistently graduated 90% of its senior class and developed strong relationships with the public and private sectors to millions for underserved youth.
Innovation has been central to MCIP’s approach. The organization has continually evolved to meet the changing needs of its students, incorporating new technologies, teaching strategies, and community partnerships. CHEC is part of DC+XQ, a multi-year partnership to reimagine the high school experience in the nation’s capital. This community-led initiative has brought together educators, families, students, and community members with bold ideas for what is possible for DC’s high school students.
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Students attending CHEC come from over 50 countries, speak many languages in their homes, contribute to the school’s global curriculum, and focus on world cultures. Since CHEC joined the second cohort of DC+XQ schools in the summer of 2023, members of the school’s design team wanted to ensure they intentionally redesigned with a focus on students who indicated on surveys that they didn’t feel like they belonged at school. In late 2023, for example, the school engaged with 45 of its students to contribute to the design of its vision for a supportive school experience. The students participated in trust-building exercises with their teachers and peers and designed plans for increasing participation and engagement.
This focus on belonging has yielded positive results. CHEC saw a 4 percent increase from fall 2023 to spring 2024 in the overall percentage of students responding favorably to a survey about their sense of belonging. As one student who attended the retreat told a CHEC assistant principal, “I really feel like I’m being listened to when I share these things with you. CHEC’s design team has fostered authentic student engagement by expanding opportunities for students to use their voices to improve their educational experience. Staff and leadership team meetings, previously only open to adults, are now open to all. In 2024, the CHEC team presented at the ASCD Annual Conference for educator professional development.
Academic Recognition and Challenges
CHEC has garnered recognition for its academic performance. News & World Report's 2020 Best High School Rankings listed CHEC as the #1 top performing non-selective school (no entrance exam requirement) in DC. What is even more significant, 100% of CHEC’s students qualify for free and reduced lunch. In 2008, Newsweek ranked Bell Multicultural the 77th best high school in the United States, and 12th in the D.C. metropolitan area. Newsweek ranked schools by the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and/or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2007 divided by the number of graduating seniors. Bell Multicultural's ratio was 3.888.
However, like many urban schools, CHEC has faced challenges related to student attendance and grading practices. Thousands of individual student transcripts and attendance records obtained reveal high school students passing required courses despite being marked “unexcused” absent two-thirds of the school days in a semester. The records, similar in scope and size as the records previously reported about Ballou High School, focus on Columbia Heights Education Campus.
The records indicate students passed required courses with “D” or higher despite being absent up to 63 days in a 90-day school semester. With the number of records presented, the search is not complete at this time. However, the I-Team has found several students in the fall semester of 2017 receiving these passing grades despite being marked with unexcused absences up to two-thirds of the number of school days.
Unlike the records revealed about Ballou High School, the level of chronic absenteeism is not as high. However, the allegations of grade inflation at CHEC appear to be occurring the same months DC Public Schools' investigation into grade inflation at Ballou High School.
That DCPS Policy states that a student with 10 unexcused absences in a semester received a “Failure Due To Absence” grade. Students who accrue more than 30 unexcused absences in a school year are to receive a “failing final grade.”
These challenges highlight the ongoing need for vigilance and continuous improvement in ensuring that all students receive a high-quality education and are held to consistent standards.
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