Langdon Education Campus: A Holistic Approach to Student Success
Langdon Education Campus, located at 1900 Evarts St., is a public school in Washington, D.C., serving students from Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade. The school is situated in a large city setting and is part of the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) system. Langdon Elementary School serves a student population of 390, with a student-teacher ratio of 11:1, which is consistent with the district average. The student demographic comprises 46% female and 54% male students. The school employs 36 full-time teachers, with 81% of them being certified, and one full-time school counselor.
Prioritizing Family and Community Engagement
A cornerstone of Langdon's educational philosophy is the deep prioritization of family involvement. This commitment is evident through various initiatives designed to build strong relationships between the school and the families it serves. Monthly "Principal Chat and Chews" are held with the explicit aim of fostering these connections. The school's robust Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) plays a vital role in supporting the school's mission and vision. This alignment is meticulously planned through monthly pre-meetings, where supports and areas of focus are discussed prior to the main parent meetings.
Langdon is particularly proud of its parent development sessions, which are led by both District staff and the school's own parents. Further reinforcing this open-door policy, parents are welcome to visit their child's classroom at any time, with the sole expectation that they provide feedback on their visit. This purposeful and intentional approach aims to create numerous opportunities for families and the wider community to strengthen their relationship with Langdon.
Through collaborations with "Teach for Change," Langdon has enhanced communication with families by providing information in their primary languages. The monthly chat-n-chews serve as a direct avenue for families to voice their concerns and needs to the principal. Furthermore, the school has partnered with parents to organize events such as ECE-topic seminars, parent-led continuing education sessions, and coordinated data nights for all grade levels.
Traditional events, which have been successful for many years, continue to be popular. A prime example is the HalloSTEAM event, which has been hosted by Langdon Elementary and its PTO for the past seven years. This event artfully merges harvest season festivities with a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) focus. Each year, HalloSTEAM expands, attracting new school-community families, former parents, and student alumni, all participating in this interactive, hands-on learning experience. This event exemplifies the rich participation that strengthens ties and cultivates relationships with families and the community.
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Foundational Beliefs and Mission
The leadership at Langdon operates on a set of guiding beliefs that shape the school's culture and operations. The first belief is that the school is a collective entity, articulated through intentional messaging and actions that emphasize "our" school rather than "my" school. Establishing clear systems that support every voice is paramount, recognizing the significant value each member of the school staff, student body, and parent community contributes.
The second core belief centers on the importance of a clear mission and vision that aligns school priorities and incorporates everyone's voice. During the principal's first year, the school community embarked on a journey to review and redefine its pre-existing mission and vision statement, which had not been clearly evident or easily articulated by staff. Through reflection on core values as educators and shared dreams for students, a new mission and vision statement was collaboratively created from the ground up.
The third belief draws a parallel between the differentiation, beliefs, patience, and compassion that teachers extend to students at varying levels of mastery, and the expectation that principals should embody these same core beliefs with their staff.
Strategic Priorities and Data-Driven Achievement
Langdon's two primary goals for the upcoming year are to elevate students approaching proficiency to full proficiency and to continue developing social-emotional learning for both students and staff. The most critical factor contributing to Langdon Elementary School's success, and one that is replicable by others, is the identification in 2014 of three primary, foundational priorities essential for supporting all students to succeed emotionally, academically, and creatively. These three priorities-Data Analysis Builds Student Achievement; Strong Relationships build Community; and High Engagement Builds Life-long Learners-have remained unwavering. Every initiative, professional development activity, goal, and action plan is aligned with one or more of these core priorities.
A significant focus has been placed on tracking real-time data at the small group table, aligned with specific skills. School-wide, an expectation has been established for skills trackers to be used during all small group rotations. While teachers have the autonomy to create their own unique templates for these trackers, the school has normed the essential criteria that must be evident. These trackers facilitate daily flexible grouping of students based on their specific skill-level needs.
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Strategic Use of Federal Funds and Professional Development
The strategic utilization of ESEA (Elementary and Secondary Education Act) federal funds to support school needs is consistently a top priority. Langdon is fortunate to be part of a school system (DCPS) that prioritizes the engagement of key stakeholders, including school-based staff and families, in the budget decision-making process at the school level. Each year, school priorities and progress are reviewed to determine the most effective allocation of ESEA funds.
To bolster Response to Intervention (RtI) structures, particularly in supporting students requiring Tier 2 and Tier 3 interventions, ESEA funds are directed towards Literacy Lab Tutors. The Literacy Lab program deploys two full-time, all-day reading tutors who provide individualized reading support to students. Additionally, ESEA funds are instrumental in supporting the After-School Enrichment program, which extends learning by an additional hour for all students in tested grades. During this enrichment block, curriculum resources are purchased using ESEA funds to support the initiative.
Langdon Elementary School consistently prioritizes professional development, offering opportunities multiple times per week. A key component of all staff development is its student-centered nature, with success measured not merely by teacher actions but by tangible student data. The school strives to be responsive to the needs of teachers and staff through differentiation and by being open to specific professional development requests. Multiple school years have been dedicated to developing teachers' ability to identify the skills needing instruction and to align these with the activities, work, and products students use to learn, practice, and demonstrate proficiency or mastery.
Langdon provides ongoing professional development focused on small group instruction. Teachers lead Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to critically examine teaching practices and student work. These PLCs function as data meetings where a teacher presents a standard, objective, exemplar, text/problem, and rubric. The team then uses a student-work protocol to identify key misconceptions and determine potential re-teaching steps. Teachers also consider any misalignments in their own instruction and identify possible next steps for their professional growth.
Data-Driven Decision Making and School Culture
The use of data is deeply integrated into Langdon's three school priorities, with Priority One explicitly stating, "Data analysis builds student achievement." The utilization of data commences with the development of the Comprehensive School Plan, a dynamic document that undergoes continuous adjustments to ensure it effectively meets the school's evolving needs. Setting high standards aligned with school-wide goals has significantly contributed to the gains observed in recent years. Langdon has transitioned from setting growth targets to establishing proficiency goals for all students.
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Furthermore, bi-weekly data meetings, led by grade-level teachers, are held to analyze student work in alignment with Common Core standards. Teachers also meet bi-weekly with the Instructional Assistant Principal (AP) to discuss student-level data, identifying actionable next steps to support all students, whether they are below, at, or above grade level.
Langdon's school culture is dedicated to fostering strong relationships among students, adults, families, and the community. Since 2014, the school's foundation has been built upon its three core priorities, influencing every practice, initiative, and decision. In alignment with Priority Two, "Strong relationships build community," the school-wide culture has continuously strengthened year after year.
To initiate this, all classrooms, from ECE through 5th grade, begin their day with classroom morning meetings. These dedicated 15 to 20 minutes at the start of each day follow the Responsive Classroom approach, which emphasizes students' sense of belonging, empathy, conflict resolution, and cooperation. Positive points earned by students throughout the week are tracked, reflecting Langdon's belief in investing more time and attention to students making positive "Scholar-decisions" and celebrating their efforts. Each week, students can earn time in the "B.O.O.M. Room" (Behaving and Operating in an Outstanding Manner).
A recent addition to strengthening Priority Two and supporting the school's progress toward becoming a trauma-informed institution is the implementation of a "Cool Down Area" in each classroom. This designated space allows students to self-select when they need time alone or a moment to utilize de-escalation strategies, taught by the SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) Team, before reflecting on necessary behavioral changes. This initiative is particularly relevant given that many students experience trauma stemming from unstable access to food, shelter, and/or exposure to violence in their neighborhoods or homes. The school maintains consistent, school-wide behavioral expectations across all classrooms.
Addressing Resource Disparities
At schools like Langdon, identified as Equity Focus Schools, students often face limited access to essential resources and learning materials. Initiatives aimed at addressing these disparities, such as those supporting Ms. Kindergarten teacher at PS 81 - Robert J. However, the provided text does not detail specific initiatives for PS 81 - Robert J. but emphasizes that every donation funds real needs-pencils, books, lab equipment, art supplies, and more-all crucial for students to learn and thrive. Data regarding students' economic needs is sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics, through partners at MDR Education, as is data on school demographics. The overarching goal is to ensure that every child in every community possesses the tools and experiences necessary for a high-quality education.
Student Performance and Demographics
Langdon Elementary School's performance metrics indicate that 22% of students scored at or above the proficient level in math, and 32% achieved this benchmark in reading. When compared to the district average for DCPS, where 30% of students are proficient in reading and 25% in math, Langdon performs better in reading and slightly worse in math. However, when compared to the state of D.C. as a whole, Langdon shows stronger performance, with 26% of state students proficient in reading and 22% in math. Langdon's Reading Proficiency Rank is #34 (tie) out of 126 schools, and its Math Proficiency Rank is #48 (tie). Notably, the school's Reading Performance is rated as "Well Above Expectations," and its Math Performance is also rated as "Well Above Expectations."
The student population is composed of 46% female and 54% male students. The demographic breakdown includes: 3.1% White, 67.4% Black or African American, 27.9% Hispanic/Latino, 1.3% Two or more races, and 0.3% Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander. The school has 36 full-time teachers and 1 full-time school counselor.
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