Many Catalogue cheers for Steve Park, Executive Director of Little Lights Urban Ministries! Dedicated to the children of the Potomac Gardens public housing complex in Ward 6, Little Lights provides homework help, SAT practice, after-school activities, and Camp Heaven in the summer — and it all works. Last year, 100% of their students stayed in school.

1. What was your most interesting recent project, initiative, partnership, or event?

Just this week, we opened up our Little Lights Family Center located right on the grounds of Potomac Gardens Public Housing in Capitol Hill. We fully renovated a dilapidated apartment unit into a high-tech computer lab and resource/employment center. We will also be providing adult education classes and workshops in the space as well. We have also even agreed with the principal of the nearby elementary school to have some office hours in our space to do outreach to the parents.

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Let’s give a great Catalogue welcome to … Aleta Margolis, Executive Director of the Center for Inspired Teaching! Through in-depth training programs and even annual principal and teacher institutes, Inspired Teaching advocates for true educational reform by challenging how teachers understand their students, their teaching, and themselves. Check out her insights on education and why great teachers are profoundly essential to our communities:

1. What was your most interesting recent project, initiative, partnership, or event?

Center for Inspired Teaching is in the process of opening a school: the Inspired Teaching Demonstration School. This school will be a DC public charter school and will open in August, and it will serve as a model for how we believe all teachers should teach and all students should learn. It will also be home to a teacher residency where new teachers will train alongside master teachers. We’re very excited!

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