Achievement Preparatory Academy Public Charter Middle School in Washington by Studio Twenty Seven Architecture

Article source: Studio Twenty Seven Architecture 

Achievement Preparatory Academy is a high-performing, college preparatory school located east of the Anacostia River in Washington, DC.   Founded to close the achievement gap and address the educational needs of the community, Achievement Prep is an award-winning school that has been recognized for having an immediate impact in closing the achievement gap between low-income and affluent students in Washington, DC.  Achievement Prep scholars have been among the top performing scholars in the District, often outperforming their peers in more affluent neighborhoods. The new middle school is a building designed to close the achievement gap in the District’s Ward 8 Community.

Image Courtesy © Hoachlander Davis Photography

• Architects: Studio Twenty Seven Architecture
• Project: Achievement Preparatory Academy Public Charter Middle School
• Location: Washington, USA
• Photography: Hoachlander Davis Photography
  
• Owners Name: Achievement Preparatory Academy
• Contractors Name: MCN Build
• Site Area (acres): 4.73 acres
• Building Area – Total Gross Square Feet Addition: 49,478 GSF
• Date of Completion: August 15, 2016

Image Courtesy © Hoachlander Davis Photography

Achievement Preparatory Academy is a charter school that achieves remarkable results through an unwavering belief that all students can, must, and will learn at high levels.  A clear, college-bound mission that is understood and supported by all school members is the key to their success. This submission illustrates how the architectural design of their new middle school facility promoted and enhanced the school’s ability to institute its educational program.

Achievement Prep Academy (APA) was founded in 2000 to close the achievement gap between wealthy white students and low-income students of color.   Statistics collected in 1999 remain relevant today:

Image Courtesy © Hoachlander Davis Photography

Image Courtesy © Hoachlander Davis Photography

• Only 1 in 50 Latinos and 1 in 100 African American 17-year-olds can read and gain information from specialized text—such as the science section in the newspaper (compared to about 1 in 12 whites)

• Fewer than one-quarter of Latinos and one fifth of African Americans can read the complicated but less specialized text that more than half of white students can read.

• The same patterns hold in math:

• About 1 in 30 Latinos and 1 in 100 African Americans can comfortably do multistep problem solving and elementary algebra, compared to about 1 in 10 white students.

• Only 3 in 10 African American and 4 in 10 Latino 17-year-olds have mastered the usage and computation of fractions, commonly used percent’s, and averages, compared to 7 in 10 white students

• Closing the achievement gap has been a persistent goal for educators and policy makers for the last forty years. The benefits to local communities and the Nation in achieving this goal are significant and self-evident.

Image Courtesy © Hoachlander Davis Photography

Image Courtesy © Hoachlander Davis Photography

The new Achievement Preparatory Academy middle school building is located on an existing school campus in South East Washington DC.   Since 2008, APA operated the middle school program out of an existing, unrenovated school building built in 1962.  Because of inadequate space in the existing school building, APA had to move their elementary and early childhood programs out of the existing school and into leased buildings in other locations around Ward 8.   The new middle school building allows APA to consolidate all programs on to a single campus that effectively continue to serve the immediate neighborhood.

Image Courtesy © Hoachlander Davis Photography

Image Courtesy © Hoachlander Davis Photography

The massing and material selection of the new middle school is complimentary to the existing school building.  The goal is to create an architecturally unified campus that is a landmark in the neighborhood.  Care is taken to organize arrival and dismissal and to establish different entrances for students of the different schools, segregated from vehicular traffic.  The site is organized inwards with opportunities for play and outdoor learning between and around the two buildings.  But most of all, the new building illustrates how the architectural design of the new facility promotes and enhances the school’s ability to institute its educational program and “close the achievement gap.”

Image Courtesy © Hoachlander Davis Photography

Image Courtesy © Hoachlander Davis Photography

Working with only one-third of the facility allowance provided to traditional public schools, charter schools in the District of Columbia require innovative and extremely cost coconscious design to foster their educational programs.

Image Courtesy © Hoachlander Davis Photography

Image Courtesy © Hoachlander Davis Photography

Image Courtesy © Hoachlander Davis Photography

Image Courtesy © Studio Twenty Seven Architecture

Image Courtesy © Studio Twenty Seven Architecture

Image Courtesy © Studio Twenty Seven Architecture

Image Courtesy © Studio Twenty Seven Architecture

Image Courtesy © Studio Twenty Seven Architecture

Image Courtesy © Studio Twenty Seven Architecture

Tags: USA, Washington

Categories: Educational Center, Educational Institute, Playground, School

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