School Choice & Charters A National Roundup

For D.C. Charter School, Royal Visit Caps Big Year

By Laura Greifner — November 08, 2005 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

During their trip to the United States, Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, last week visited an unusual charter school in Washington that has received accolades for its work with inner-city children.

The royal couple, first lady Laura Bush, and other dignitaries toured the SEED School of Washington on Nov. 2.

The college-preparatory boarding school, whose name stands for School for Educational Evolution and Development, was founded in 1998 and serves 320 students in grades 7-12. The school is based on a model developed by the SEED Foundation, a national nonprofit organization that hopes to open more such schools in urban areas.

In July, the school won an Innovations in American Government award from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. The school’s first two graduating classes, in 2004 and 2005, achieved a 100 percent acceptance rate to four-year colleges and universities.

Last week’s visitors were led by two student guides on a tour of the dormitories, the student center, the cafeteria, and two classrooms. They chatted with students in an 8th grade English class who were studying African literature, and in an 11th grade U.S. history class covering the War of 1812.

They helped plant an English oak tree in the school courtyard commemorating the visit. Before they left, the royal couple greeted throngs of students in a roped-off line.

“The students were literally five or six feet away from the prince and his wife,” said Elizabeth Frazier, the director of communications for the SEED Foundation. “We hadn’t planned it. It was really nice and totally unscripted. He incredibly wowed our students.”

The royal couple was scheduled this week to visit the Edible Schoolyard project at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in Berkeley, Calif., which was developed with the famed chef Alice Waters to teach students about growing and eating healthful food.

A version of this article appeared in the November 09, 2005 edition of Education Week

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
Classroom Technology K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Mathematics Webinar How to Build Students’ Confidence in Math
Learn practical tips to build confident mathematicians in our webinar.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School Choice & Charters Trump Admin. Tells States, Schools How to Use Title I for School Choice
A letter sent to state education chiefs pointed to two portions of Title I where states and schools can "provide greater flexibility."
4 min read
Image of a neighborhood of school buildings, house, government buildings, and a money symbol in the middle.
Trodler/iStock/Getty
School Choice & Charters Trump's Order Kicks Off His Efforts to Expand Private School Choice
Trump is directing several federal agencies to look into expanding school choice offerings—a push that continues from his first term.
3 min read
President Donald Trump talks as he signs an executive order giving federal recognition to the Limbee Tribe of North Carolina, in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Washington.
President Donald Trump talks as he signs an executive order giving federal recognition to the Limbee Tribe of North Carolina, in the Oval Office of the White House, Jan. 23, 2025. Trump on Jan. 29 signed an executive order that would mandate a federal push for school vouchers.
Ben Curtis/AP
School Choice & Charters Opinion Teachers Might Embrace Private School Choice. Here's Why
School choice is often discussed in terms of student impact. But what's in it for teachers?
10 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
School Choice & Charters Private School Choice Will Keep Expanding in 2025. Here's Where and How
The conditions are ripe in at least a dozen states for proposals to invest public dollars in private educational options for families.
12 min read
budget school funding
iStock/Getty