Democracy Prep Public Schools Careers, Benefits, Review

Democracy Prep educates responsible citizen-scholars for success in the college of their choice AND for lives of active citizenship.

Democracy Prep set out to prove what is possible for public education in America. Our flagship school, Democracy Prep Charter Middle School (DPCMS), first opened its doors in August 2006. By 2009, DPCMS became the highest performing school in Central Harlem and was ranked the number one public middle school in New York City.

Democracy Prep Public Schools currently operates 19 high-performing schools in New York City, San Antonio, TX, and Las Vegas, NV educating 6,500 citizen-scholars. The incredible growth of the scholars is possible through the tireless and dedicated work of the educators who make up our DREAM team.

Democracy Prep is a special place where scholars are empowered to become the future leaders of their community. We couple our rigorous academic curriculum with opportunities that develop our scholars into civically-minded and well-rounded individuals. 100% of our scholars are accepted to a four-year college.

OUR INTELLECTUAL AUTONOMY WITH STRUCTURED SUPPORTS

As educators, we know that there are certain core practices that are essential to ensuring all scholars receive a rigorous, joyful experience- deeply understanding curriculum, strategically analyzing data, building strong relationships. What this looks like may differ in each region and school- and we believe that those closest to the ground need to be involved in making those decisions. Democracy Prep provides strong frameworks and systems, and leaders work alongside teachers to ensure that these systems and frameworks are placing every scholar on the path to college– and questioning when they are not. Having autonomy within a framework ensures we can be an outcomes-driven organization. 

EDUCATING ALL SCHOLARS

We are committed to educating all scholars, regardless of their learning needs. This includes back-filling any empty seats at all grade levels, educating scholars with IEPs and 504s using targeted interventions from our ACT (Academic Collaboration or Special Education) Team, and using thoughtful data measures to make sure that every single one of our scholars is on the path to college.

ACT: ACT, or Academic Collaboration Team, is our name for our Special Education team. Our ACT team ensures that all of our scholars receive the support they need to excel in school.

ARTS: We are proud that our schools have a thriving arts program. Our scholars have the opportunity to participate in speech and debate, Jazz band, keyboard band, musical theater, dance, visual arts, and more. The Democracy Prep speech and debate team has won many state and national titles.

ATHLETICS: Democracy Prep scholars are offered many opportunities to participate in athletics, including soccer, basketball, football, and cheerleading.

At Democracy Prep, we believe that—in addition to preparing them for success in the college and careers of their choice—public schools have a duty to prepare students to be lifelong active citizens who uplift our communities and sustain the American democratic experiment.

WHAT IS ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP?

Democracy Prep defines a citizen as any member of a community who applies their talents to work alongside and lift up the people around them. To prepare our students for lives of active citizenship, we teach them to:

• Take passionate and well-informed stances on issues.
• Engage with perspectives that are unfamiliar.
• Invest in a cause greater than themselves.
• Find productive ways to advocate for themselves and others.

We believe that a commitment to improving one’s community proceeds from a knowledge and love of self. For that reason, we teach our students to embrace and celebrate their identities while building bridges with others.