Ward 7 Initiative
INTRODUCTION
For more than 30 years, Georgetown University has engaged with communities in the District of Columbia’s Ward 7 to provide educational support, mentoring, and healthcare services to students, families, and schools. The Ward 7 Initiative aligns the University’s longstanding commitment to partnership and engagement in the local community with demonstrated needs.
Students, faculty, and staff from Georgetown’s three campuses—the Main Campus, Medical Center, and Law Center—engage with Ward 7 communities in a number of ways, including staff and student-run literacy and academic support programs; community-based learning opportunities, in which students work with local communities as part of their coursework; legal education programs; and direct healthcare services.
Georgetown has been deeply engaged with the nation’s capital for more than two centuries and takes seriously its role to contribute to the educational, economic, social, and cultural fabric of Washington, D.C. The University is proud to be a partner with Ward 7.
PARTNERS
Georgetown University partners with schools, community organizations, and government agencies to build a broad network of support for Ward 7 families. The University works collaboratively with District of Columbia Public Schools, the Office of State Superintendent of Education, the Mayor’s Office, the DC Promise Neighborhood Initiative, Life Pieces to Masterpieces, and many other organizations.
PROGRAMS
As a partner with Ward 7 schools and communities, Georgetown offers the following programs, among others:
DC Reads is an on-site tutoring program through which Georgetown students work with students in first through third grade who are not reading at grade level. The program draws students from Randle Highlands Elementary, Houston Elementary, Smothers Elementary, and Beers Elementary, and is run by the Georgetown University Center for Social Justice, Teaching, and Research..
The After School Kids Program is a tutoring and mentoring program for adjudicated youth in Washington, D.C. Georgetown University students work with youth in the juvenile justice system to provide youth development activities aimed at reducing recidivism rates among participants.
Institute for College Preparation
The Institute for College Preparation (ICP), formally known as the Schiff Scholars Program and Meyers Institute for College Preparation, is a pre-college academic enrichment program for middle school and high school students that provides comprehensive academic support and empowers students to graduate from high school and succeed in college. ICP first began at Ron Brown Middle School in 1989.
Kids2College is an early college awareness program that introduces 6th grade students to the concept of higher education by placing Georgetown University students in local elementary and middle school classrooms to facilitate college preparation workshops.
D.C. Street Law High School Clinic
The DC Street Law High School Clinic is a yearlong course taught by Georgetown law school students in District high schools. The course introduces high school students to a legal system that touches their lives on a daily basis and helps them develop skills to become problem-solvers through their knowledge of legal principles.
The KIDS Mobile Medical Clinic is a mobile healthcare clinic that has provided direct pediatric primary care for almost 20 years. The clinic operates at two community sites in Ward 7: Lincoln Heights/Richardson Dwellings and DC General Emergency Family Shelter.
The HOYA Clinic is a student-driven free clinic located in the D.C. General Family Homeless Shelter in Washington, D.C. The clinic is run by Georgetown University medical students and provides direct primary care services to homeless and uninsured families living in the shelter.