Who We Are
We are a mission-driven organization providing DC youth and young adults the opportunity to continue their education and improve their English. Originally chartered in 1996 by the Board of Education and unanimously granted a renewed charter in January 2015 by the DC Public Charter School Board of Trustees, we are the oldest public charter school in DC.
What We Do
We offer a bilingual ABE (adult basic education), GED, and ESL program, providing our students with college and/or career experiences. Our academic programs merge culturally relevant and employment-related skills so that students receive a real-world and personally meaningful education.
Class sizes are small, allowing for personalized, differentiated instruction to support diverse learners using instructional technology and current instructional practices. We also provide specially designed instruction for students needing accommodations and modifications. Students are encouraged to continue their education beyond the GED at community college or within certification and vocational education programs and to improve their English proficiency.
In support of our academic programming, we give students the support and services they need for a successful school experience, which can only begin with a safe environment. Our comprehensive wrap-around services include a social worker, case managers, college and career advisors, and child care along with three free, healthy meals per day.
Who We Serve
With a full-time day program and part-time evening program, we serve approximately 500 students per year, who are some of the most at-risk youth and young adults in our city. Many are immigrants, while others are from families with educational histories in DC or other US cities. Because of our day and evening programs, students may hold full-time or part-time jobs and may be parents themselves.
Our comprehensive academic program is designed for students with educational paths ranging from disrupted educational pasts to educational certifications in their home countries. We offer these students a full academic program in English and Spanish with flexible placement and pacing, extensive and wraparound case management, and life skills instruction.
Our History
The Next Step originated in a program for young parents developed by The Latin American Youth Center (LAYC). As the Teen Parent Program, we provided pregnant and parenting teens with an alternative educational option that would enable them to increase their academic level, prevent future pregnancies, improve parenting skills, and increase self-esteem. When the District of Columbia began permitting charter schools in 1996, The Next Step became one of the first schools to earn a charter from the Board of Education. From 1996-2012 the school occupied the second floor of the Latin American Youth Center.
Although The Next Step is an independent educational institution, our students continue to benefit from our close relationship with LAYC, and take advantage of the Youth Center's many excellent programs.
Since our early days, we have expanded our enrollment and have opened its doors to all out-of-school youth in the city. Today, The Next Step serves approximately 500 youth between the ages of 16 and 30 who are working to pass the GED, learn English, go to college or trade school, and prepare for a career.
In 2010, the Public Charter School Board reauthorized The Next Step to operate for 15 more years--the first charter in D.C. to successfully complete this review process. The Next Step continues to grow, although it intentionally commits to maintaining a small, family atmosphere where every student is known personally. In August 2012, The Next Step relocated from its long-time location on Columbia Road to a larger space at 3047 15th St., NW (the former site of the Capital City Charter School).
Since 2004, The Next Step has been accredited four times by The Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (2004, 2009, 2014, and 2022).