Why I Am a Strong Believer in My School

My name is Nnamdi Nwaezeapu. I am currently an eighth grader attending Capital City Public Charter School. Capital City (CCPCS) was established in the fall of 1999 and revolutionized the way that schools were designed in the Columbia Heights area of Washington, D.C. Capital City is one of the many successful Expeditionary Learning Schools throughout the US. I have been at Capital City since the school first opened on top of a CVS drugstore. Since then we have moved into a larger and nicely renovated building.

Capital City has an Expeditionary Learning (EL) curriculum. The difference between a regular curriculum and an EL curriculum is that an EL curriculum allows students to learn hands-on, without a textbook. The curriculum is integrated between the different content areas as much as possible. Also, we have two or more teachers in each classroom and we use the workshop model in humanities.

CCPCS has embraced me and instilled its powerful message within me and that is why I make sure that I dedicate a good percent of my time toward making Capital City an even better place. One of the things that I did to accomplish this goal was to speak at the Washington, D.C. School Board meeting about our decision to amend our charter to open an upper school. I talked about several things at the meeting, for example, how our school is ethnically and economically diverse. I also talked about the fact that a lot of students in the metropolitan area have not been exposed to our type of learning and that the upper school would give them a chance to do that.

Not only did I talk about the upper school, I helped plan it. I was one of the students that assisted in the process of choosing the principal for the upper school. I also took a trip to a CES meeting in Washington state to gather ideas. I also went to a retreat to get a clearer understanding of how the upper school was going to look (might I mention that it was on a Saturday at 8:00 in the morning). Those experiences further connected me to Capital City.

Capital City has all of the qualities that a parent would want in a school: a safe environment, welcoming teachers, great facilities and a diverse community where everyone is accepted. It also has all of the qualities that a student is looking for: a safe environment, fun teachers, great facilities, great curriculum and a diverse group of students to make anyone feel comfortable.

I am a strong believer in Capital City. It has really changed my life for the better. I feel that I now have the skills to excel in other aspects of my life. For example, Capital City has provided me with solid leadership skills to utilize in several activities from sports to troubling situations. Capital City has also taught me to look at situations from a different perspective and that is one of the rules that I now live my life by. I hope that Capital City will be able to continue to embrace students in the same way it embraced me and to continue to evolve as the great school that it is.


Capital City Public Charter School
Currently serving 236 students in grades K-8, Capital City Public Charter School is a small, diverse charter school serving students from across the District of Columbia. CCPCS is part of the CES Small Schools Project as a new school, working with a CES Mentor School to add grades 9-12.


My name is Nnamdi Nwaezeapu. I am thirteen years old. Some of my hobbies include basketball, flag football, squash, racquetball, karate and writing. I have two siblings, one younger brother and one younger sister. My brother is a gymnast and my sister is a very accomplished swimmer. I have two educated parents who both majored in chemical engineering. I am a very avid reader and a very big sports fan. My moral in life is that when life gives you lemons make lemonade—this means that you make the best out of your situation.