Dear DCI School Community,

We’re kicking off 2026 with full hearts at DCI. Our year-end Open Doors to the World campaign (https://givebutter.com/OpenDoors2025) exceeded its goal and brought together nearly 150 donors, raising more than $75,000—an incredible show of support for our students and community.

We were grateful to see support from parents, extended family members, community partners, local businesses, Board of Trustee members, and even some of our own students to sustain our robust student life programming. This shared generosity and investment in DCI is a powerful way to ring in the new year.

As we look ahead, there is so much to be excited about, including several family-focused event:



• [Jan 12] DCI Summer Camp Registration Opens
• [Jan 15] Grab & Go Community Market (4:00 - 5:30 p.m.) 
• [Jan 15] MYP Winter Showcase (4:00 - 6:30 p.m.)
• [Feb 6 and March 2] Spring Athletics Tryouts

We look forward to continuing to connect with families and building momentum together as the year gets underway. Thank you for being such an engaged and supportive community—we can’t wait for all that 2026 will bring.

Shout Outs!

DCI's JV Robotics Team was recently picked to represent DC at the First Tech Challenge Governor's Cup, being held in DC in February. Each state and under-represented territory (DC, PR, Guam, Virgin Islands, etc.) gets to send only one team to compete. They picked DCI out of the DC teams that applied based on the application the students wrote, which was all about inclusion and representing the diversity and spirit of the people of our city. Way to go team

Teacher / Staff Shout Out!

Check out this week’s student to staff shout outs:

I wanna give a shout out to Mr. Leclere because he is a very funny teacher and always finds a way to make us laugh. Sometimes I come into the classroom with a serious face and I come out laughing at the end of the class. – Alani V.

I want to shout out Ms. Underwood for being the best teacher ever!! She does such a good job creating student-teacher relationships while also getting us to do our work! – Madeline K.

Please consider submitting a “shout out” to recognize your students’ teachers, staff or one another. These will be included in each bi-weekly edition of the Dispatch. Thanks!

What is Happening at DCI?

Reminder: MAP Testing January 15th and 16th

MAP Testing will be taking place next week,Thursday, January 15th and Friday, January 16th for students in grades 6–10. The MAP assessment measures student growth in Math, Reading, and Science and is aligned to Common Core standards. It provides valuable data on how students are progressing both within the year and across multiple years, and it compares performance to students nationally. Importantly, the DC Public Charter School Board uses DCI’s MAP results as one of our school’s accountability measures. These scores help guide classroom instruction and contribute to the long-term success of DCI’s academic program.

All students are required to take this assessment. If a student is absent on a testing day, they will be required to make it up during our make-up testing window from January 20th to January 30th. All students will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, January 16th.

Middle School Testing Schedule

• Thursday, January 15th | 8:20 a.m. – 10:55 a.m.
• Middle School: Math Test
• Friday, January 16th | 8:20 a.m. – 12:25 p.m.
• Middle School: Reading and Science Tests

High School Testing Schedule

• Friday, January 16th | 8:20 a.m. – 12:25 p.m.
• High School: Math and Reading Tests

Spring Athletics Tryouts Start February 6th / March 2nd

Get ready, Dragons! 🐉 High School spring athletics tryouts begin February 6th, and Middle School tryouts begin March 2nd. For details on completing the required athletic paperwork, submitting the 2025–2026 Spring Athletics Sign-Up Form, and reviewing all tryout dates, please check out the full message that will hit your inbox very soon!

Upcoming Events

[Jan. 13 and 22] What it Means to Be an English Language Learner/ACCESS Testing

Interested in learning more about what it means to be an English Language Learner and how ACCESS testing supports students? Join us for one of two upcoming family information sessions: An in-person Café y Charla on Tuesday, January 13th, or a virtual session on Thursday, January 22nd—both from 5:30–6:30 p.m. If you would like to join either session, please fill out this form by Monday, January 12th. If you have any questions please reach out to our Family Engagement Coordinator, Brian Garcia at brian.garcia@dcinternationationalschool.org.

[Jan. 15] Check out the MYP Winter Showcase!

We invite you to celebrate the Visual and Performing Arts of our MYP students here at DCI (Theatre 1st and 2nd floors), Thursday, January 15th from 4:00 – 6:30 p.m., for our MYP Winter Showcase! 

During the winter semester, students in MYP 1, 3 & 5 (6th-10th grade) explore IB learner profile traits, through self-reflection, to launch a variety of multimedia art projects from drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, film, fashion and music. Our students have created a diverse body of work that expresses the diverse identities and perspectives, and most importantly, reflect the vulnerabilities of our students, and their ability to champion through in order to discover their artistic voice.

For more information about all showcase events and features, please review the full message here. We hope you can join and celebrate the work of our MYP students next week!

[Jan. 15] Join Us for Next Week’s DCI Grab & Go Community Market!

Join us on Thursday, January 15th from 4:00–5:30 p.m. in the Main Café (enter through 14th & Aspen). We’ll have fresh fruit, canned goods, rice, beans, and more—free to take home. If extra groceries would be helpful for your household right now, this is here for you. And please feel free to share with others in the DCI community who may benefit. For more information, please reach out to Brian Garcia, DCI’s Family Engagement Liaison, at brian.garcia@dcinternationalschool.org.