AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation

AppleTree is an innovative nonprofit that develops and provides proven early childhood education programs to the most underserved three- and four- year olds to close the achievement gap before students enter kindergarten. The achievement gaps in academic performance between students from underserved communities and their more advantaged peers are pervasive, and research has demonstrated that closing that gap before students enter kindergarten is critical in preparing students for future success. An entrepreneurial enterprise, AppleTree consists of a nonprofit institute and seven public charter preschool campuses serving as models for teaching and learning. The AppleTree Instructional Quality team (AIQ) and School (AELPCS) have worked together to implement, pilot and refine AppleTree’s ground-breaking, evidence based instructional approach, Every Child Ready.Every Child Ready drives what to teach, how to teach, and how to tell it is being done to increase teacher effectiveness and children's learning in early childhood classrooms. AIQ is responsible for developing, codifying and researching AppleTree’s educational program while AELPCS serves as the implementation lab. AppleTree’s efforts have been recognized both nationally and locally. In 2010, the US Department of Education validated AppleTree's efforts by awarding us a highly competitive Investing in Innovation grant to develop our instructional model Every Child Ready. In December 2011, the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board awarded AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School the inaugural "Josephine Baker Award For Charter School Excellence" as one of the city's top performing public charter schools. AppleTree’s success is due in part to its unique organizational structure, which consists of two distinct 501(c)(3) organizations (AIQ and AELPCS) that function as one, sharing a vision, mission and set of values. Through their iterative work together, AIQ and AELPCS have been able to develop a rigorous and impactful instructional model and test it in real time. This practical application has been critical for the refinement of the model and development of additional instructional tools that improve the classroom experience. Together both organizations strive for an improved educational landscape for Washington, D.C.’s preschoolers, by employing different but complementary approaches. In the coming years, in accordance with goals articulated in a December 2010 business plan, AppleTree plans to expand the School and continue to refine and develop Every Child Ready and other related instructional tools, further enhancing its role as a leader in the educational reform movement.

AppleTree Institute is located in Washington, DC, near Catholic University and in walking distance to the Brookland Metro.