Robert Brent Elementary is DC’s only Museum Magnet Elementary School.

Location
We are located at 301 N. Carolina Ave. SE, Washington DC 20003, [map]. Phone: 202| 698.3363 Online contact us, email form, here.

Admissions For information on admissions/enrollment, including a link to the DCPS lottery information, see Admissions.

Staff, Classes and PTA
To read an overview of our staff you may visit here. To read about classes and individual teachers, select classes from the menu above or this link. Join our PTA and participate in creating the vision for Brent Elementary. Or, read about our current PTA Board and activities here.

Museum Magnet Program
Brent’s Museum Magnet program draws on the splendors of Washington’s museums to make history, science, literature, and the arts come alive. In an age in which our reliance on virtual experiences is increasing, Brent students visit actual works of art and historical artifacts, and they gain a sense of artistry by creating their own exhibits and performances. Each year, Brent focuses on a school-wide theme, which creates a web of learning and common experience between grades. The school theme for 2008-09 is “Comparative Studies – China.” Study of this topic culminates in an all-school exhibition in Spring. Brent Museum Night is open to the public. Please come and bring your family!

Everyday Mathematics
The DC Public Schools use Everyday Mathematics, a program designed at the University of Chicago to address our society’s growing need for citizens with more sophisticated math skills. The program reflects recent research indicating that students are able to learn more — and at an earlier age — than previously believed. Concepts are reinforced at multiple grade levels, real-world problems provide context and variety, multiple approaches are used to teach a topic, and students are encouraged to communicate about how they solve the problems. In the upper elementary grades, a web link provides parents with activities they can use to reinforce math learning at home. For more information, visit http://everydaymath.uchicago.edu/.

The Writer’s Workshop
At Brent, writing skills are taught across the curriculum, thanks to a program implemented with the help of Columbia University’s Teachers College. In writers’ workshops, students learn to observe their lives and the world around them and to collect, draft, revise, and publish well-crafted narrative and expository texts. The writing project is aligned with the teaching across the curriculum, so students can gain the ability to express themselves clearly and creatively on any subject they study. For more information, visit http://rwproject.tc.columbia.edu/.

The Responsive Classroom
Believing that social development and personal responsibility are essential to a challenging and joyful school community, Brent uses the Responsive Classroom approach to build essential skills: cooperation, assertion, responsibility, empathy, and self-control. Students begin their day with a morning meeting, learn the importance of rules and logical consequences, are introduced to new materials through a guided process, and gain self-esteem through decision-making. The Responsive Classroom is designed to infuse all teaching at the school, including the thoughtful arrangement of each classroom to encourage independence, promote caring, and maximize learning. For more information, visit http://www.responsiveclassroom.org/.