How It Works
Elementary School
Who can attend?
The Friendship Public Charter School Online (Friendship PCS Online) elementary program serves students in grades PK-5 who reside in Washington, D.C.
What are the costs?
Because Friendship PCS Online is part of the public school system, it’s tuition-free. Enrolled families receive the K12 curriculum and new families receive a school issued loaner computer, printer, and hot spot if needed.
What’s my role as a parent?
As a parent, you (or another responsible adult you choose) serve as your child’s Learning Coach. You’ll work with your child’s teacher to help record student attendance, monitor mastery of online lessons and assessments, and review student work.
Parent/Learning Coach involvement is vital to your child’s success, especially at the elementary level. The typical Learning Coach time commitment in grades PK-5 is 4–6 hours a day. The initial 4–8 weeks can be intensive, as your family settles into a routine. But Friendship PCS Online provides a dedicated support system to our families, so you don’t have to go it alone.
Grades PK–2
Parent/Learning Coach daily involvement is critical and approximately 10–15 percent of this time is online
Grades 3–5
Students begin to have increased independence, but parent/Learning Coach involvement is essential for about 70–80 percent of school time and approximately 15–25 percent of this time is online
What will my child study?
Coursework is a mix of online and hands-on work, which caters to a wide variety of learning styles. Unit and course assessments are built in to each subject, and easy-to-use online planning and progress tools keep you and your student on track.
PK-5 graders take courses in the core subjects listed below.
ENGLISH / LANGUAGE ARTS
MATH
SCIENCE
HISTORY
Working with Your Teacher
Teachers provide individual and small group assistance via online synchronous sessions called “Class Connects.” Students are expected to attend all required Class Connects and meet with their teacher to receive course assistance, tutoring, and instruction. Class Connects vary by grade level and are scheduled by your teacher.
Attendance
Attendance is expected according to the district school calendar. But academic progress can also be achieved during the weekends or other days when school is not scheduled to be in session. Elementary students are expected to spend about 4–7 hours on schoolwork per school day.
Grades K–2
About 4–5 hours of schoolwork 5 days per week
Grades 3–5
About 5–7 hours of schoolwork 5 days per week
Mastering Lessons
In the elementary grades, students are required to show mastery of each lesson by achieving 80 percent or better on all lesson assessments. If your child is having difficulty mastering a lesson, let their homeroom teacher know as soon as possible. Teachers offer many support sessions to help students learn new concepts.
Assessments
Our testing is purposeful and meaningful and drives our instructional practices to best serve the individual needs of your child.
District Testing
Friendship PCS Online students must comply with all district-mandated testing requirements.