ABLE Summer - College Visits!

This summer our ABLE students made it out to four colleges for visits. The summer ended with an exciting tour of Georgetown University where a few decisions were made:

-5 students now want to attend Georgetown in hopes of being doctors, lawyers, and scientists
-6 students are interested in finding a degree during their first year at Georgetown, but are more excited in supporting the Hoyas as their university team
-All students agree that having a Chipotle nearby is a huge plus

ABLE Summer - Tennis Camp

12 of our ABLE students participated in a week long tennis camp where they thrilled staff members with their skills!

New Community for Children

ABLE is featured in the new video about New Community for Children. Take a look at our awesome program:

Reach for College!

ABLE has teamed up with Shaw Community Ministry to provide a weekly college prep class for our high school students!

More Farmers Market Photos!

Here are more photos from the White House Farmers Market where our students sold homemade soaps, scrubs, lotions and miscellaneous items.

The Poets of ABLE

We're proud to present two fantastic lyricists currently attending ABLE- Jahi & Xavier. Check out the link below to sample some of their music (some of which was written here at ABLE!).

http://www.reverbnation.com/blackkauli

Tuesday Interview - Avaya & L'yrics

ABLE Minds talked to students Avaya and L'yrics. Both 5th graders attend ABLE HQ and are best friends. Here they talk about some of the things they like at school and ABLE, while imparting advice to fellow students.

ABLE Voices: What's your favorite subject at school?
Avaya: Writing.
L'yrics: Science and non-fiction writing.

AV: What do you like about ABLE?
A: I get homework done and then I can play a bit. Plus, there are snacks.
L: Same for me. I like how people communicate. The activities- double dutch, step. Children can learn and have fun. It's the best afternoon school.

AV: What do you like about your school?
A: I made a lot of new friends. Teachers are nice and they help you, but they won't give you answers...maybe hints.
L: Teachers there teach you more than you already know. Plus they help you with manners and respect. Work hard and be nice.

AV: What advice would you give your peers?
A: Be respectful. Do not talk back to your teacher. Always do work. Do not have a fit or be threatful.
L: Always try to get to college and worry about your education. Nothing else except your work, family, and friends.

S.A.T. Prep

We're looking for a few good students...

S.A.T. Prep classes were instituted into ABLE programming in spring of 2010 and since then we've been able to help 20 high school students with free instruction for the test. We're looking to recruit new students for the remainder of the school year and if you know of any high school students in need, contact Mark Pagán, ABLE program director, at mpagan@ncfc-dc.org.

S.A.T. Prep classes are every Monday from 6-8 at NCFC HQ.

White House Farmers Market

This fall, ABLE teamed up with City Blossoms for a very special program. Students worked in a public garden, harvesting and learning about plants and herbs. Within a few weeks the students created a business plan and at the end of November had a chance to sell homemade soaps and scrubs at a farmers market in DC. They did a tremendous job and sold the majority of what they made!

A congratulations goes out to our students and a thank you to City Blossoms and the White House Farmers Market for helping our students reach their goal!

ABLE Students and The Convention Center

Students at ABLE were asked to reflect on the above photo (by Steven Cummings). The expressions were then used to border the photo, now posted on a facade of the Convention Center.

Much thanks to DC Commission for the Arts for allowing our students to express themselves (and using their words as art)!

Med School at ABLE

ABLE had the pleasure of working with med students from Georgetown University last week. The med students showed our teens what happens to our lungs and how best to take care of them. Following a discussion, students created mock lungs by using balloons, straws, and soda bottles. This led to a great discussion and analysis of what makes our bodies work the way they do.

Special thanks to Oswaldo and his colleagues for helping our students!

High Fructose Corn Syrup

In Lost in the City, we examined and wrote about the health effects of high fructose corn syrup. Here are some pointers from Mercedes and Trinity based on what we learned:

I would advise you to avoid a lot of high fructose corn syrup. I would advise you not to consume process food necause it's linked to obesity. 24 million Americans now have diabetes, which is linked to high fructose corn syrup. So I would tell everyone to try to AVOID high fructose corn syrup due to your health. Here are 3 ways to avoid it:

1. Stop eating processed foods.

2. Look at the ingredients on your foods.

3. Try eating healthier.

Thanks for reading!

A Dynamic Partnership: Lifting Voices and New Community make a Great Team

New Community for Children and Lifting Voices have been teaming up for over year and wow, has it been a success! Here's how it works: Lifting Voices brings their writing workshops to youth in the ABLE program and helps foster a love for the written word. As you will see in the video below, these workshops have worked. Not only are the youth at ABLE writing powerful pieces that mean something to them but they are also enjoying themselves. So without further ado, watch this video and hear about two very different views of fatherhood as lived by the kids themselves and witness their enthusiasm for the written word:

Howard Theatre

The Howard Theater opened its doors in the early fall of 1910 in a primarily African-American area of Washington, near Howard University. During the mid 1920's, it was sold to Abe Lichtman, who owned other theaters that catered to the African American community. The Howard Theatre was ranked as the "largest colored theater in the World." In the early years, the Howard Theater featured live theater, musicals, and local talent shows.

During the 1960's due to desegregation and the 1968 riots, the Howard's attendance began to decline, and the neighborhood around the theater began to grow more and more undesirable. The theater was shuttered in 1970 and 3 years later, the Howard Theater Foundation was formed and funds were raised to refurbish the badly ageing theater.

For many years the Howard Theater sat vacant. Currently, Howard Theatre Restoration, Inc is raising funds to renovate the structure.

Please visit for more information.




The students of A.B.L.E. were asked: How would you revitalize the Howard Theater?

I Don't Mind You Giving Me 5 Million Dollars!

I would create it into a Performance Arts after school program for students and adults. I would have different types of classes and programs students could participate in. Inside will be an auditorium for all performances that will be shown year-round, as well as, a dance and recording studio. Kids will have a choice of taking dance classes and maybe even singing their hearts out. In these classes we would have many different genres to choose from, because we all know that everyone has their own unique and creative style and we understand that everyone likes to express themselves differently. The kids will be taught writing composition and in dance they will learn hip hop, ballet, tap, tango, and maybe even some ballroom dancing.

A.B.L.E. Vision

Adolescents Building Literacy through Expression-A.B.L.E. is designed to enrich and enhance the visual, reading, writing, mathematical, scientific, and historical literacy of students ages 10-20. We aim to achieve this goal by engaging middle and high school students in a wide-range of learning activities. All of our programs encourage students to reflect, respond, and resolve questions that shape their learning experiences inside and outside of school.

Our out-of -school and afterschool programs currently include the following projects:

* Algebra Project/Algebra in Middle School
This program allows students work 90 four days a weeks to build their core math skills.

* Literacy Through Photography
This project encourages adolescents to use photography to build visual literacy skills while exploring issues relating to
identity and society.

* Lost in the City
This program uses fun, multimedia activities and a spirit of inquiry to sharpen students' love of the written word.

* Love Supreme: Adolescent Health and Identity Development
This program was created to provide a safe space for
adolescent girls to discuss and explore questions related to physical, emotional, and cultural development.

* ABLE Visions: Adolescents on Film, Adolescents in Society
This is a weekly film series where students focus on themes
represented in media regarding global identity, self-image, community involvement, health, environment, and various areas
of discussion.

This blog site is dedicated to those students that work so hard on projects and for them to share it with the world.
Enjoy the site and please do leave motivational comments only.

Our Community

Community is defined as a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.

The students of A.B.L.E. were instructed to capture their community....home and school community and here are some of their photos.....



















What does community mean to you?
"Community means unity". ~ Robin S.~