The top reported proficiency rate is 22% in Math. The lowest is 16% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Friendship Pcs - Blow Pierce Elementary
Friendship PCS - Blow Pierce Elementary is a public charter school in Washington, D.C., serving pre-kindergarten through third grade. It sits on 19th Street NE in the 20002 zip code, part of the Friendship Public Charter School network, which operates multiple campuses across the city. The network recently cleared its mandatory charter review and had its charter agreement renewed, giving families some assurance about its continued operation. The network has also restructured in recent years, closing one middle school campus and absorbing students from another charter that closed.
Because this campus stops at third grade, only its third graders participate in D.C. state testing. The reported proficiency figures cover the grade 3 through 8 band, but at this school the results reflect just that single tested grade. In the most recent year, both math and English language arts proficiency were low, with ELA in particular sitting well below what state benchmarks expect. These results are worth taking seriously, and a parent considering enrollment may want to ask the school directly how it supports early literacy and numeracy, what interventions are in place, and how it tracks progress for its youngest learners. At the same time, a single tested grade in a small school can swing sharply year to year, so the picture may look different in another cohort.
The student body is nearly entirely Black, with only a handful of students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. The school does not report free-or-reduced-price lunch data, special education counts, or English learner figures, so it is hard to gauge the full range of student needs from the available information. Those gaps are worth asking about directly.
The campus itself is an early-childhood and primary school, which means families looking here are choosing a starting point, not a full K-through-12 path. Children would need to transition to another school, likely another Friendship campus, for fourth grade and beyond. The school's enrollment is modest for its grade band, with pre-kindergarten being the largest single grade, which suggests a strong entry-point focus.
Housing in the 20002 zip code carries home values above the D.C. benchmark and well above the national level, though both home values and rents have softened recently. For families thinking about buying or renting near the school, the market is relatively expensive by national standards but has become slightly more accessible compared to the prior year. Mortgage rates remain elevated by recent historical standards, which affects affordability for buyers.
Beyond the academic and demographic data, several categories that parents often ask about are not available in the provided records. There is no discipline data, no staffing or class-size information, no attendance figures, and no details on program offerings or extracurriculars. There is also no locale classification or neighbor comparison to place this school against nearby options. These absences do not necessarily indicate a problem; they reflect what was reported in the data we received. A family seriously considering Blow Pierce should contact the school directly for specifics on teacher experience, classroom structure, and any enrichment or support programs available to early-grade students.
What the data does show is a small, community-focused charter primary school with a nearly all-Black student population, operating within a network that has secured its charter for the coming term. Its state test results are a soft spot, and because only one grade is tested, a parent should treat those numbers as a prompt for deeper questions rather than a definitive verdict on the school's quality. For families drawn to the Friendship network or seeking an early-childhood-focused campus in this part of the city, the school offers a clear starting point, with the understanding that more information is needed to fully assess the day-to-day experience.
See more original research from School Decision →