The top reported proficiency rate is 27% in English language arts. The lowest is 2% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Friendship Pcs - Armstrong Elementary
Friendship PCS- Armstrong Elementary sits on O Street NW in Washington, D.C., part of the Friendship Public Charter School network that operates across multiple campuses in the city. It is a charter elementary school serving prekindergarten through third grade, which places it in the early-childhood band. That grade range means some common metrics do not apply here. There is no graduation rate, and state testing in the earliest grades is limited to what DC assesses at third grade.
The school's state assessment results from the most recent reported year show proficiency levels that are low in both math and English language arts. In math, a small fraction of tested students met or exceeded expectations. ELA was somewhat stronger, with roughly a quarter of students reaching proficiency, though still below what most families would hope to see. A science proficiency figure from an earlier reporting cycle also appears in the data, but given that Armstrong currently serves only through third grade and science is typically assessed at a higher grade level, that figure likely reflects a different grade configuration from an earlier period and is not directly comparable to the school as it operates today. A parent considering Armstrong may want to ask the school directly how it supports early literacy and numeracy and what growth data it tracks for its youngest learners, since proficiency at this level tells only part of the story for a prekindergarten-through-third-grade setting.
The student body is overwhelmingly Black, with a small Hispanic presence and only a handful of students from other racial backgrounds. This makes Armstrong a school rooted in D.C.'s historically Black communities. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data was not available, so the economic profile of enrolled families cannot be characterized from what was provided. Information on students with individualized education programs and English learners was also missing, so the picture of special-population services is incomplete from this data alone.
The school is relatively small for its grade band, which can mean closer adult attention and a tighter community feel, though it also means fewer same-grade peers than a larger elementary would offer. Friendship PCS itself recently went through a charter renewal process, and the D.C. Public Charter School Board voted to continue the network's charter, providing some continuity certainty for families. The network has also restructured over the past few years, acquiring a former Hope Community campus and closing a middle school campus, so the broader organization has been in a period of adjustment.
Armstrong's location places it within D.C.'s urban fabric, a city shaped by the L'Enfant Plan with its diagonal avenues, traffic circles, and quadrant system. The surrounding neighborhood is part of a city where the federal government dominates employment and the daytime population swells well beyond the residential count as commuters arrive from Maryland and Virginia. Housing in the school's zip code runs well above the national benchmark and somewhat above the broader D.C. state-level figure, with recent values showing a modest year-over-year decline. Rents are also somewhat elevated relative to national norms and have been roughly flat recently. For families considering the area, this is an expensive housing market, and the cost of living near the school reflects its central D.C. location rather than a suburban profile.
No data was available on course access, staffing ratios, attendance, discipline, or program offerings such as arts, language, or extended-day care, so those dimensions of school life cannot be assessed from the provided material. A family seriously considering Armstrong would want to visit and ask about those supports directly.
What the data does show is an early-childhood charter school with a distinct community identity, situated in a dense, expensive part of the capital, operating within a network that has secured its charter for the coming term. The academic results available are modest, and given the age of the students served, a full picture of the school's effectiveness would depend on information beyond what proficiency testing at this grade band can capture.
See more original research from School Decision →