AFSCME Council 20 Celebrates DC Student Achievements

(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)When forty students at Martin Luther King Elementary School in Southeast DC passed a tough math and reading test they got a special reward last month, thanks to AFSCME Council 20 and Destiny-Pride. Council 20 teamed up with the DC-based non-profit to celebrate the success of the MLK students with $25 gift cards to Target. “We want these high achievers to know the community supports their dreams and appreciates their hard work in the classroom,” said Council 20 Executive Director Geo T. Johnson, who also received a plaque for his decades of support for youth and public education in the District. Council 20 has been working with Destiny-Pride – which provides “collaborative support, resources and services… to promote the social welfare of children, youth… and the families from which they come” – as well as the D.C. Department of Human Services, the community and public schools “to bring quality education and stability to District of Columbia students,” says Council 20. “This kind of private/public partnership is about working together to have a meaningful impact on children who are pursuing the right path,” Johnson added. “But it is also about what’s possible to achieve in other areas through active partnerships.”