Student Support
At Meridian Public Charter School, every student receives the support they need to succeed. Our student support programs are built around the same commitment that drives everything we do: meeting each student where they are, honoring their identity, and ensuring they have a clear path forward.
Multilingual Learner Support
Thirty percent of our students are Multilingual Learners (ML), and we are proud to serve a school community that reflects the rich linguistic diversity of Washington, D.C. Language is a core pillar of our school, and our ML program is built to ensure that every student learning English receives personalized support while staying fully engaged in grade-level curriculum.
Meridian has six dedicated ML teachers who work alongside classroom teachers to provide targeted instruction, appropriate accommodations, and intentional vocabulary development for each ML student. Our co-teaching model means ML students learn alongside their peers throughout the school day, with specialist support built directly into the classroom experience.
We celebrate our multilingual students and their home languages throughout the school year. Our MLL Showcase during Hispanic Heritage Month, bilingual library collections, daily morning announcements in English and Spanish, and our word-of-the-week program all reflect our belief that a student's home language is an important part of their growth and development.
For questions about the ML program, reach out to us at [email protected].
Special Education
Meridian uses a full inclusion model for students with special needs. Students with IEPs and other identified needs learn alongside their peers in full classrooms, supported by a dedicated team of Special Education professionals who provide guidance, intervention, and assessment throughout the school day.
Our Special Education team includes full-time specialists as well as a Speech and Language Pathologist, Occupational Therapist, School Psychologist, Counselors, Instructional Aides, and Behavioral Support staff. Teachers receive ongoing professional development to support the implementation of inclusion practices, including modifications to student work, instructional best practices, and specialized techniques and strategies.
Our inclusion model is also supported by our small class sizes. With an average of 19 students per class and a school-wide student-to-teacher ratio of 13:1, teachers have the capacity to know each student well and adjust instruction to meet a range of learning needs. Many classrooms include multiple teachers or instructional aides working with smaller groups at the same time.
Meridian PCS offers an Extended School Year program for students with IEPs that qualify. For more information, contact us at [email protected].
Additional Academic Support
Beyond our ML and Special Education programs, Meridian provides structured academic support for all students through several additional channels.
Every student benefits from our grade-level intervention block, which runs most days and provides targeted instruction in small groups of five to six students. Special Education and EL teachers work alongside ELA and math intervention teachers during this time, and teacher teams review student performance data every eight weeks to reorganize groups and ensure each student receives the right level of support.
Elementary students have access to a dedicated reading specialist and intervention teacher who support daily literacy instruction. In middle school, our WIN (What I Need) block gives students personalized, targeted reading support every day.
Our research-backed digital tools, including i-Ready, Learning A-Z, and NWEA MAP, allow teachers to track each student's progress in real time and adjust instruction based on current data.
For general questions about academic support at Meridian, reach out to the front desk at either campus.