We hope everyone’s summer has been going well. We are looking forward to the start of SY 23-24, GEC’s eighth year in operation! This last SY we celebrated 91 graduates, bringing our total GEC alumni community to 576 amazing alumni! To everyone who is starting classes in Term 1, we cannot wait for the year ahead! Today I am writing to share with you some updates and reminders around the start of the School Year.

Important Dates

Monday, August 28th and Tuesday, August 29th:
You will receive outreach from your coach about your schedule. If you have any questions about your schedule, communicate this to your coach so adjustments can be made.

Wednesday, August 30th:
The first day of classes for Term 1. Report to the school location where your coach is for your schedule and to begin classes! You will be able to meet with your coach and review your schedule too.

Tuesday, September 12th:
All Student Town Hall at 11:30am to share updates about the current School Year and introduce GEC staff.

Thursday, October 19th:
The last day of Term 1.

Welcome Nine New Team Members to Our GEC

This School Year, we are excited to welcome 9 new team members to our GEC community, and we cannot wait for you to meet them! During our student town hall, we will introduce them to everyone and provide updates as to which teachers are serving each campus and which team members operate across our campuses. Additionally, we are excited to partner with some fantastic DC community resources to provide even more resources to support you as a GEC student. We will be sharing much more information about these resources upon your return this week!

If you have questions about where you should report to this week, please contact your Academic Success Coach. If you are unsure of who your Academic Success Coach is, please contact the following Lead Academic Success Coaches:

If your last name is A-L:
Ms. Yema Gbondo – Yema.Gbondo@goodwillexcelcenter.org or (202)-309-6886

If your last name is M- Z:
Ms. LaTia Taliaferro – LaTia.Taliaferro@goodwillexcelcenter.org or (202)-236-1708

If you have any questions regarding your transcript, please contact our Registrar, Manager, Ms. Amina-Abdul at Amina-Abdul-Rahim@goodwillexcelcenter.org or (202)-839-3676.

We Look Forward to Seeing Everyone This Week as We kick Off SY 23-24!

We are excited to welcome back our returning students and to welcome our new students to the GEC community. It’s going to be a tremendous year. On the next page of this letter, you’ll see some important information about GEC staff at each site and contract information. As always, please do not hesitate to reach out should you have any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Dr. Chelsea Kirk
Executive Director
Chelsea.Kirk@goodwillexcelcenter.og
202-309-6615
www.goodwillexcelcenter.org

GEC Staff Campus List

We will share instructor information during the Town Hall and a full site list of staff members and their roles.

NW Campus: 1776 G Street NW

Tom Pengelly – Director, Tom.pengelly@goodwillexcelcenter.org

Yema Gbondo – Lead Coach, Yema.Gbondo@goodwillexcelcenter.org

Queneia Harley-Burkeen – Lead Teacher, Queneia.Harley-Burkeen@goodwillexcelcenter.org

Academic Success Coaches:

Salome Kingston-Williams, Salome.Kingston-Williams@goodwillexcelcenter.org

Kenjuan Garnett, Kenjuan.garnett@goodwillexcelcenter.org

SW Campus: 1201 Maryland Ave SW

LaToya Hill – Director, LaToya.Hill@goodwillexcelcenter.org

LaTia Taliaferro – Sr. Lead Coach, LaTia.Taliaferro@goodwillexcelcenter.org

Jeremy Easley – Lead Teacher, Jeremy.Easley@goodwillexcelcenter.org

Dawn Rhodes – Sr. Office Manager, Dawn.Rhodes@goodwillexcelcenter.org

Academic Success Coaches:

Marcel Parker, Marcel.Parker@goodwillexcelcenter.org

Rhosawne Harrod, Roshawne.Harrod@goodwillexcelcenter.org

Derek Danies, Derek.Daniels@goodwillexcelcenter.org

Other GEC Staff Members For Support Across Both Campuses

Amina Abdul-Rahim – Registrar, Manager, Amina.Abdul-Rahim@goodwillexcelcenter.org

Vershaun Terry – Manager of Special Education, Vershaun.Terry@goodwillexcelcenter.org

Nate Benham – College and Career Readiness Manager, Nate.Benham@goodwillexcelcenter.org

Lawrence Hopkins – Manager of Student Support Services, Lawrence.Hopkins@goodwillexcelcener.org