On April 25, Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School’s (AoH) Stride for Hope 5k & Homecoming Festival spotlighted AoH’s transformative impact, inviting current and potential learners, and community members to engage in our panel series, “AoH In Conversation.” Both panel discussions highlighted how AoH empowers D.C. adults to advance educational and career goals.
The panels were:
- “Finding Your Way Forward: The AoH Experience,” featuring AoH adult learners and AoH staff, moderated by Manager of Testing Services and Tutoring Programs Koya Bakare.
- “DC’s Tech Talent Pipeline, Powered by Partnership,” featuring AoH CEO Lecester Johnson, one of Accenture’s Cyber Security division managing directors, Danny Dawes, and AoH workforce alumni, moderated by Director of Workforce and Career Services Mary Cabriele
Read below to learn more about both conversations:
Finding Your Way Forward: The AoH Experience
On April 25, Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School’s (AoH) Stride for Hope 5k & Homecoming Festival spotlighted AoH’s transformative impact, inviting current and potential learners, and community members to engage in our panel series, “AoH In Conversation.” Both panel discussions highlighted how AoH empowers D.C. adults to advance educational and career goals.
The panels were:
- “Finding Your Way Forward: The AoH Experience,” featuring AoH adult learners and AoH staff, moderated by Manager of Testing Services and Tutoring Programs Koya Bakare.
- “DC’s Tech Talent Pipeline, Powered by Partnership,” featuring AoH CEO Lecester Johnson, one of Accenture’s Cyber Security division managing directors, Danny Dawes, and AoH workforce alumni, moderated by Director of Workforce and Career Services Mary Cabriele
Read below to learn more about both conversations:
DC’s Tech Talent Pipeline, Powered by Partnership
This panel spotlighted AoH’s innovative IT apprenticeship model—developed in partnership with industry leaders—to train, place, and elevate local talent. With 21 graduates completing a year-long apprenticeship and 15 securing paid roles at Accenture, this conversation explored what it takes to align training, employer demand, and community impact to build a thriving, inclusive tech workforce in the District.
To start, AoH CEO Lecester explained how AoH builds business relationships to learn about in-demand industries, like IT, and their needs.
“This stretches us. It is critical that we are constantly looking far ahead so we can do the best for our learners. Our business partners will tell us what they see coming and how we can help our learners prepare for the future,” Lecester said.
With this knowledge, AoH can help learners develop hard skills and professionalism to prepare them for higher-paying jobs with these businesses that offer a better life.
AoH workforce alumni, apprentices, and now full-time Accenture employees, Wynter Jackson and Brady Reed, discussed how AoH prepared them for the industry and how their lives have changed since the partnership.
“The salary and the benefits allow me to visualize a little further, and I likely know where I will be in the next five years,” Wynter said.
“It’s brought stability,” Brady said.
In addition, the alliance with Accenture and PeopleShores has persuaded businesses like these about the value of adult public charter schools as key workforce partners. Danny Dawes shared how it was an absolute pleasure working with adult learners in their apprenticeship program, inspired by their resilience, passion, and commitment to IT, despite not knowing if they’d earn full-time employment.
“If we were talking to someone with a fancy cybersecurity degree at a higher university, they may not be able to say what the job means to them. When I met the learners from AoH in their training in their first year, my wife said, ‘This is the happiest he has seen you,’ and it is because I’m actually talking to people who are passionate and excited about the work.”