Briya inaugurates new Fort Totten campus

Briya Public Charter School, along with Bridges Public Charter School and Mary’s Center, celebrated the opening of their joint Fort Totten campus with an Open House this October. Together, the three organizations will offer education, health care, and social services to the Fort Totten community.

Approximately 1,600 people—neighborhood residents, funders, political leaders, school families, staff, board members and others—attended the event, which included tours of the 81,000-square-foot facilities, activities for children of all ages, health screenings, food, and a short program and ribbon cutting ceremony.

Jennie Niles, Deputy Mayor for Education, spoke to the attendees during the program portion of the event.

“This really is a quintessential project of having disparate groups of people come together for the better of all,” Niles said. “This group of three organizations is doing something that we don’t see in other cities. It’s actually working from birth all the way through adulthood and everything in between to make sure that our citizens have what they need. I could not be more pleased to be here.”

Joe Bruno, President of Building Hope, and Don Soifer, Vice President of the DC Public Charter School Board, also addressed the crowd.

“If you look at the excellence that Briya represents, if you look at the excellence that Bridges represents, and if you look at the excellence that the Mary’s Center partnership has delivered for our community … you can see the way that this represents the very best of what public charter schools deliver to our city,” Soifer said.

To conclude the program, a group of organization leaders, board members, supporters, and students came together for a ribbon cutting to officially inaugurate the new building, which is Briya’s fourth location in D.C.

“It’s time to turn a page to a new chapter in Briya’s history book,” said Christie McKay, Executive Director. “I’m sure I am among many who are excited to see where our students lead us next.”