schools

Dear PoPville – The New Dunbar High School is Amazing

By Prince Of Petworth

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New Dunbar

“Dear PoPville,

The new Dunbar High School coming in at 1st and O street NW is a pretty incredible project and a beautiful new high school, opening next month. I’m pretty sure they’re going to tear down the old, horrible high school next, which will be an immeasurable improvement for both students and community.

Here is some background:

http://batesareacivicassociation.org/2013/07/03/dunbar-high-school-grand-opening-activities-come-join/
http://smootconstructiondc.com/projects/under-construction/dunbar/
http://theadagency.com/opefm/dunbar.html”

I stopped by and took a bunch of photos:

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Old Dunbar

Lots more photos of new and old Dunbar High School after the jump. (more…)

DCPS Beautification Day – August 24

By Prince Of Petworth

Bday-Logo

From an email:

“D.C. Public Schools will hold its ninth annual Beautification Day on Saturday August 24 from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m.  DCPS needs volunteers for a variety of projects to help clean up and spruce up schools in preparation for the first day of school. Activities will include gardening and landscaping, organizing books and libraries, painting, flower planting and more.

Volunteers are needed at nearly 100 schools city-wide. This is a great opportunity to contribute to neighborhood schools. Please click here to volunteer or donate supplies.”

More information about DCPS Beautification Day can be found at www.dcps.dc.gov/Bday2013

Dear PoPville – Lots of Progress at Cardozo High School – Props to the Construction Crew

By Prince Of Petworth

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“Dear PoPville,

In May I emailed to see if you knew when the construction at Cardozo High School would be finished and you found the answer for me right away. Now I wanted to update you on what clearly looks like progress, even to the inexpert eye. The crew has been working hard in this hot weather. Today, they were clearing out a lot of the construction materials from in front of the building, building up the walls that border the sidewalk, and even planting trees. The whole front staircase is visible now. It’s been hidden behind construction materials and machinery since the work began.

This construction project has felt eternal, has been a serious inconvenience, and the jackhammers drive me nuts, but I have to give the construction crew a lot of credit. The same guys have been working traffic on the corner of 13th and Clifton for the last year and a half, and they have always been friendly and respectful. One of the hassles of living next to a construction site is finding your car stuck on a road blocked in every direction by construction vehicles, but the crew have always done their best to minimize these headaches. Their attitude has kept me more cheerful about the whole thing.”

Dear PoPville – When will Cardozo High School Construction be Completed?

By Prince Of Petworth

cardozo_high_school
Photo pre-construction by PoPville flickr user Mr. T in DC

Dear PoPville,

Any word on how much longer the construction at Cardozo High School (1200 Clifton St, NW) is going to take? The neighbors have had to put up with a lot–lost parking and sidewalks, traffic changes, road closures on Clifton, and noise, not to mention the constantly changing rules around “emergency” no-parking signs. For the most part, I think the neighborhood has been tolerant of these annoyances that come with urban living. I just wish I knew when to expect to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Have you heard anything?

Council Member Graham says the construction will be completed in August in time for the new school year.

Friday Question of the Day – Revisiting Schools

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user llahood

Two years ago I asked readers where they planned to send their children to school in DC. It was roughly evenly split (sorta) between public, private and charter schools. To oversimplify, back in the day, lots of folks I knew either moved when they had kids or moved when their kids finished elementary school. Today, I’m seeing more and more of my friends staying in the district after they have kids.

However, last week reports came out that DC’s charter school waitlists had hit 22,000. And talking to friends who have gone through the process, it sounds brutal. So I thought (especially since I have a kid now) I’d see what folks are doing now and what folks plan to do in the future. For those who have kids that have reached school age – where did you end up sending them? How did the process work for you? For those who have kids not yet of age – what are your plans?


Awesome – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to read to students at Amidon-Bowen Elementary School in SW

By Prince Of Petworth

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Photo by Steve Lipofsky Basketballphoto.com via wikipedia

From a press release:

The legendary athlete and children’s author Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will read and speak with children at Reading Is Fundamental’s oldest program in the nation at a WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE Celebration May 10 at Amidon-Bowen Elementary School in Washington, D.C. Tracy Hutson of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” will also lead the festivities, which include crafts and WILD THINGS costumed characters. All of the children at the school will be given their very own copy of Maurice Sendak’s iconic and award-winning WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE to keep, thanks to a generous donation from HarperCollins Children’s Books. District of Columbia Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson will also attend the event.

Sinkholes at the Garrison Elementary School to be Investigated by a geotechnical engineer

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photos courtesy of Ann McLeod

A couple weeks ago we heard about the sinkhole that closed Biltmore Street in Adams Morgan. Now comes word of sinkholes being investigated at Garrison Elementary School at 1200 S Street, NW.

From an email by the Department of General Services:

It’s our, the Department of General Services’ (DGS), understanding that the sinkholes on the Garrison Elementary School field site are located in the area of the old Garrison School, and we believe that they are caused by the settling of sub grade material due to the improper compaction/excavation during the razing of the old Garrison School approximately 50 years ago.

In order to determine the exact cause of the sinkholes and develop a remediation plan, we are procuring a geotechnical engineer to study the site, identify the extent of the issue and provide recommendations on a remediation solution. The geotechnical investigation will include ground penetrating radar [GPR] or a similar surveying technique combined with soil borings.

We expect the geotechnical investigation to start by the end of this month (March 2013). Our current expectation, based on our understanding of the issue, is that the initial geotechnical work will take approximately 4 weeks (end of April 2013). After we receive the results of the geotechnical work we can develop a preliminary action plan. This plan may directly involve remediation or, depending on the initial geotechnical results, may include additional investigation.

We will report back to stakeholders in early May and update our plan based on the initial geotechnical results.

In the meantime, a construction fence will be installed around the area where the sinkholes have occurred and we will monitor the remainder of the site for any unusual conditions.

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E.L. Haynes Public Charter School Opens New High School in Petworth

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo via EL Haynes

From a press release:

On Thursday, March 7, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School celebrates a tremendous milestone for our city: The Grand Opening of E.L. Haynes High School. Taking place at the newly-completed campus located at 4501 Kansas Avenue, NW, the event includes welcoming remarks from DC Mayor Vincent Gray, words from Councilmember Muriel Bowser, the perspectives of one of our E.L. Haynes High School students, and a keynote address from Maria Gomez, Founder and President of Mary’s Center and a recent winner of the Presidential Citizen’s Medal.

Washington, DC faces an education crisis. In our city, fewer than half of high school students graduate within five years. Fewer than one third of our students attend college within 18 months of graduation, and fewer than ten percent graduate from college within five years. E.L. Haynes High School presents an exciting opportunity to change this trajectory and create a brighter educational future for our students.

Founded in 2004 and designated a Tier One High-Performing School by the DC Public Charter School Board, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School currently serves 950 students from grades pre-school through ten and is recognized locally and nationally for advancing student achievement.

E.L. Haynes High School fulfills the school’s college preparation promise and meets a critical need for Washington, DC – a non-selective public high school designed so that every student will successfully complete a rigorous program that is typically provided to an elite few in the US. The 33,000-square-foot addition adjoins 12,000 existing square feet of space, enabling E.L. Haynes High School to grow to serve 400 students. The facility includes science labs, a high school regulation size gymnasium, specialized spaces for the arts, a technology lab for video game design and programming courses, and an indoor/outdoor cafeteria.

The project team included architects Shinberg Levinas and general contractor Forrester Construction. Grants from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Qualified School Construction Bond (QSCB), and support from The Campaign for E.L. Haynes Public Charter School funded the project.

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Photo via EL Haynes

PoP Ed. – Underrated DCPS school: Powell Elementary

By Prince Of Petworth


1350 Upshur Street, NW

The following PoP-Ed. was written by Jonathan O’Connell, a Petworth dad.

PoP-Ed. posts may be submitted via email to princeofpetworth(at)gmail please include PoP-Ed. in the subject line.

Since it’s time for D.C. parents to make their school lottery and charter choices I wanted to point out that one of the most underrated DCPS elementary schools, particularly for preschoolers, is in Petworth — Powell Elementary.

Obviously I am biased because my three-year-old goes there, but having toured 10-15 DCPS, charter and private schools (and having used nanny shares and private day cares) I seriously believe believe Powell is one of the best preschool options around. The principal, Janeece Docal, is an absolute force of nature. The preschool and pre-K teaching team has been together a few years and was one of the earliest in the city to adopt the Tools of the Mind curriculum (sort of Montessori light) that is now spreading all over the place. They are incredibly responsive, thoughtful and thorough. I would be happy having my kids literally in any of the classrooms.

Here’s what preschool and pre-K students at Powell get: Instruction from two teachers, in English and Spanish. Recess every day. Separate art, music, library and gym classes. And field trips: In five months at the school my daughter’s class has made pizza at Pete’s Apizza, visited the Botanical Gardens and talked food and shopping at Yes Organic Market. They bring in a yoga instructor some days.

I think a lot of middle class parents are turned off by Powell for two reasons: 1) data and 2) the look of the building. I love data so have been through it and the test scores are bad compared to a lot of suburban schools. I understand. But Docal is a turnaround agent and the students that have had her the entire time aren’t even out of first grade yet. There’s a reason the private foundation Fight for Children made Powell its only DCPS awardee last year.

The building needs upgrades but is on the list for school modernization and expansion for which there is now a petition. Powell already has one of the most important things I wanted, which was a bathroom for each PS/PK room with its own toddler-sized toilet so the kids don’t have to go in the hallways with the big kids. It’s not dated open classroom format. Plus, it’s across the street from Upshur Park — tons of green space.

Why I am writing this? First, I just can’t believe the disconnect between what I’ve experienced at Powell and what people say about schools east of the park (and what is in the School Chooser). Annoying. Am I certain my kids will go all the way through Powell? No. There is a lot of improvement to be made in the upper grades. And Principal Docal could leave, which would be the worst. But I really couldn’t ask much more from my neighborhood preschool program.

Georgetown University Downtown Campus Coming Soon to 7th and K St, NW

By Prince Of Petworth

From Georgetown University’s website:

Scheduled to open in late 2013, the Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies will move to a new, principal space located at the intersection of 7th St. and Massachusetts Ave., NW in downtown Washington, D.C. The new Georgetown Downtown campus will help the School fulfill its mission of educating students to become more reflective, active, purposeful citizens who strive to make a difference to their own lives and to the world around them.

Located in one of the city’s most vibrant and accessible neighborhoods, this expansion from the Hilltop will further position the University as an anchor of Washington, D.C., expanding educational opportunity and fomenting community engagement through learning and service. The location was carefully selected to be accessible to our community of students and professionals and features comprehensive transportation options. The School is working with architects to design a space that reimagines the educational experience for the 21st century. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, professionals and community leaders will be able to connect with each other in new ways and in a neighborhood that offers hundreds of amenities and services.

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