The Current
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Ward 3 schools tour shows good and bad news VIEWPOINT mary cheh
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his week, I am visiting all Ward 3 public schools as part of my sixth annual school readiness tour. The purpose of these visits is to ensure that all public schools in Ward 3 are fully prepared to welcome students when the new school year begins on Aug. 27. I am very pleased to report that the overall condition of Ward 3 schools continues to improve each year. When I began visiting our schools six years ago, I would frequently discover problems like broken air conditioners, missing textbooks, classrooms without enough desks, and unfilled teacher positions. Thanks to the work of Chancellors Michelle Rhee and Kaya Henderson and City Administrator Allen Lew, these types of significant problems have largely gone away. During my school visits, I still find minor issues, such as leaky bathroom faucets, damaged ceiling tiles and burned-out classroom lights. After visiting each school, I send a list to the D.C. Department of General Services, which works quickly to fix all of them before the first day of school. One disappointment this year has been the modernization of Janney Elementary School. The District celebrated the completion of this $30 million project a year ago; however, a lot of work has yet to be completed. Some of the new flooring seems to be defective. The newly planted trees are dying and must be replanted. And water pressure throughout the building is very low. To fix these problems, I have asked Mr. Lew and the project managers to tour Janney with the principal and me later this week. While speaking with principals, teachers and PTA leaders at each school, it seems clear that one of the biggest education issues in Ward 3 is the surging enrollment in our public schools. In the last three years, the number of students attending public schools in Ward 3 has increased by 23 percent. All 10 public schools in Ward 3 are now either at or above capacity. Wilson, Deal and Janney — as just three examples — demonstrate the levels of overenrollment that we’re experiencing in Ward 3. Wilson High School, which completed a beautiful $115 modernization a year ago, has a capacity of 1,550
Letters to the Editor George Washington stool needs support
In May 1776, Gen. George Washington ordered 18 campstools from an Irish upholsterer in Philadelphia for his Revolutionary War “marquee,� the tent in which he slept and conducted business. Only a few of those folding seats survive today in public hands, and just one — at Tudor Place Historic House and Garden — is on regular display to the public in a domestic setting. This month, we’re asking the public to help “save� the stool, whose condition has deteriorated over time, by voting for its nomination as one of Virginia’s Top 10 Endangered Artifacts 2012. Descriptions and photographs of all the nominees appear on the
students. Last year, Wilson exceeded its capacity with 1,660 students. This year, without accepting any out-ofboundary students, the school’s enrollment is projected to be between 1,750 and 1,800. At Deal Middle School, the incoming sixth-grade class of 450 students is 50 percent larger than the eighth-grade class that graduated in June. Deal has a capacity of 985 students, but its enrollment is projected to increase from 1,040 last year to 1,189 this year — again without accepting any out-of-boundary students. To address this problem, I was able to find $9.8 million in the District’s budget, which will increase Deal’s capacity by 200 students by modernizing the adjacent Reno School. Until this work is completed in 2014, though, some Deal students will be taught in portable classrooms. Janney’s modernization increased its capacity to 550 students; however, this year the school expects to enroll more than 600, without accepting any students who live outside of its boundary zone. The surging enrollment in Ward 3 public schools is a great endorsement of the high-quality public education available, and it is a sign that parents and families have renewed faith in D.C. Public Schools. But I am very concerned that this dramatic enrollment increase, if not addressed, will ultimately negatively affect the quality of education in our schools. I have raised this growing issue with Chancellors Rhee and Henderson each year. In addition to considering adding school capacity in Ward 3, I also think that it is appropriate to carefully re-examine school boundaries. Earlier this year, I introduced the School Boundary Review Act of 2012. Just as ward and advisory neighborhood commission boundaries are reviewed and updated every 10 years, this bill would create an independent, nonpolitical group of experts to lead a community-based effort to review school boundaries and feeder patterns to try to balance school enrollment and prevent overcrowding. Throughout this new school year, I will continue working with our Ward 3 public schools to make sure that they have the tools and resources they need to provide a high-quality education to our students. And I will continue working to address the enrollment pressures to ensure that Ward 3 schools can continue to excel. Mary Cheh represents Ward 3 on the D.C. Council.
Virginia Association of Museums’ website, where the public can choose the object they consider most endangered or deserving. Voting continues through Aug. 29 at surveymonkey.com/s/vatop10. Founded in 1816 by a granddaughter of Martha Washington, Tudor Place holds the largest collection of George and Martha Washington artifacts of any public institution outside Mount Vernon. The campstool is one of more than 200 Washington artifacts in the collection. In the estate sale following Martha Washington’s death in 1802, granddaughter Martha Parke Custis Peter, with her husband Thomas Peter, purchased six of the 18 folding chairs, only one of which remains at Tudor Place today. Its treatment will require the services of furniture and textile conservators and an upholstery specialist. Over 230 years of camp life and family use, the stool has lost its original
upholstery, and the fabric webbing that underlay it has grown brittle. Some metal fasteners have corroded and protrude above the walnut frame. If it is not treated, Tudor Place will have to remove it from display. Ten honorees and a “People’s Choice� winner will be announced in September, based on the public poll and subsequent review by an expert panel convened by the Virginia Association of Museums, the contest’s organizer. The program’s ultimate aim is to make “winners� of all 21 nominees by calling attention to the need to preserve them and the collections they are part of. While the Top 10 awards bring no funding, some 2011 participants secured preservation grants based on publicity and support generated by the contest. Please vote! Erin Kuykendall Curator of Collections, Tudor Place Historic House and Garden
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Nancy Feldman, a long time DC resident and community leader, formed her law firm 15 years ago for the benefit of people facing important life issues. Planning ahead for family, friends and bequests to non-profits; forming new households or parting ways; business and personal transitions - - these matters deserve an attentive, knowledgeable legal advisor to assist you through clearly explained processes.
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