Author: dcpsschoolplanning

Update: Washington Metropolitan HS Final Decision

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Final decision on the proposed closure of Washington Metropolitan HS, including Spanish translations:

Through DCPS Opportunity Academies, it is our goal to ensure that students who have had exceptions with traditional school models have the school community and necessary supports that will prepare them for success in college, career, and life beyond graduation. After gathering feedback from stakeholders on the proposal and recognizing that DCPS has a responsibility to create learning environments so that every student can succeed at their neighborhood school, we have reached a decision: DCPS is moving forward on our recommendation to close Washington Metropolitan High School at the end of School Year 2019-2020. 

The closure of a school is never taken lightly. From the end of November through the beginning of January, DCPS engaged over 200 stakeholders to ensure we heard from students, staff, families, and community members as we made a decision that we feel would best improve the education opportunities for Washington Metropolitan students.

To read more about the rationale and supports DCPS is providing students, families, and staff at this time, the above letters and FAQ are linked.

Feedback Summary from Wash Met Engagement

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DCPS engaged approximately 200 stakeholders on the proposed closure of Washington Metropolitan High School. Main stakeholder groups included Washington Metropolitan staff, students, families, and community members. This document provides a high-level summary of our feedback timeline and process, as well as key themes that emerged from these feedback sessions. To gather feedback from stakeholders on this proposal, DCPS hosted staff meetings, community forums, student listening sessions, and created a phone number for community members to leave feedback via voicemail. To read the feedback summary from all the above-mentioned engagement, check out the memo below:

DCPS thanks all who took time to provide feedback on this proposal and engage in conversations around the future of Washington Metropolitan High School. A school closure is something we never consider lightly, and we recognize the impact the proposal has had on the Wash Met community and its students. The feedback received during this process is informing our strategic planning initiatives of how we can better serve all students.

For questions, please contact the Strategic School Planning Team at DCPS.Planning@k12.dc.gov

 

Stevens Early Learning Center Resources: Shared at EdFest

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Thank you all for stopping by the Stevens Early Learning Center (ELC) table at EdFest. We were so excited to meet future Stevens’ students and families! Please see below for all the information we shared at EdFest and all the different ways you can learn more about Stevens’ updates as they come. More information coming in early January after the holidays!

Stevens ELC EdFest_Chancellor
EdFest 2019

Resources we shared at EdFest: 

Learn more at:

To join our Stevens newsletter mailing list, please email DCPS.Planning@k12.dc.gov.

 

Community Update on Proposed Closure of Washington Metropolitan

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Thank you all for attending our community meetings on the proposed closure of Washington Metropolitan High School. We have appreciated hearing from everyone and encourage staff, students, families, and community members to continue to share their thoughts on the proposed closure by either calling (202) 478 – 9289 and leaving a voicemail or completing this feedback form and submitting it to DCPS.Planning@k12.dc.gov. DCPS will continue to collect feedback until end of day Friday, December 20th.

Wash Met Feedback Flyer Public

In addition to the staff and community meetings DCPS has hosted, we are adding two student listening sessions. Our Chief of Secondary Schools, Sito Narcisse, and Chancellor Ferebee will each be hosting individual student listening sessions to hear directly from both middle school and high school students at Washington Metropolitan. See table below for more details on this process timeline:

NOV. 26 NOV. 26 DEC. 4
DEC. 6		 DEC. 9
DEC. 12		 MID-DEC. to EARLY-JAN. DEC. 20 EARLY-JAN. MID-JAN.
Proposal is shared with school community. Meetings held with school staff. Public meetings held with school community. Student listening sessions with DCPS staff and Chancellor Deadline for community to provide feedback
on the proposal.		 Public feedback is compiled and shared with Mayor. Decision on closure determined by Mayor.

Lastly, you can find all the resources we shared at our community meetings below:

If you have any questions, please contact the Strategic School Planning Team at DCPS.Planning@k12.dc.gov.

 

Proposed Closure of Washington Metropolitan HS

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Last week, DCPS announced a proposal to closure Washington Metropolitan High School at the end of the current school year. To hear more about the proposed closure and share feedback, DCPS is hosting two special community meetings next week, both are 6:00 – 7:30 PM:

  • Monday, December 9th at Washington Metropolitan HS (300 Bryant St. NW), 6 – 7:30 PM
  • Thursday, December 12th at Martha’s Table (2375 Elvans Rd. SE), 6 – 7:30 PM

DCPS will continue to engage Washington Metropolitan staff, families, and community and aiming to make a final decision by mid-January 2020. Please see below for the letter, FAQ resource, and flyer in both English and Spanish for the upcoming community meetings. To request childcare or interpretation for either of these meetings, please email us at DCPS.Planning@k12.dc.gov.

Location Announcement for Bard DC Year 2: SY2020-2021

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Previously DCPS announced Bard High School DC will remain in their Ward 7 – Davis building location for the upcoming school year, 2020-2021. See here for the Bard DC Year Two Location Letter from the Facilities Team. In addition to this letter, the Facilities and Strategic School Planning Teams held a community meeting on November 18th to learn more from staff and families on what their priorities are for the Year 2 (Y2) location and the permanent long-term location.

DCPS will begin focus groups with staff and students this winter to incorporate feedback and recommendations as we plan for Bard DC’s growth in the Davis building. There will also be future community meetings throughout the winter to continue to keep the Bard DC community updated on the location process.

For School Year 2020-2021, Bard DC will have grades 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. Prospective students should reference the Bard DC website’s admissions tab: https://bhsec.bard.edu/dc/admission/

Fall Community Engagement & SIT begins!

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With School Year 2019-2020 in full swing, the Stevens School Improvement Team (SIT) is back in session and had their first meeting of SY19-20 last week. The presentation materials are public and located on the DCPS Facilities modernization site here.

 

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This fall, the Strategic School Planning (SSP) Team, in partnership with Early Childhood Education and Community and Engagement Teams, have been engaging Ward-based organizations, phone banking families, and connecting with schools in the Stevens neighborhood. We have previously connected and presented at the HeadStart Policy Council, My School DC Parent Advisory Council, W6PSPO.

Below are our upcoming October meetings where DCPS will provide an overview on the Stevens Early Learning Center and seek community feedback on remaining decisions:

  • Wednesday, October 16th: ANC 2A meeting at 7 PM, West End Library (Facilities Team presenting)
  • Saturday, October 19th: Ward 1 Ed Council meeting at 2 PM, Cleveland ES (SSP Team presenting)
  • Thursday, October 24th: Ward 8 EdCouncil meeting at 6 PM, Martha’s Table (SSP Team presenting)

For questions or if you would to request a Stevens overview for your community group, please contact DCPS.Planning@k12.dc.gov or call (202) 520-2277.

Ribbon Cutting & New School Year Celebrations!

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To kick off the new school year, community members, families, and new staff gathered at Ida B. Wells for a fun ribbon cutting celebration! It was so exciting to hear from Mayor Bowser, Chancellor Ferebee, Principal Vroman, and current students about their vision for the new middle school in Ward 4. We look forward to seeing how students and staff utilize the state-of-the-art science spaces, new classrooms, and historic courtyard that was converted into an atrium for expanded programming.

Follow Ida B. Wells for updates and photos on academic and hands-on programming throughout the school year!

  • Ida B. Wells twitter: @IdaBWellsMS
  • Ida B. Wells school website: https://www.idabwellsms.org/ 
    • The website also contains the school’s weekly newsletter in both English and Spanish, which highlights school events and what staff and students are focusing on for the week!

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Ribbon cutting

For more details on the new school opening, the Mayor’s press release is here. Also you can view the ribbon cutting ceremony video here. 

Ida B. Wells Middle School prepares for their inaugural year

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The Ida B. Wells MS team is pictured here at their summer home at Whittier EC

The leadership team and staff at Ida B. Wells MS have had a busy and productive summer as they prepare to open their doors with a 6th grade class in their new, modernized building at 405 Sheridan Street NW.

On July 18, the leadership team held a retreat. This was a wonderful opportunity to learn, grow and plan with each other before the school year begins.

On July 8, the summer team went on a building tour of the new school facilities. It’s exciting to see the installation of the SmartBoards and basketball hoops in progress!

On June 8th, Whittier EC, Ida B. Wells MS and Coolidge HS held a summer block party. This was a wonderful chance to build community across the feeder pattern. A special thank you to the Whittier PTA for your support on this event!

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To keep up with all that is happening at Ida B. Wells MS, please visit their new website.

You are also welcome to follow the school’s social media, using the links below!

  • The school has two twitter accounts that you can find at @IdaBWellsMS and @MeganVroman.
  • They also have an Instagram account, you can find it here @IdaBWellsMS
  • Lastly, their Facebook account can be found here.

And remember, Go Wolves!

Wells MS Logo

Stevens Modernization Update & Website

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Construction started this spring for the Stevens School, slated to open School Year 2020-2021. The design team, OTJ Architects, and the exterior contractor, Stevens School LLC (Akridge), have been collaborating with DGS and DCPS to continue to move the project forward.  The contractor that will perform the interior work will be selected by the end of summer and introduced to the Stevens SIT this fall when meetings resume. The DCPS Facilities Team publicly posts project updates and meeting materials here: https://sites.google.com/a/dc.gov/dcps-school-modernizations/home/thaddeus-stevens

The current Stevens School Improvement Team (SIT) is comprised of community members, Head Start Council members/parents, and representation from DCPS ECE, Division of Specialized Instruction, and Strategic School Planning Teams. As the project continues to develop, we aim to add more prospective parents to the SIT.

For any modernization questions, please contact the Facilities POC: Tania.Shand@k12.dc.gov or (202) 306 – 9449.