Author: dcpsschoolplanning

Coolidge High School Community Working Group Meeting

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Thanks to everyone who attended our most recent Community Working Group (CWG) meeting on January 31st at the high school.  The school planning team along with the college and career programs team were excited to share some updates about what students and families can expect at Coolidge High School beginning in School Year 2019-2020 when it will open its new building with a new high school program defined by three academies: Health sciences, mass media, and a new, selective early college program.

Academies Overview

You can find the full presentation from the meeting about each of the academies: here . You can also see the full announcement from Wanda H. Legrand, Ed.D who is the Deputy Chancellor of Social Emotional Academic Development at DC Public Schools. The letter is available in five languages: English, Español, Français, Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese) and አማርኛ (Ahmaric)

The community working group also had an opportunity to hear from the facilities and planning team about updates on the modernization of the building that is slated to begin in a few weeks and will complete in August 2019. We had special guests from the architect and design firms who showed the group, the color schemes of the tiles, hallways and classrooms of both the High School and the new Middle School. They also received and overall timeline of the construction project.

For more frequent and more in depth updates about the construction and modernization, you can visit the DCPS School Modernization page.

The picture below is a cross section of the atriums

Atriums All

The Middle School addition on the south side of the building

Middle School

Finally, check out below an example of the new classrooms

Classroom 1

Questions? What’s Next?

There are some frequently asked questions we have received over the past few months. You are welcome to check out our current FAQ document to see if it meets your needs. You may also find it in additional languages:  Español, Français, Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese), አማርኛ (Amharic), and  中文 (Chinese)

Moving forward the school planning team will continue to engage and get input from a wide variety of stakeholders in the spring to include school staff, family and community members at Coolidge HS and its feeder education campuses at Brightwood EC, Takoma EC, LaSalle-Backus EC and Whittier EC.

The school planning team will work with school leadership and the DCPS Office of Family and Public Engagement to identify and plan future spring engagement events. Stay tuned to this blog for updates. You can also follow us on twitter @DCPSPlanning and @BAlexanderLeads. You can also contact us by e-mail at dcps.planning@dc.gov and brian.alexander@dc.gov.

 

Wilson Feeder Pattern CWG: November 2017 Meeting #5 Recap

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The Wilson Feeder Pattern Community Working Group (CWG) met in November for our fifth meeting.  In this meeting, the Strategic School Planning Team shared additional analysis and gathered feedback on several options raised by the group.  We also shared a draft of the outline for the summary document that will be used to capture the group’s feedback and conversations. You can view the draft summary outline and the full presentation here.

An update from the January 25th meeting will be posted soon!

 

Eliot-Hine’s Junk Art Club: Wins Storm Drain Contest with Michael Jackson Design!

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EH Storm Drain Winners.png
A few members of the Junk Art Club (7th graders) with their completed storm drain design!

The storm drains around Eliot-Hine and Eastern High School recently got a face lift! Last fall, the Anacostia Watershed Society put out a call for designs to paint storm drains around the city. Eliot-Hine’s Junk Art Club was one of 20 winners chosen from more than 140 designs submitted! Come check out their winning piece directly across the street from the front doors of Eliot-Hine on Constitution Avenue. There are seven other winning designs on storm drains near Eliot-Hine MS and Eastern HS. All 20 winning designs can be seen here.

The mural designs were chosen based on their connection to the Anacostia River, the local community, and watershed protection issues. The Junk Art Club’s design was based on the Michael Jackson song Man in the Mirror. The design is painted on a blue background that represents the Anacostia River.  A black silhouette of Michael Jackson looks down on the storm drain manhole cover that is painted a metallic silver. The words “I’m starting with the man in the mirror.  I’m asking him to change his ways.  Michael Jackson,” are written in black.

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Closer look at the Michael Jackson inspired storm drain, encouraging others to “change his ways” from the Man in the Mirror

The Junk Art Club chose their design because virtually all of the litter that finds its way into the Anacostia River comes from people littering.  Preventing littering from entering storm sewers is one of the most effective ways to reduce the trash found in the Anacostia River.  The Michael Jackson song Man in the Mirror asks people to look “in the mirror” at what they do with waste once they have finished using, e.g., a bottle or a candy wrapper, and if they do litter it encourages them to “change their ways.” Will you join Eliot-Hine in changing your ways and creating a #trashfreedc?

The Junk Art Club received a $750 stipend from the Anacostia Watershed Society for their artwork, and donated the stipend to the Eliot-Hine Parent Teacher Organization at their December 2017 meeting. Thank you to Eliot-Hine’s environmentally conscious and community service driven students paving the way to a better place for all of us!

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Junk Art Club donates stipend to Eliot-Hine’s PTO. Heather Schoell, PTO President, pictured here with Elizabeth, 7th grader from the Junk Art Club.

 

Eliot-Hine: History Inspires Role Models for 7th Graders

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Eliot-Hine MS 7th grade students capped off their recent English Language Arts cornerstone unit, My Warrior Self, with a trip to the Newseum to see the civil rights exhibit about the tumultuous events leading up to 1968, when Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Cornerstones are powerful lessons that students engage in through the DCPS units of study. This particular cornerstone unit involved reading the memoir Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals, exploring what makes a warrior and how their own definition has shifted, preparing a display about a “warrior” they know, and visiting the civil rights exhibit at the Newseum.

EH students MLK
Eliot-Hine 7th graders with their personal warrior, Martin Luther King Jr.

In Warriors Don’t Cry, the 7th graders learned about the nine teenagers who were chosen to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School in 1957.  The memoir describes the dignity and courage the nine teenagers showed throughout their year at Central High School when they were on the front lines of the efforts to integrate our nations’ schools.  To relate the book to their own lives, the students chose a “warrior” they know, and prepared a display board describing how their “warrior” took a stand to fight for what is right.  At the Newseum, the students watched and discussed a documentary about how civil rights activists harnessed the power of the news media to bring about social change.  All of the activities in this unit are intended to provide the students with insights about how to be resilient, and persevere through inevitable challenges they will face in life.

We love to see Eliot-Hine students making real-world connections through engaging in rigorous content! To learn more about the DCPS Cornerstones Initiative, check out their website which includes libraries of examples for each subject,

Eliot-Hine Modernization Project Update: New Exit Path!

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Eliot-Hine New Exit Path Strategy_Dec. 2017

The Facilities Team will join the next PTO meeting on Wednesday, December 13, 2017 at 6 PM, and again on Wednesday, December 20, 2017 at 5:30 pm to discuss these changes with Eliot-Hine school community. Join for whichever meeting you can! For more information, check out the full project update: New Student Path to Metro. 

Project updates can be viewed on the Facilities Eliot-Hine MS modernization website.

  • Beginning Monday, December 11, 2017, students will exit the building towards 17th Place NE.
  • Eliot-Hine students will not be able to walk down constitution Ave NE to the Stadium-Amory Metro Station
  • Students will be redirected to walk along 17th Street NE, then along East Capitol Street NE (in front of Eastern SHS) to access the Metro Station
  • E-H students may not be able to walk across Eastern’s field

The two Facilities point-of-contacts for this modernization are Josh Tuch and Oni Hinton. Below is their contact information if you have any questions:

Learn more about Stevens School’s rich history!

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At our first Stevens School Community Working Group meeting, ANC 2A’s Florence Harmon shared the below past articles. Check them out to learn more about Stevens’ rich history and presence in DC:

Background on Stevens School Building

Stevens School is a historic building constructed in 1868. It closed after 2007-08 School Year and consolidated with Francis Junior High to make Francis-Stevens EC. Then in 2014-15, Francis-Stevens EC merged leadership with School Without Walls HS
to become school Without Walls at Francis-Stevens EC.

Below are letters written by community members during the time of Stevens’ school closure (also shared by Florence Harmon):

Lastly, this is the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development’s current page on Stevens School with more background resources. 

Calling All Future Eagles: Eliot-Hine MS is Ready for You!

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EH Mural Picture
New mural at Eliot-Hine MS (C Street side) by artist Jesse Stark in partnership with DPR.

EdFest is next weekend and the Eagles of Eliot-Hine Middle School are ready for you! Did you know Eliot-Hine MS is a Flamboyan school and has a National Junior Honor Society? Come by to learn more Saturday, December 9th from 11 AM – 3 PM at Stadium Armory. Eliot-Hine staff and parents will be there sharing more about their International Baccalaureate courses, sports offerings, Radio Network run by students, and extracurriculars like Robotics and Junk Art Club.  Take a photo at their table and tag @EliotHine!

Here are other future opportunities for families to learn about Eliot-Hine MS:

  • Tuesday, December 19th at 10 AM
  • Tuesday, January 23rd at 10 AM
  • Tuesday, February 6th at 10 AM
  • Wednesday, February 14th @ 4:30 PM with a treat! (Welcome to stay for the Eliot-Hine PTO meeting afterwards)
  • Tuesday, February 27th at 10 AM

You can also call the main office at 202-939-5380 with any questions or to schedule a visit!

First Stevens School Community Working Group Recap!

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At the first Stevens School Community Working Group (CWG), we enjoyed discussing School Without Walls’ campuses, the facilities background and historical context of Stevens School, and enrollment data for SWWFS and SWW HS. Our Stevens School CWG dove into the proposal for Stevens School and down the line will also cover details of the expansion model, naming and branding of the schools, recruitment and enrollment for the campuses, and more.

More project specific information, including our presentation from the CWG meeting, can be found on the Thaddeus Stevens tab on the Facilities modernization website. Our next meeting is slated for early January 2018.

Stevens School Community Working Group Members

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We are excited to work with the newly formed Stevens School Community Working Group (CWG). This group consists of Principal Trogisch of School Without Walls HS and School Without Walls at Francis-Stevens, AP Young of SWW@FS, Mr. Klawender (teacher of SWW HS), Florence Harmon (ANC, 2A06), and parents of both schools. Below is the full list of members:

Stevens School CWG Members

Meeting notes and final presentation materials from all Stevens School CWG meetings will be posted on this DCPS Planning Blog. The first meeting will be held in November 2017.

 

Eliot-Hine Modernization Update: School Improvement Team 10/18/17 meeting

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On October 18, 2017, Facilities hosted the first Eliot-Hine School Improvement Team (SIT) meeting of the school year. In this meeting, Facilities presented the revised educational specifications (ed-specs) and current EH leadership, EH staff, EH families, and feeder families provided feedback on this verion. The SIT presentation, ed-specs, and updates can be viewed on the Facilities Eliot-Hine MS modernization website here. The SIT also received an update on the Maury swing schedule. Below is the timeline for the modernization:

EH Project Schedule_Oct. 2017

The next meeting is scheduled for tentatively December 2017/January 2018, once the architecture team is hired. At our next meeting we will meet the architecture team and review the revised ed-specs.