In January, DC Public Schools (DCPS) announced that programming will discontinue at Washington Metropolitan High School.

In order to ensure students smoothly transition to their next school or graduate this year,  DCPS is providing dedicated supports to students and families during this time. In order to keep the Washington Metropolitan community informed on this work, DCPS will post regular updates to the School Planning Blog.

Below is an overview of supports provided to Washington Metropolitan students, families, and staff in March. In light of coronavirus (COVID-19) school closures, you’ll notice some adjustments to the delivery of support, but our commitment to the Washington Met community is stronger than ever during these difficult times.

Student/Family Supports 

• We have been successful in connecting with 129 out of 142 wash Met students about their future choices and continue to make outreach attempts to the remaining families.
• The My School DC lottery closed on March 2 and applications were submitted for 44 students. Students will be informed of their lottery matches on March 27 and will have until May 27 (one month after DCPS buildings are re-opened) to enroll and claim their seat. Supports will be available to ensure students and their families understand the enrollment process. Please note: Students interested in attending their neighborhood school or an Opportunity Academy do not need to secure placement through the lottery.
• Washington Metropolitan students are receiving laptops and work packets to facilitate distance learning.
• Reengagement Specialists are continuing their outreach with students via telephone and other remote means during the school closure period. They are connecting with students around their Distance Learning plans.
• Calls to inform families about the relocation of the special education self-contained programs are underway.
• School Mental Health staff are holding daily office hours and reaching out to their caseload by phone, text, or email.
• The previously scheduled community resource fair events in Wards 7 and 8 for Washington Metropolitan students and their families have been cancelled due to social distancing protocols, but we are working on alternative family outreach strategies.

Staff Supports 

• The Talent Development and Teacher Recruitment and Selection team is working with CSO and WTU members to help them connect with school leaders to conduct Microsoft Team, Zoom, and Skype interviews.
• The Teacher Recruitment and Selection team is also collaborating with the Staffing team to monitor when vacancies go live and maintain accurate records of teachers receiving offers from other schools.

Continuing Supports  

• The District is continuing to monitor the COVID-19 public health crisis and make decisions that are in the best interest of our entire community. Washington Met will continue to receive services through remote means.
• DCPS is offering free meals for any young person under the age of 18 at nearly 40 school sites throughout the city. See the full list of DCPS and public charter school locations at https://coronavirus.dc.gov/food.

At DC Public Schools (DCPS), we are committed to ensuring the well-being of our students. Communicating about issues that impact school communities is important to fostering strong partnerships with families, and we will continue to provide updates around coronavirus (also known as COVID-19).  For the latest updates on where DCPS stands, you can visit our website at https://dcps.dc.gov/coronavirus. Please note the change in spring break week and schedule for distance learning.

Meals for Students

Meals will be available for all students every weekday from Monday, March 16 – Tuesday, March 31 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at the following sites:

To learn more about the Mayor’s response, you can visit coronavirus.dc.gov for more information.

In January, DC Public Schools (DCPS) announced that programming will discontinue at Washington Metropolitan High School. In order to ensure students smoothly transition to their next school or graduate this year, DCPS is providing dedicated supports to students and families during this time. In order to keep the Washington Metropolitan community informed on this work, DCPS will post regular updates to the School Planning Blog. Below is an overview of supports provided to Washington Metropolitan students, families, and staff in February.

Student/Family Supports

• All Washington Metropolitans students and / or their families (66 middle school and 76 high school) received information regarding school options for the upcoming 2020-2021 School Year. The DCPS Enrollment, Student Supports, and Reengagement teams coordinated these outreach efforts.
• The My School DC lottery deadline was extended by one month to March 2 for Washington Metropolitan students who are interested in applying to an out-of-boundary or selective school.
• DCPS teams are continuing to work with students individually to identify their preferences and support a successful transition to their next school. School transitions will not take place until the upcoming 2020-2021 School Year.
• Reengagement Specialists are conducting home visits to provide additional outreach to students as needed.
• Students who need full-time Special Education programming will be eligible to transfer to Luke C. Moore next year (or another school with comparable programming).
• The Mental Health team is developing a “Peace Room” at Washington Metropolitan where students will be supported to practice self-regulation and metal wellness.
• In March, DCPS will host community outreach events in Wards 7 and 8 for Washington Metropolitan students.

Staff Supports

• Washington Metropolitan staff members will be included in upcoming DCPS hiring fairs scheduled for April, May, and July.
• The Teacher Recruitment and Selection team is working with each WTU member at Washington Metropolitan individually to help identify opportunities within DCPS for next school year. They are working conduct early interviews before school vacancies open this spring.
• The Teacher Recruitment and Selection team compiled staff resumes for DCPS school leaders as they make staffing plans for next year.

Continuing Supports

• Ahead of the 2020-2021 School Year, DCPS will work with receiving schools through the summer to ensure they have the information they need to best serve their newly enrolled students.
• Reengagement Specialists from the Graduation Excellence Division will reach out to students regularly over the summer to ensure students are set up for a successful transition and help mitigate any potential barriers. They will also connect students directly with school staff at the receiving school to facilitate a warm welcome and continued support.
• Transportation will continue next school year as long as the student is eligible per their IEP. It is recommended for the parent to notify the LEA representative designee once they confirmed a new school, address, and contact information.

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

• Letter to Washington Metropolitan High School Community – 1-22-2020
  • Spanish letter to Washington Metropolitan School Community 
• Washington Metropolitan Letter and FAQ for Students
  • Spanish letter and FAQ Wash Met families

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.

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:

• Wash Met Feedback Summary Memo

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

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 20^th.

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:

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

• DCPS Community Letters
  • Announcement letter of proposed closure – Nov. 26
  • Update letter on proposal – Dec. 18
• Meeting materials:
  • Meeting presentation
  • Additional FAQ for middle school students
  • Additional FAQ for high school students
• Meeting notes from both community meetings

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

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.

• Letter to Washington Metropolitan High School Parents and Families
• Washing Metropolitan December Community Meeting Flyer
• Washington Metropolitan December Community Mtg Flyer_Spanish