Why Does Van Ness Elementary School Not Have a Boundary

[Anonymous]

van ness is so inconveniently located for most people I cant see why that makes sense as a citywide school

[Anonymous]

I remember Van Ness from the nineties. When Arthur Cappers/Carrolsburg public housing was in full effect, I didn't realized it was being reopened though. Last time I checked it was being used as a DCPS storage facility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eagle Academy's remaining Navy Yard campus is small and just PS3-1st or 2nd grade, I think.

To echo the preceding comment, it seems likely that whoever was tasked with matching the choice sets noted that Eagle Academy had a location between Van Ness and Amidon, near the imtersection of New Jersey and N Streets SE, and simply added that as a third "option" without consulting Eagle or ascertaining what grades were offered. There is zero chance the McGogney building on Wheeler Road is intended to be part of the choice set. All of this, however, is a bit academic insofar as charters have little or no incentive to participate in any of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:van ness is so inconveniently located for most people I cant see why that makes sense as a citywide school

Actually, it is pretty accessible if you are coming from Capitol Hill, Hill East, SW and downtown, or across the Douglass, Whitney Young (East Capitol) and Eleventh Street Bridges. Certainly not much less accessible than SWS and CHM.

[Anonymous]

Actually, for Capitol Hill, etc. it is not "pretty accessible." Despite its proximity, it requires crossing Virginia twice which is an essentially an extension of the highway and potentially multiple interstate ramps. This is extremely dangerous for anyone, especially children. Not to mention the supposed future major construction rail project which will present even greater hazards.

[Anonymous]

It makes sense for Van Ness Elementary School to have a boundary where South Capitol Street is the boundary to the West, the SE/SW Freeway is the boundary to the north, and the Anacostia River is the boundary to the South and East. There are hardly any kids from the Capitol Riverfront area attending Amidon-Bowen, so it won't hurt the population at Amidon-Bowen at all by giving Van Ness its own boundary. Hopefully this sentiment is being echoed to the DCPS.

[Anonymous]

DC would be downright foolish to extend the Van Ness boundary past the SE freeway and into Capitol Hill. It would be an obvious political nightmare for them as soon a child is inevitably struck by a vehicle.

[Anonymous]

They are not very smart as a whole, but I think they are just smart enough to avoid the above disaster to save their own skin.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC would be downright foolish to extend the Van Ness boundary past the SE freeway and into Capitol Hill. It would be an obvious political nightmare for them as soon a child is inevitably struck by a vehicle.

There may be many reasons why the Van Ness boundary should stay south of the SE freeway but please don't make crossing VA Avenue one of them.
Children have to cross many big streets to get to Brent, Watkins, etc. VA Avenue is not more scary than any of the other big streets on the Hill. These are city kids, yes? They will learn city skills with adult guidance - how to cross city streets safely while looking out for crazy cars.

Now the trench project may be a different matter depending on how they deal with the crossing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually, for Capitol Hill, etc. it is not "pretty accessible." Despite its proximity, it requires crossing Virginia twice which is an essentially an extension of the highway and potentially multiple interstate ramps. This is extremely dangerous for anyone, especially children. Not to mention the supposed future major construction rail project which will present even greater hazards.

What's with the faux drama? Our family crosses Virginia Avenue on a regular basis to get to places like Canal Park, the Yards and Stadium, as do families living in Capitol Quarter, some of whom attend Brent. it's not like there are non-signalled intersections, except for Fifth Street, which doesn't cross under the Freeway. Not sure where these multiple interstate ramps are beside the Sixth Street off-ramp and Third Street on-ramp. While i would like to see MPD enforce traffic laws and have DDOT come up with traffic calming and pedestrian/cyclist safety measures, you may need to get out more. I personally find crossing Pennsylvania Avenue with children far more chellenging.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It makes sense for Van Ness Elementary School to have a boundary where South Capitol Street is the boundary to the West, the SE/SW Freeway is the boundary to the north, and the Anacostia River is the boundary to the South and East. There are hardly any kids from the Capitol Riverfront area attending Amidon-Bowen, so it won't hurt the population at Amidon-Bowen at all by giving Van Ness its own boundary. Hopefully this sentiment is being echoed to the DCPS.

Doesn't this have the effect of opening up scores of new seats to OOB students, which is the goal being pursued by Abby? How many school age kids actually live IB for VN at this point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Actually, for Capitol Hill, etc. it is not "pretty accessible." Despite its proximity, it requires crossing Virginia twice which is an essentially an extension of the highway and potentially multiple interstate ramps. This is extremely dangerous for anyone, especially children. Not to mention the supposed future major construction rail project which will present even greater hazards.

Not really -- easy solution to enhance the pedestrian lights at VA Ave at 3rd Only busy on the North side anyway as it sits west of the eastbound exit. Slightly worse but not much more so than many other crossing areas around the Hill during rush hour. The CSX project is hardly a driver for school boundaries, as it's a temporary inconvenience. We'll likely be inconvenienced by the school boundary process for decades.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It makes sense for Van Ness Elementary School to have a boundary where South Capitol Street is the boundary to the West, the SE/SW Freeway is the boundary to the north, and the Anacostia River is the boundary to the South and East. There are hardly any kids from the Capitol Riverfront area attending Amidon-Bowen, so it won't hurt the population at Amidon-Bowen at all by giving Van Ness its own boundary. Hopefully this sentiment is being echoed to the DCPS.

Doesn't this have the effect of opening up scores of new seats to OOB students, which is the goal being pursued by Abby? How many school age kids actually live IB for VN at this point?

Van Ness Elementary should only open with PS3, PK4, and K. This will allow the school to fill up naturally as more and more housing gets built in the Capitol Riverfront.

[Anonymous]

I would think all bets may be off on a gradual phase-in being limited to PS - K.

[Anonymous]

Does it make sense to reopen Van Ness with just 80-100 kids?