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Murch swing space announcements
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Anonymous
PP here. Oh....I wrote them! (unless you meant today. I haven't written to them today.) |
Anonymous
Ha ha. So glad you did. Not sure who they emailed. |
Anonymous
| Why didn't they email Murch to tell what the plan is? |
Anonymous
Something like that. |
Anonymous
| Typical, as long as the Lafayette crew's fear is alleviated, things are good. Don't worry about telling Murch. What a joke. |
Anonymous
| Infuriating. |
Anonymous
As a Lafayette parent, I am appalled that Murch was not notified first. I had assumed part of the delay in making an announcement today was that DGS was meeting with Murch sometime during the day. This whole process has been handled so poorly for all parties involved. |
Anonymous
Agreed. - Another Lafayette parent. |
Anonymous
| Rage inducing. Infuriating. |
Anonymous
| Murch parents, has your principal or anyone contacted you at all? |
Anonymous
| Murch may have gotten the email too. Announcement on The Murch HSA site: first year at UDC, second year on site. |
Anonymous
Interesting! Hm. Anymore details than that? |
Anonymous
| The fault lies with the chromic leaks from Lafayette. It is common decency to wait until the family of the deceased is informed before gloating over the body on social media. |
Anonymous
Or dancing on the grave. |
Anonymous
|
Email just came:
Swing Space -- One Year at UDC and One Year Back at Murch in Trailers Below is the letter sent to the Murch SIT (School Improvement Team) about the decision on where Murch will be housed during the renovation. The Murch SIT learned about the potential of this option at 11 am this morning and was very vocal in their opposition. If you do not agree with this decision, please let your voice be heard in letters to the Mayor Muriel Bowser, the Deputy Mayor for Education Jennifer Niles, Chancellor Henderson, and Dr. Nathaniel Beers. We wanted to get the word out as soon as possible. More information will be available in the newsletter and on the website tomorrow. Murch Community, Thank you for all of your input and patience as we have worked through the swing space decision. This has been a very complex problem to solve and we have been working hard to find the best solution possible for Murch students, staff, families, and the community. As we have outlined in previous communications, there is not a perfect solution. We have made the decision to build a trailer complex on the UDC field for school year 16-17 and then have the students back on the Murch site for school year 17-18. The builder will focus on getting the existing Murch building renovated and complete and ready for students in August 2017, which means many of the students will have access to a modernized space a year earlier than anticipated. We also believe that most of the noisy and disruptive work on the addition can be completed on the addition, which will make for a more suitable learning environment. There will still need to be some trailers on the site to house some students, but fewer than the full on-site option, which would open up additional space for play. DGS and the builder are still working together to examine exactly what the site will look like after 1 year, but it will be safe and ready for students when they return. As we have outlined in previous communications, there is not a perfect solution, and this plan is not without challenges. We are committed to working through them with our partners at DGS and our other sister agencies. There are two fields at UDC between Van Ness and Yuma Streets. The trailers will take up the field closer to Van Ness street and the field closer to Yuma street will be available for Murch students. During the second year the fields will be under construction for a UDC & Field LLC project. This means that the upper field would not be accessible for play space and there would be an active construction project going on next to students during the second year. We know how important before and aftercare is for Murch families. We have been working with and will continue working with the X-Day and the World Languages Program to find a solution to ensure that students still have access to the programs. There is a great connection between Murch and these programs and we want to try to maintain that as much as possible. One option we have been exploring with them is providing space in the swing space location and having them operate out of the Murch swing space location. Additional conversations and planning sessions are required, but we understand how important these programs are to families. We will also provide transportation to the swing space location. We will work with the school and parents to fully understand the needs (# of students, pick up times, etc.) of the families and determine safe pick up and drop off areas. We decided to not use the Lafayette site for a number of reasons. This scenario would cause a number of operational and safety concerns for both school populations, especially around drop off and pick up, evacuation, school scheduling, and recess. Having the trailers on the site would limit the majority of the play space to the DPR playground, which would severely impact how the master schedule for both schools is prepared. The pick up and drop off at Lafayette would be extremely challenging and congested with both school populations. This would have required DCPS to stagger the start times by up to an hour to ensure there is a safe pick up and drop off for both schools, which would impact families. There were also concerns with safely evacuating students on the site with the trailers on the site. A firewall would also need to be constructed to meet the requirements. We understand that there may be some frustration and concern around this decision. We will have a team working hard to ensure that we provide the best learning environment for students and staff as possible. Thanks, Bridget Stesney Deputy Chief, Facilities & IT Initiatives Office of the Chief Operating Officer |