Metro will cut all dedicated student buses for Jackson-Reed and Deal students

[Anonymous]

The grandfathering should've ended but I believe that since the Mayor and DME did nothing to implement that recommendation, it hasn't gone into effect.

Fun, huh? Not that they're making that one widely known.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Metro? Walk? Ride multiple buses?

As somebody who has never actually been to those two campuses, I just looked on Google Maps to see how hard they are to get to. There is a metro literally blocks away, as well as several bus lines. I had heard about this dedicated bus line and thought it was b/c the two schools were super inaccessible. If they are going to do a dedicated bus for those two schools, the city should provide buses from metro stations in Anacostia, Columbia Heights, Brookland, Deanwood, etc. to get those students to other schools. With the city budget the way it is, b/c they weren't able to provide for all of the students city, it makes sense they aren't going to provide any.

There is a metro right by Deal, but there isn't a metro stop in some of the neighborhoods that are in bounds for Deal.

If the routes have a lot of passengers, I don't see why they would be discontinued. Making middle schoolers travel through downtown doesn't seem efficient.

NP and what you are saying makes sense. What really doesn’t make sense at this point is having kids in boundary for Jackson Reed east of the park. I know that’s a separate discussion but kids shouldn’t be commuting through the park to go to their in boundary school.

But that's a totally different topic, unless you think that WMATA should be making educational policy for DC students.

If a middle schooler is assigned to a school because of where he or she lives then there should be a safe way to get them there, and not all 11 year olds are ready for a route with multiple transfers. Plus the route should take a reasonable amount of time.

Again, if DC is going to provide special bus routes for kids at Brookland Middle School, Ida B Wells, or other schools that have large boundaries without much public transportation, and do it equitably, then I am all for it.

https://dcps.dc.gov/publication/middle-school-boundary-map

Not to mention if the city is going to pick certain neighborhoods/schools to provide direct buses for, I think they should prioritize areas of the city where there have been more safety incidents and kids are less safe getting to and from the Metro and provide those kids buses instead. Just my two cents...

Agree with the bolded. I am generally wary of equity arguments post covid, but I agree with this.

I will say the one kid I know who takes the Metro bus west across the park to JR is a low-income Black kid who does not live in Crestwood/16th St. Heights, so he would be impacted by the bus discontinuation, which stinks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Metro? Walk? Ride multiple buses?

As somebody who has never actually been to those two campuses, I just looked on Google Maps to see how hard they are to get to. There is a metro literally blocks away, as well as several bus lines. I had heard about this dedicated bus line and thought it was b/c the two schools were super inaccessible. If they are going to do a dedicated bus for those two schools, the city should provide buses from metro stations in Anacostia, Columbia Heights, Brookland, Deanwood, etc. to get those students to other schools. With the city budget the way it is, b/c they weren't able to provide for all of the students city, it makes sense they aren't going to provide any.

DCPS does have some type of semi private bus service that picks up kits outside of WMATA. They’re red and are not offered in all neighborhoods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Parents, if you are not comfortable with your child getting to the bus or Metro safely, why can't you drive them, or walk with them, or take the public transportation with them?

I did a combination of each of these things when my DD was in school. I adjusted my work schedule to allow it as much as I could, but she also had to be responsible enough to do some of this on her own.

I think it depends upon which school they are talking about.... Not always feasible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Metro? Walk? Ride multiple buses?

As somebody who has never actually been to those two campuses, I just looked on Google Maps to see how hard they are to get to. There is a metro literally blocks away, as well as several bus lines. I had heard about this dedicated bus line and thought it was b/c the two schools were super inaccessible. If they are going to do a dedicated bus for those two schools, the city should provide buses from metro stations in Anacostia, Columbia Heights, Brookland, Deanwood, etc. to get those students to other schools. With the city budget the way it is, b/c they weren't able to provide for all of the students city, it makes sense they aren't going to provide any.

DCPS does have some type of semi private bus service that picks up kits outside of WMATA. They’re red and are not offered in all neighborhoods.

This is DC School Connect, provided by the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (and not just for DCPS; PCS students are eligible too). It was significantly cut back for FY25, if it's operational at all anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The grandfathering should've ended but I believe that since the Mayor and DME did nothing to implement that recommendation, it hasn't gone into effect.

Fun, huh? Not that they're making that one widely known.

Ending the Deal IB rights grandfathering from 2014 was the only part of the boundary study the Mayor did not adopt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Metro? Walk? Ride multiple buses?

As somebody who has never actually been to those two campuses, I just looked on Google Maps to see how hard they are to get to. There is a metro literally blocks away, as well as several bus lines. I had heard about this dedicated bus line and thought it was b/c the two schools were super inaccessible. If they are going to do a dedicated bus for those two schools, the city should provide buses from metro stations in Anacostia, Columbia Heights, Brookland, Deanwood, etc. to get those students to other schools. With the city budget the way it is, b/c they weren't able to provide for all of the students city, it makes sense they aren't going to provide any.

There is a metro right by Deal, but there isn't a metro stop in some of the neighborhoods that are in bounds for Deal.

If the routes have a lot of passengers, I don't see why they would be discontinued. Making middle schoolers travel through downtown doesn't seem efficient.

NP and what you are saying makes sense. What really doesn’t make sense at this point is having kids in boundary for Jackson Reed east of the park. I know that’s a separate discussion but kids shouldn’t be commuting through the park to go to their in boundary school.

But that's a totally different topic, unless you think that WMATA should be making educational policy for DC students.

If a middle schooler is assigned to a school because of where he or she lives then there should be a safe way to get them there, and not all 11 year olds are ready for a route with multiple transfers. Plus the route should take a reasonable amount of time.

Sounds like DCPS shouldn’t be relying on WMATA while gerrymandering their school boundaries.

This. If DC wants buses, maybe they could repurpose the old circulator fleet!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The grandfathering should've ended but I believe that since the Mayor and DME did nothing to implement that recommendation, it hasn't gone into effect.

Fun, huh? Not that they're making that one widely known.

Ending the Deal IB rights grandfathering from 2014 was the only part of the boundary study the Mayor did not adopt.

Holy shit, so Crestwood is back to being IB for Deal for good? Did they resolve the mismatch of MS/HS boundaries to make it also IB for JR?

Man, this city's deference to special interests and the perks of being buddy buddy with the mayor never fail to disappoint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The grandfathering should've ended but I believe that since the Mayor and DME did nothing to implement that recommendation, it hasn't gone into effect.

Fun, huh? Not that they're making that one widely known.

Ending the Deal IB rights grandfathering from 2014 was the only part of the boundary study the Mayor did not adopt.

Holy shit, so Crestwood is back to being IB for Deal for good? Did they resolve the mismatch of MS/HS boundaries to make it also IB for JR?

Man, this city's deference to special interests and the perks of being buddy buddy with the mayor never fail to disappoint.

It’s incredibly transparent and corrupt. It also makes me not want to hear a word about ‘equity’ from DCPS.

[Anonymous]

i’m a Crestwood resident with a student at Deal so no, grandfathering hasn’t ended and there are indeed students who will need the bus to JR.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So?

Now JR and Deal students will have to fend for themselves like students at the other 249 public schools in DC.

+1

And like most JR and Deal students.

My kids went to both, and we never had the luxury of a dedicated bus to take them.

[Anonymous]

Can someone explain to me, slowly, what's going on with Crestwood?

[Anonymous]

When I enter a Crestwood address in DC's "Find My School" website, it lists both Deal and MacFarland as middle school options but only Roosevelt as a high school option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me, slowly, what's going on with Crestwood?

The 2013 DCPS boundary study cut Crestwood out of the Deal/JR pathway, with those kids now going to MacFarland/Roosevelt. But in 2015, Bowser unilaterally announced "tweaks" to that plan. Crestwood kids would be grandfathered in to Deal/JR for seven years, which I assume means any Crestwood student who begins at a DCPS elementary for the 2022-23 school year or earlier has a right to Deal/JR.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/bowser-announces-tweaks-to-dc-school-boundary-plan/2015/02/27/b5f33f34-be2f-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html

I assume that Crestwood kids who started at a DCPS from 2023-24 on will be heading to MacFarland/Roosevelt, but who knows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can someone explain to me, slowly, what's going on with Crestwood?

The 2013 DCPS boundary study cut Crestwood out of the Deal/JR pathway, with those kids now going to MacFarland/Roosevelt. But in 2015, Bowser unilaterally announced "tweaks" to that plan. Crestwood kids would be grandfathered in to Deal/JR for seven years, which I assume means any Crestwood student who begins at a DCPS elementary for the 2022-23 school year or earlier has a right to Deal/JR.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/bowser-announces-tweaks-to-dc-school-boundary-plan/2015/02/27/b5f33f34-be2f-11e4-bdfa-b8e8f594e6ee_story.html

I assume that Crestwood kids who started at a DCPS from 2023-24 on will be heading to MacFarland/Roosevelt, but who knows.

The reason for this move is retail politics. This is a favor to Bowser’s original constituents. I for one think it’s not great, but it’s not even close to the top of the list of political stunts she has pulled with terrible consequences (OUC is #1 for me by a long way)