Explain the Murch renovation saga to me please.

[Anonymous]

From the statement I read on the website today, it looks like they ran into another road block. Either renovate in phases or wait for an increased budget and delay renovations again. Why are the NPS and Historic Society putting up some many road blocks?

[Anonymous]

if i were them i would renovate in phases, get your foot in the door before promised funds are lost.

but, ugh to be at a school under construction for all of elementary...

[Anonymous]

hope muriel doesn't take that money and put them toward the new ward 4 middle school instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:if i were them i would renovate in phases, get your foot in the door before promised funds are lost.

but, ugh to be at a school under construction for all of elementary...

Exactly, I think everyone would rather have it done all at once. I just don't understand why the NPS and the Historic Society are being so difficult. I probably don't understand the issue well though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:hope muriel doesn't take that money and put them toward the new ward 4 middle school instead.

Tell me about it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:if i were them i would renovate in phases, get your foot in the door before promised funds are lost.

but, ugh to be at a school under construction for all of elementary...

Exactly, I think everyone would rather have it done all at once. I just don't understand why the NPS and the Historic Society are being so difficult. I probably don't understand the issue well though.

That's a canard. Wilson proceeded with historic preservation input and so do many private schools. DCPS may be trying to do something on the quick and cheap and stumbled, but it is easily fixed with proper focus. Meanwhile Janney is proceeding with renovation no 2? no. 3?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:if i were them i would renovate in phases, get your foot in the door before promised funds are lost.

but, ugh to be at a school under construction for all of elementary...

Exactly, I think everyone would rather have it done all at once. I just don't understand why the NPS and the Historic Society are being so difficult. I probably don't understand the issue well though.

That's a canard. Wilson proceeded with historic preservation input and so do many private schools. DCPS may be trying to do something on the quick and cheap and stumbled, but it is easily fixed with proper focus. Meanwhile Janney is proceeding with renovation no 2? no. 3?

Doesn't seem fair. Half of the kids at Murch are now in portable buildings. Everyone involved in this project just needs to step it up and get the reno done already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:if i were them i would renovate in phases, get your foot in the door before promised funds are lost.

but, ugh to be at a school under construction for all of elementary...

Exactly, I think everyone would rather have it done all at once. I just don't understand why the NPS and the Historic Society are being so difficult. I probably don't understand the issue well though.

That's a canard. Wilson proceeded with historic preservation input and so do many private schools. DCPS may be trying to do something on the quick and cheap and stumbled, but it is easily fixed with proper focus. Meanwhile Janney is proceeding with renovation no 2? no. 3?

Doesn't seem fair. Half of the kids at Murch are now in portable buildings. Everyone involved in this project just needs to step it up and get the reno done already.

This really highlights the fact that Janney gets a disproportionate share of resources even compared to other Ward 3 schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:if i were them i would renovate in phases, get your foot in the door before promised funds are lost.

but, ugh to be at a school under construction for all of elementary...

Exactly, I think everyone would rather have it done all at once. I just don't understand why the NPS and the Historic Society are being so difficult. I probably don't understand the issue well though.

That's a canard. Wilson proceeded with historic preservation input and so do many private schools. DCPS may be trying to do something on the quick and cheap and stumbled, but it is easily fixed with proper focus. Meanwhile Janney is proceeding with renovation no 2? no. 3?

Doesn't seem fair. Half of the kids at Murch are now in portable buildings. Everyone involved in this project just needs to step it up and get the reno done already.

This really highlights the fact that Janney gets a disproportionate share of resources even compared to other Ward 3 schools.

Janney has certain advantages. It's students come almost exclusively from its neighborhood and its parents tend to be active in their kids education and demand quality. Together, they get the attention of the council-member and others downtown and in DCPS. Diverse schools with a mixture of IB and OOB students may offer more diversity and achieve other social goods, but political cohesiveness and vocal lobbying. Janney parents speak with a louder voice because they are concentrated in one ward, one area really, and there are a lot of them.

[Anonymous]

Meant to write that diverse schools tend to lack the political cohesiveness and lobbying effectiveness of a school like Janney, which is very grounded in one ward/neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:if i were them i would renovate in phases, get your foot in the door before promised funds are lost.

but, ugh to be at a school under construction for all of elementary...

Exactly, I think everyone would rather have it done all at once. I just don't understand why the NPS and the Historic Society are being so difficult. I probably don't understand the issue well though.

That's a canard. Wilson proceeded with historic preservation input and so do many private schools. DCPS may be trying to do something on the quick and cheap and stumbled, but it is easily fixed with proper focus. Meanwhile Janney is proceeding with renovation no 2? no. 3?

Doesn't seem fair. Half of the kids at Murch are now in portable buildings. Everyone involved in this project just needs to step it up and get the reno done already.

This really highlights the fact that Janney gets a disproportionate share of resources even compared to other Ward 3 schools.

Janney has certain advantages. It's students come almost exclusively from its neighborhood and its parents tend to be active in their kids education and demand quality. Together, they get the attention of the council-member and others downtown and in DCPS. Diverse schools with a mixture of IB and OOB students may offer more diversity and achieve other social goods, but political cohesiveness and vocal lobbying. Janney parents speak with a louder voice because they are concentrated in one ward, one area really, and there are a lot of them.

Well that's certainly a theory. I really hope you are wrong. It basically sums up everything I think is wrong with the DC school system (and I have a child in one).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:if i were them i would renovate in phases, get your foot in the door before promised funds are lost.

but, ugh to be at a school under construction for all of elementary...

Exactly, I think everyone would rather have it done all at once. I just don't understand why the NPS and the Historic Society are being so difficult. I probably don't understand the issue well though.

That's a canard. Wilson proceeded with historic preservation input and so do many private schools. DCPS may be trying to do something on the quick and cheap and stumbled, but it is easily fixed with proper focus. Meanwhile Janney is proceeding with renovation no 2? no. 3?

Doesn't seem fair. Half of the kids at Murch are now in portable buildings. Everyone involved in this project just needs to step it up and get the reno done already.

This really highlights the fact that Janney gets a disproportionate share of resources even compared to other Ward 3 schools.

Janney has certain advantages. It's students come almost exclusively from its neighborhood and its parents tend to be active in their kids education and demand quality. Together, they get the attention of the council-member and others downtown and in DCPS. Diverse schools with a mixture of IB and OOB students may offer more diversity and achieve other social goods, but political cohesiveness and vocal lobbying. Janney parents speak with a louder voice because they are concentrated in one ward, one area really, and there are a lot of them.

You write this as though it is neutral or a benefit to the Janney community so who cares about the effects. ONLY in the district would this type of pattern occur, where one school and one vocal community dominate. Really odd, actually. Does Whitman high school manage to get multiple renovations over other local schools?

[Anonymous]

Perhaps this is why so many people this that parents at Jenney don't think their poop stinks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:if i were them i would renovate in phases, get your foot in the door before promised funds are lost.

but, ugh to be at a school under construction for all of elementary...

Exactly, I think everyone would rather have it done all at once. I just don't understand why the NPS and the Historic Society are being so difficult. I probably don't understand the issue well though.

That's a canard. Wilson proceeded with historic preservation input and so do many private schools. DCPS may be trying to do something on the quick and cheap and stumbled, but it is easily fixed with proper focus. Meanwhile Janney is proceeding with renovation no 2? no. 3?

Doesn't seem fair. Half of the kids at Murch are now in portable buildings. Everyone involved in this project just needs to step it up and get the reno done already.

This really highlights the fact that Janney gets a disproportionate share of resources even compared to other Ward 3 schools.

Janney has certain advantages. It's students come almost exclusively from its neighborhood and its parents tend to be active in their kids education and demand quality. Together, they get the attention of the council-member and others downtown and in DCPS. Diverse schools with a mixture of IB and OOB students may offer more diversity and achieve other social goods, but political cohesiveness and vocal lobbying. Janney parents speak with a louder voice because they are concentrated in one ward, one area really, and there are a lot of them.

You write this as though it is neutral or a benefit to the Janney community so who cares about the effects. ONLY in the district would this type of pattern occur, where one school and one vocal community dominate. Really odd, actually. Does Whitman high school manage to get multiple renovations over other local schools?

Ask yourself how helpful Mary Cheh has been on Murch renovations? She's been all over Janney's. What about Bowser, despite the fact that there are a number of Ward 4 students at Murch? How helpful has she been? What about other council members? So much for One City. This is a good illustration of why neighborhood schools are important, so that elected officials can be responsive, feel responsible and be held accountable. Look at other schools -- Eaton has something like only 38% Ward 3 kids which made it very easy for them to be the one school in the ward to be sent down from Deal to Hardy and they keep slipping and sliding further back in the DCPS renovation queue. Hearst, which also has kids from all over, is an exception. They finally got their renovation but only because their facilities situation had become dire, with no lunch oom or indoor play space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps this is why so many people this that parents at Jenney don't think their poop stinks.

It doesn't, but in any event they compost it along with the free-range chicken manure and use it for Janney's organic garden.