Using Ellington to alleviate overcrowding
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Anonymous
Honestly, most Burleith and Georgetown residents are happy to have DESA in the neighborhood. The only ones still harping about "Western High School!" are the geriatric neighbors who show up at the ANC meetings. These are the people who put up fights every step of the way when DESA was being redeveloped and Jack Evans was their man. Jack is going to be gone shortly and these attitudes will, literally, die within the next 5 years. Their houses are solid in estate sales and flipped for new, young families with money. Anyone with half a brain knows DESA is a good thing and it's not changing from the current mission. However, most of the local residents would like to see a new high school facility in the western part of the city. They all know Wilson is way over-crowded and only will get worse. Bowser seems to think that she will make Wilson families so miserable that they will actively seek out seats in other parts of the city. It's a really sh#tty strategy. |
Anonymous
| Agreed. If they right-size and zone Wilson only for the west side of Rock Creek Park and end OOB feeder rights, then there should be sufficient capacity at Wilson to serve local community needs and we don’t need to worry about Wetern High Schhol - or Ellington being displaced. That would be a win-win. |
Anonymous
The problem is that there really are no suitable publicly-owned sites left in Upper NW for a public high school, unless DCPS basically commandeers Palisades or Turtle parks for a new high school site. That would provoke local community outrage and would be politically unfeasible. |
Anonymous
I disagree with this, strongly. The projected growth in Ward 3 alone means we need another HS west of Rock Creek Park. Tons of new housing units are under development and even more slated for the future along Wisconsin, Mass, and CT Avenues. Another by-right or application school will need to be opened somewhere. Two current empty lots that could house such a school would be the DESA track & field or the Old Hardy site. Both are big enough for a stand-alone HS, if you make it academic focused (i.e., no sports facilities). |
Anonymous
But preference will always be for school with sports facilities. This is a big driver for moving Banneker. I am fine with few sports facilities but Zara is like Basis which is awful. |
Anonymous
Of course you need sports facilities. Studies show that kids learn better with physical exercise. Perhaps you don’t need Whitman, but you need room for a multipurpose field and track at least. AU has some land near Turtle Park. If that could be purchased and take some of Turtle Park fields, you could probably locate a smallish high school off of Mass Ave. |
Anonymous
But the numbers do not strongly agrees with you. Take away Shepherd and Bancroft. And limit OOB rights for kids from Hardy. Then the problem is solved for $0. All overnight. |
Anonymous
Take away Bancroft and Oyster Adams. Has the similar effect. People will be pissed and rage. |
Anonymous
| If you take away Bancroft/Shepherd/Oyster(or 2 of the 3) a majority white feeder will have to go too. No way will just the schools with minority IB students (yes I know Oyster’s diversity is mostly OOB) be kicked out. |
Anonymous
If DC is has a neighborhood based school system, then it should mean exactly that. Kids should have first preference at the schools closer to where they live. When bureaucrats and politicians start preferring one school based on race, then there’s no end to it. |
Anonymous
Why? |
Anonymous
| And why, given DC's surplus and ling record of trading land for land, does a new WOTP HS location need to be limited to current public land? I mean, how did NW residents let Whittle get by with that Comsat building without a fight? Couldn't DCPS have leased or traded out for that? Couldn't the old Hechinger/Best Buy bldg have been used as an expansion academic building for Wilson? And do you really need a Wegman's, how did the Fannie Mae bldg go without a fight for a school? NBC/WRC would be much more convenient somewhere else also. |
Anonymous
They have some 5% set-a-side for diversity rule. They can use it, and cut Bancroft and Oyster Adams out of Wilson and Deal. There is no need for a new west of the park high school or middle school when schools just need to be moved. But they need to be moved to something that the feel is close to as good. And that is not Cardozo right now. |
Anonymous
Where are the studies showing growth in the 3rd ward? Ward 3 has a stable population and has for many years. |
Anonymous
You want another study? Well here are the actual facts: The school’s current enrollment is 50% larger than it was just seven years ago (from just over 1000 in 2011 to just over 1500 in 2018). This growth is expected to continue. According to the Wilson High School Feeder Pattern Community Working Group Summary Report published in February 2019, DCPS, and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education, the forecasted enrollment for Deal by 2025 is expected to be as high as 2253 students. With more than 1500 students, Deal operates the equivalent of five DCPS Middle Schools in one location. Each individual grade at Deal enrolls approximately 500 students, which is 40% larger than the average WHOLE school enrollment at other middle schools (approximately 300 students). Deal is the largest middle school in the city and the second largest school in the system, right behind Wilson High. This is total madness and has to stop. There are middle schools less than 50% full in this city. They are located geographically closer to Bancroft and Shepherd. Those two schools HAVE to get cut from the feeder pattern. OA needs to get moved to the comprehensive language school at DCI. These steps all make logical, financial, and programmatic sense. |