Breakthrough Location
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Anonymous
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Dear Families, The Facilities Committee of the Breakthrough Montessori Board of Trustees has determined that the best course of action for the next school year is to remain at 1244 Taylor Street. Our efforts to reach an agreement with the two other potential locations were unsuccessful. In one instance, the current tenant decided to remain in place, taking the building off the market. At the other potential site, we could never close the gap between the asking price and our offer. The addition of 45 new students next year will require us to expand classrooms to accommodate our community of 135 total students. Renovations will begin this summer and will be completed by the start of the 2017-18 school year. Board member and architect David Bagnoli will review the renovation plans. David has worked with Montessori schools across the country and is extremely knowledgeable about Montessori schools and their physical and aesthetic needs. We will, of course, continue our search for a new facility as we will outgrow our current location by 2018-19. Our goal is to remain in this neighborhood. We will prioritize finding a site nearby. Families will receive further updates about the 2017-18 school year within the coming days. I will attend the School Home Association meeting on April 3 at 8:00pm to answer any questions about next year. In the meantime, please feel free to reach out with questions or concerns. Sincerely, Keith Whitescarver |
Anonymous
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I'm very shocked that this Montessori School that claims that it wants to serve underserved children is still locating in gentrification central.
Very shocked. (not shocked at all) |
Anonymous
| So 2 renovations on a bldg they will be in for 2 years at most? |
Anonymous
| Why not just not expand enrollment? Lottery results aren't out yet. |
Anonymous
That would require submitting an amendment to their charter / getting approval from the DCPCsB. That is unlikely to happen so soon as they don't have a track record (no annual report, no audit, academic data). |
Anonymous
| What!!!!! |
Anonymous
| We visited the Breakthrough building and it seemed pretty maxed out. Wish this news had been made public earlier . So what are the reno plans? Will they add a floor? Rethinking our selection since there are other good Mintessori options. |
Anonymous
They won't be able to add a floor before fall - also they don't own the building. They are going to have to somehow reconfigure existing space. Facilities are the biggest issue for new charters. Every school struggles with how hard it is to secure space at an affordable price. The charter per pupil allocations and facilities allotments have been flat for several years now despite the city pouring more money into DCPS. |
Anonymous
Shut up. |
Anonymous
Does it hurt when someone points out your hypocrisy? |
Anonymous
Why cant a school also serve higher SES children? |
Anonymous
It can. But Breakthrough's application, more than many others, made a big point of saying they wanted to come to DC and bring a Montessori education to disadvantaged children, because the other Montessori schools (LAMB, Lee and SS weren't serving those families). They projected and said they were committed to serving a high need population. Once the charter was approved, they opened temporarily in Petworth and have a mostly affluent student body (of the 81 students enrolled, the percentage of students who are economically disadvantaged is not even knowable, because it is less than 10 students). Now because they are established there, they will prioritize staying in Petworth. |
Anonymous
Not the PP, but it's incredibly irritating when people chime in with sarcasm on a known issue for DC schools. It's hard to find spaces that are affordable and already configured for a school. This is hardly the first school to be located in this location. Hell, it's not even the first Montessori school to be interested in being located in that area. There are plenty of under-served children in and near Ward 4. A large number of charters end up in Wards 4 and 5 specifically because spaces exist in those areas that can accommodate them. I was not terribly surprised when I learned that that's where they were locating initially. I am even less surprised that they're staying put for another year while they try to find another location. In any case, your snark isn't funny or helpful. |
Anonymous
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hey, it is a worthwhile issue that DCPCSB approves charters and then lets them locate in areas where they could serve a mixed, gentrifying population, but somehow serve almost entirely a gentrifying population. Not that gentrifiers' kids don't need schools, but I hardly see the PCSB approving schools at this point that would say:
We would like to use a niche model that has a tendency to attract attention from gentrifier parents who do not feel comfortable with local DCPS or other charters. We will not locate where charter demand is exploding/the nearly 100 percent segregated eastern DC where our founders would never want to live, but instead within walking distance of several DCPS Title I schools we do not want to attend in Ward 4 or 5 where our founders' friends and families live. I tend to think a big part of it is that there are relatively large buildings that either are or have been schools that are relatively gettable in Ward 4 and 5. I have no idea what competition there is for buildings in Wards 7 or 8. |
Anonymous
For what it's worth, when Bridges was in that building, they had a student body that was 64 percent economically disadvantaged. Petworth is gentrification central, yes, but that doesn't mean no poor kids live nearby. |