Why is Janney getting another million dollar renovation……

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point here is that a number of schools that are suffering from severe overcrowding -- and that everyone agrees need to be rennovated -- have been delayed. Meanwhile, Janney which thanks to its previous rennovation is, on any objective basis, facing less severe overcrowding has been accelerated with very little transparency. Parents need to get organized and seek an immediate freeze on this project until work on the other schools is completed.

+1

I am writing Mary Cheh this morning. Transparency is important.

Excellent. Please ask her why Ward 3 struggles to get adequate resources to update high-performing high-demand schools while the city is spending hundreds of millions for low-performing low-demand schools in other parts of town.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is ridiculous. With so many other pressing needs on the capital side around the city even at schools that are doing quite well, spending this kind of money at a practically brand spanking new school is insane. Murch construction is just a twinkle in DGS' eye at this point in time. Hearst and Mann haven't even begun yet and they are going to start this in the next few weeks. Families from around the city want to improve middle schools so Deal and maybe Stuart-Hobson and Hardy are not the only acceptable choices (in their view). Maybe build a new middle school "EOTP".

I am a Ward 3 voter and I will vote against Mary Cheh if this goes through.

Well it is a completely done deal. Was as of last spring. Construction begins in a few days.

It is news to the rest of us! How on earth did this school get two renovations above other more needy sites?

So was the extension of the lease of the Old Hardy School to the Lab School. Call and email.

Besides even if it does go through it still makes sense to have your voice heard. The next time I hear that we don't have money for X, I am going to remind them of the almost $5 million additional renovation they did for a school that already has two gyms (2!!!) and an underground parking garage.

Why on earth does it make sense to continue to pour resources into only one school in all of the city? Does the school really have two gyms?

Some people here seem to be a bit hard of hearing. A previous post mentioned that Dunbar just unveiled a new shiny building for $122 million dollars. As in, TWENTY FIVE TIMES MORE than the $5 million Janney renovation (based on what people say here, I'm not a Janney parent).

People, I am a bit mystified here. Why the apparent outrage over a $5 million renovation at a school that is clearly working well and needs to prepare to accommodate more students, vs the radio silence over a $122 million new building for a failing school with unclear prospects?

I am outraged that own own school doesn't get the facilities we need and deserve. But that has much more to do with the Dunbars than with the Janneys.

Well, uh our esteemed mayor is a proud Dunbar graduate. I think the general consensus in this town with respect at least to high school facilities (lacking any well thought out plan) is to throw money at something with the expectation that it will get better. More specifically, the growing elementary school bubble will eventually burst and then the bright shiny new high school will be ready to receive all the Ward 3 kids in about 10-15 years. Just watch...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is ridiculous. With so many other pressing needs on the capital side around the city even at schools that are doing quite well, spending this kind of money at a practically brand spanking new school is insane. Murch construction is just a twinkle in DGS' eye at this point in time. Hearst and Mann haven't even begun yet and they are going to start this in the next few weeks. Families from around the city want to improve middle schools so Deal and maybe Stuart-Hobson and Hardy are not the only acceptable choices (in their view). Maybe build a new middle school "EOTP".

I am a Ward 3 voter and I will vote against Mary Cheh if this goes through.

Well it is a completely done deal. Was as of last spring. Construction begins in a few days.

It is news to the rest of us! How on earth did this school get two renovations above other more needy sites?

So was the extension of the lease of the Old Hardy School to the Lab School. Call and email.

Besides even if it does go through it still makes sense to have your voice heard. The next time I hear that we don't have money for X, I am going to remind them of the almost $5 million additional renovation they did for a school that already has two gyms (2!!!) and an underground parking garage.

Why on earth does it make sense to continue to pour resources into only one school in all of the city? Does the school really have two gyms?

Some people here seem to be a bit hard of hearing. A previous post mentioned that Dunbar just unveiled a new shiny building for $122 million dollars. As in, TWENTY FIVE TIMES MORE than the $5 million Janney renovation (based on what people say here, I'm not a Janney parent).

People, I am a bit mystified here. Why the apparent outrage over a $5 million renovation at a school that is clearly working well and needs to prepare to accommodate more students, vs the radio silence over a $122 million new building for a failing school with unclear prospects?

I am outraged that own own school doesn't get the facilities we need and deserve. But that has much more to do with the Dunbars than with the Janneys.

Well, uh our esteemed mayor is a proud Dunbar graduate. I think the general consensus in this town with respect at least to high school facilities (lacking any well thought out plan) is to throw money at something with the expectation that it will get better. More specifically, the growing elementary school bubble will eventually burst and then the bright shiny new high school will be ready to receive all the Ward 3 kids in about 10-15 years. Just watch...

Given that close to half of the full student body at Wilson is out-boundary, Wilson is overcrowded, and Dunbar has a $122 million bright shiny new school without the students to fill it, perhaps the city has a rational plan in place so that a significant portion of potential Wilson OOBs end up in Dunbar instead?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Given that close to half of the full student body at Wilson is out-boundary, Wilson is overcrowded, and Dunbar has a $122 million bright shiny new school without the students to fill it, perhaps the city has a rational plan in place so that a significant portion of potential Wilson OOBs end up in Dunbar instead?

How is that plan "rational"? " Magical" perhaps?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Given that close to half of the full student body at Wilson is out-boundary, Wilson is overcrowded, and Dunbar has a $122 million bright shiny new school without the students to fill it, perhaps the city has a rational plan in place so that a significant portion of potential Wilson OOBs end up in Dunbar instead?

How is that plan "rational"? " Magical" perhaps?

Well, it would be perfectly rational for the system as a whole, given not only the $122-million new building at Dunbar but also the $120-million new building at Roosevelt High. Either the major and Kaya want those buildings to become eternal empty mausoleums in honor of their incompetence...or they have a plan to fill them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The point here is that a number of schools that are suffering from severe overcrowding -- and that everyone agrees need to be rennovated -- have been delayed. Meanwhile, Janney which thanks to its previous rennovation is, on any objective basis, facing less severe overcrowding has been accelerated with very little transparency. Parents need to get organized and seek an immediate freeze on this project until work on the other schools is completed.

+1

I am writing Mary Cheh this morning. Transparency is important.

Excellent. Please ask her why Ward 3 struggles to get adequate resources to update high-performing high-demand schools while the city is spending hundreds of millions for low-performing low-demand schools in other parts of town.

Or why Murch's renovation hasn't started to get off the ground, while Janney is breaking ground on its second renovation? Folks seem to be making this a EOTP vs WOTP thing. It is also a jaw dropper even within Ward 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Boundary review doesn't solve anything if we take as given grandfathering. I agree with you if DCPS hadn't announced a commitment to maintain the "rights" for all students currently enrolled. Without grandfathering, boundary changes could solve the immediate problem. As it is, with grandfathering the immediate problem will remain.

Personally, I don't think DCPS should corner itself into maintaining grandfathering.

But, to all those who oppose this addition and say boundary changes should solve the problem, know that boundary changes ONLY solve the problem if DCPS abandons grandfathering. Are you prepared to abandon grandfathering? That means your OOB kid at Hearst may not be able to maintain his slot and his feeder "rights." You may not want to cut your nose to spite your face.

Not sure why you used Hearst in your example, but it was either a "throw out," or you are simply unaware of the school's current status.

At this point, nobody at Hearst (which had it's main building renovated this summer and is days away from breaking ground on a great expansion) is concerned about what's going on at Janney. Hearst families-- who quietly flew under the Ward 3 radar for years in a building that had not been touched in 8 decades-- are over the moon about our own renovation, which when completed will be a beautiful campus located on some of the best green space in the city. Since we do have a large and highly active OOBs population (overwhelmingly from Wards 4 & 1), the boundary changes and issue of grandfathering are of concern to our community, but not as it relates to Janney or any other Ward 3 school. Hearst has always been an open and welcoming community, but the reality is that most JKLMM families have never had an interest in our little school...and that's okay. Their misperceptions and the fact that Hearst's boundaries are ridiculously small are the reason why we are not overcrowded and consider ourselves the best kept secret.

You can question how Janney was able to get additional funding after their renovations were completed and as other schools were still waiting, but you can't hate them for pushing for more space. They are overcrowded and they did what any active community would do...fight for their kids. Janney families worked hard to get the best facility for their children in the same way we at Hearst worked for ours. Hearst families IBs and OOBs fought for our renovations, even as some on this board discounted us. (Yes it is possible to have a racially diverse student population from every ward in the city and still have an incredibly committed, caring and active community).

If your school is in line for a renovation, know that it's a very frustrating process, but that if you have an active and vocal community, you can get it done. We need to support each other and learn from each others experiences. Not begrudge one another. That's counter productive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By the way, looking at the projections in the Master Facilities Plan (page 55ish of http://dc.gov/DC/DME/Media%20Releases/newsroom_archive/Press%20Releases/Final%202013%20DC%20Public%20Education%20Plan.pdf)

Holy shiite Spring Valley, Wesley Heights and Palisades are predicted to explode with small children (clusters 14 and 15). They're predicted to go from 1592 small children today to 4122 in 2022. My god that's crazy. Almost a 3-fold increase within a decade. Umm, paging the Old Hardy school. Old Hardy School, you're needed at the delivery room.

Private schools duh

[Anonymous]

2500 private school spaces?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Boundary review doesn't solve anything if we take as given grandfathering. I agree with you if DCPS hadn't announced a commitment to maintain the "rights" for all students currently enrolled. Without grandfathering, boundary changes could solve the immediate problem. As it is, with grandfathering the immediate problem will remain.

Personally, I don't think DCPS should corner itself into maintaining grandfathering.

But, to all those who oppose this addition and say boundary changes should solve the problem, know that boundary changes ONLY solve the problem if DCPS abandons grandfathering. Are you prepared to abandon grandfathering? That means your OOB kid at Hearst may not be able to maintain his slot and his feeder "rights." You may not want to cut your nose to spite your face.

Not sure why you used Hearst in your example, but it was either a "throw out," or you are simply unaware of the school's current status.

At this point, nobody at Hearst (which had it's main building renovated this summer and is days away from breaking ground on a great expansion) is concerned about what's going on at Janney. Hearst families-- who quietly flew under the Ward 3 radar for years in a building that had not been touched in 8 decades-- are over the moon about our own renovation, which when completed will be a beautiful campus located on some of the best green space in the city. Since we do have a large and highly active OOBs population (overwhelmingly from Wards 4 & 1), the boundary changes and issue of grandfathering are of concern to our community, but not as it relates to Janney or any other Ward 3 school. Hearst has always been an open and welcoming community, but the reality is that most JKLMM families have never had an interest in our little school...and that's okay. Their misperceptions and the fact that Hearst's boundaries are ridiculously small are the reason why we are not overcrowded and consider ourselves the best kept secret.

You can question how Janney was able to get additional funding after their renovations were completed and as other schools were still waiting, but you can't hate them for pushing for more space. They are overcrowded and they did what any active community would do...fight for their kids. Janney families worked hard to get the best facility for their children in the same way we at Hearst worked for ours. Hearst families IBs and OOBs fought for our renovations, even as some on this board discounted us. (Yes it is possible to have a racially diverse student population from every ward in the city and still have an incredibly committed, caring and active community).

If your school is in line for a renovation, know that it's a very frustrating process, but that if you have an active and vocal community, you can get it done. We need to support each other and learn from each others experiences. Not begrudge one another. That's counter productive.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:By the way, looking at the projections in the Master Facilities Plan (page 55ish of http://dc.gov/DC/DME/Media%20Releases/newsroom_archive/Press%20Releases/Final%202013%20DC%20Public%20Education%20Plan.pdf)

Holy shiite Spring Valley, Wesley Heights and Palisades are predicted to explode with small children (clusters 14 and 15). They're predicted to go from 1592 small children today to 4122 in 2022. My god that's crazy. Almost a 3-fold increase within a decade. Umm, paging the Old Hardy school. Old Hardy School, you're needed at the delivery room.

Private schools duh

Well, not necessarily. And if that doesn't turn out to be the case, you can see an absolute time bomb ticking just over the horizon. Those numbers dwarf anything going on in Janney and other areas.

Suppose even a small fraction of those kids decide to stay on at Key, Mann or Hardy. Goodbye OOB and Hello "Just like Deal, those rich people want to keep our kids out cries."

I would love to see DC's projections in the past, but I'm guessing they severely underforecasted recent upticks in Janney and Key usage. They probably will with Mann too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I know everybody here thinks you can slap a few trailers on the playground in a matter of weeks and for little expense but that is not actually true. Current building codes require things like bathrooms where there is no connection to the main building. These requirements may or may not have been there when other schools got their trailers. The fact is the trailers would have been very expensive and the infrastructure currently exists that allows building up. Money was going to be spent to add space. What is the rationale for putting up trailers when this is an available permanent solution? Is this solution actually holding up any other school construction project when considered in terms of the money that would have to be spent to add space regardless of how the space is added?

Actually, other schools had trailers slapped on the playgrounds this summer -- no bathrooms, no connection to main building. I would think that those schools have an available permanent solution which they have been waiting in line for most likely for years as they continue to get pushed back. Now for some reason a school which just received $30 million is going to get an additional $5 million? Our overcrowded school would gladly take $1 million simply to replace leaking windows and do a bit of rodent removal. Think Janney would like to spread the wealth?

[Anonymous]

Hold the Janney jealousy. After the immediate Janney baby boom subsides, the new renovation will effectively open up a lot of out of bounds spots in Janney. Within 5-6 years, the OOB population in Janney will climb. Thus families from wards outside Ward 3 will also benefit by gaining more access to this desirable school!

[Anonymous]

Hearst families IBs and OOBs fought for our renovations, even as some on this board discounted us. (Yes it is possible to have a racially diverse student population from every ward in the city [b]and still have an incredibly committed, caring and active community

And don't forget the Hearst students from PG County, too!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hold the Janney jealousy. After the immediate Janney baby boom subsides, the new renovation will effectively open up a lot of out of bounds spots in Janney. Within 5-6 years, the OOB population in Janney will climb. Thus families from wards outside Ward 3 will also benefit by gaining more access to this desirable school!

Show us the demographic data supporting your blah blah blah.