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[quote=Anonymous]http://mariereedes.org/apps/news/show_news.jsp?REC_ID=390975&id=0

Modernization Memo: A letter went home yesterday announcing the decision for our school to be relocated to the MacFarland School building (4400 Iowa Ave NW) during the 2016-2017 school year for the modernization of Marie Reed.  We need parents to sign up for the focus group to discuss issues of transportation, playground, and more.  Sign up at sit.info@dc.gov.

Memo to the parents send Feb 5:

Marie Reed Community,

After careful consideration of the options and the feedback received from the school community, we have decided to use the MacFarland Middle School building as the swing space for Marie Reed Elementary School for the 2016-17 school year. As with all modernization projects, our major priorities are to ensure student safety and to limit disruption of the learning environment during construction. In addition, we considered the space demands of Marie Reed’s school program; access to play space; ease of staff parking and access to the facility; pick-up and drop-off logistics and safety; and providing sufficient laydown space for the construction contractors. Based on these criteria, the MacFarland building and site represent an excellent option for a temporary location for Marie Reed.

Keeping the school community on-site during construction was the other option considered by our team. Two on-site options were explored.  The first option would have put trailers on the basketball courts and split the student population between the building and the trailers. The second option would have put the entire school population in trailers on the turf soccer field.

Moving the school community temporarily to MacFarland will provide the students with a quiet learning environment and adequate play space. That being said, relocating a school community is a difficult decision and comes along with logistical challenges. We are committed to working with the school leadership and wider community to make MacFarland a great space to learn. To do that, we will engage the School Improvement Team (SIT) and parent groups to help us think through the topics below as part of the transition to MacFarland.

Transportation: Providing safe and convenient transportation options for families as they travel from their neighborhood to school is important. We will work with the Marie Reed Leadership and a group of parents to help us better understand the transportation needs of the families. We will work with that group to develop a survey to better understand the needs of the school community. Once we have received the results of that survey, we will work with transportation plan that will be presented to the SIT and wider community.  If you would like to participate in this group, please email  sit.info@dc.gov.

Building Layout and Pre-Occupancy Improvements: Our first step will be to work with the Department of General Services (DGS) and Marie Reed’s school leadership to ensure that the programmatic needs are met at MacFarland with how the layout is designed. In addition, we will continue to work with the SIT to review the layout and help determine the pre-occupancy improvement work (lighting improvements, painting, etc.) is necessary to ensure that the learning environment is inviting for students and teachers.

Play space: There will be a dedicated playground on the MacFarland campus that will be available for Marie Reed students.   We will work through the site design with the SIT.

DCPS will also be adding a new 6th grade class in the building to build the new MacFarland Middle School, a dual language program.  We can meet the needs of both schools in the building and will be working with the school leadership teams on any logistical needs. For example, each school will have their own building entrance and dedicated classrooms.

English and Spanish language letters will be going home with students on Monday.

We sincerely appreciate the feedback you have provided throughout this process and welcome any further questions or comments. We are committed to creating the best possible environment for the Marie Reed school community. Please contact us at sit.info@dc.gov with any further questions.

Thanks,
Patrick

Patrick Davis
Director, Facility Planning and Design
Office of the Chief Operating Officer
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