I agree

Anonymous wrote:I'm definitely thinking of Murch. Admittedly, I didn't visit the classrooms to check on how many outlets are in there I guess I did notice the lunch equipment in the hallway, but it didn't stand out to me as unacceptable. I didn't see the temporary classroom space, so I have no idea what the conditions are in that space.

My impression overall was that Murch is a bright, well-maintained school. And all the bathroom doors even seemed to be there!

Compared to Marie Reed or Garrison or Bancroft... Murch looks amazing. In any case, I hope that the mayor would find money to renovate ALL the schools as promised. But if I had to choose, Murch would be lower on my list.

I have two kids at Murch. How did you miss the temporary classrooms that at this point hold almost a third of the students? my pre-k child is in that temporary place (being there for couple of decades now, while the school has been waiting for the renovation), with the other two pre-k classes and one kindergarten class. it's a low structure on the side of the Murch building. right across from the main entrance you can see more trailers that now host, I think music and art (no bathroom and no running water there - this is the reason why the previous art teacher resigned, she felt she could not teach an art class in a trailer without running water - the principal had to chose between putting there a special class like art, or a classroom, forcing kids to go outside in the rain and cold to go to the bathroom in the main building since trailers do not have bathrooms - and you talk about bathroom doors being there?). in the back of the building there are more trailers that host classrooms. really hard to miss all these trailers. go there in the morning before 8.30 and you will have to walk close to the wall in the hallway because of the folding tables in the hallway where kids are having breakfast. tables and chairs must be folded and put away by 8.35 so can kids can walk into the school and go to their classes. also, if you go to school during the day, you may see kids in corners in hallways receiving one on one instruction, simply there is no other space. in my kid's 3rd grade class, in addition to the teacher and the kids, a special ed teacher has her desk. she has no other place in the school for her desk. bathrooms and closets have already been turned into offices and classrooms, there was no space for her so she had to get a corner in a regular class. there are over 620 students at Murch this year, I think the increase from last year was about 8%-10%, and tens of additional students are projected for next year. the reason you saw a good school is because teachers, staff and volunteers at Murch are doing a fantastic job at in the face of a difficult situation. schools have been renovated all over the city for over ten years, and Murch has patiently waited for its turn. now we can't really wait any longer, especially in view of the constant increase of the number of students. if the renovation is funded now, we will still need to wait a year or two before the school is actually finished. delaying again is really unacceptable and frankly unfair.

Here is some further information:


• With 18 percent growth over the past three years, Murch is overcrowded and has only half the space that DCPS says we should have per student.
• Murch has not been renovated since it opened in 1929.
• One third of Murch’s learning space is already in temporary structures, most of which do not have bathrooms or running water.
• The vast majority of the school is not ADA compliant.
• Murch has no cafeteria or real kitchen. Breakfast and lunch are served in the hallway and eaten in the hallway or classrooms.
• Bathrooms and closets have been turned into staff offices over the years because of lack of space.
• Small group work and individual testing take place in hallways and stairwells due to lack of space.
• The city’s own Master Facilities Plan identified Murch as one of the five schools with the highest need for modernization based on facility quality. Yet the city budget funded modernizations at more than two dozen other schools this year, while delaying construction at Murch.

Please support Murch's moderninzation!

1) Please go to http://murchlookingforward.org/
a. Sign the on-line petition
b. Email the Mayor and Deputy Mayor (a draft letter is on the website)
2) Reach out to five friends and urge them to sign the petition.
3) Post a request on your neighborhood listserv.

DCPS has the option of taking back the old Hardy School from the Lab School, and so far has declined to do so. In fact, until December the city was in discussions to extend the lease for another 50 years. It would seem illogical for the city to be buying property when it already owns a nearby property that it isn't interested in using.

Not saying that DCPS doesn't do illogical. In fact, it may be what DCPS does best.

22:00 has no perspective if they think 6 CLASSROOMS is no biggie.

Agree completely, Janney has cut ahead of other schools and it is obvious.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seems like eotp schools are due for some renovations, no? Agree with pp maybe Janney shouldn't get the third planned renovation.

What third planned renovation? An addition to the recent renovation is under construction now, 6 needed classrooms will be added. That is it.

Well that's 6 more classrooms than schools that have been waiting years (decades?) for new classrooms have. Kids have been in trailers at many other schools for years. I really don't understand why Janney's additional classrooms have taken precedence over the long-planned renovations that were already on the schedule.

Anonymous wrote:Seems like eotp schools are due for some renovations, no? Agree with pp maybe Janney shouldn't get the third planned renovation.

What third planned renovation? An addition to the recent renovation is under construction now, 6 needed classrooms will be added. That is it.

Anonymous wrote:DC's own evaluation listed Murch as the third worst learning facility of all schools in the city, and of the two others, one has closed and the other is already funded for renovation. More than 20 schools that DC found to be in better shape are slated for renovation before Murch.

What are the other two?

Anonymous wrote:Seems like eotp schools are due for some renovations, no? Agree with pp maybe Janney shouldn't get the third planned renovation.

A lot of eotp have been fully renovated too.

Seems like eotp schools are due for some renovations, no? Agree with pp maybe Janney shouldn't get the third planned renovation.

Anonymous wrote:Will they change the boundaries for the upper northwest elementaries?

That won't fix the building. It won't fix the space issue either. None of the bordering schools can absorb enough students to alleviate the crowding. And even if they could take some, that doesn't fix the building for the students who remain.

Anonymous wrote:I'm definitely thinking of Murch. Admittedly, I didn't visit the classrooms to check on how many outlets are in there I guess I did notice the lunch equipment in the hallway, but it didn't stand out to me as unacceptable. I didn't see the temporary classroom space, so I have no idea what the conditions are in that space.

My impression overall was that Murch is a bright, well-maintained school. And all the bathroom doors even seemed to be there!

Compared to Marie Reed or Garrison or Bancroft... Murch looks amazing. In any case, I hope that the mayor would find money to renovate ALL the schools as promised. But if I had to choose, Murch would be lower on my list.

You missed them completely in your sightline or you didn't go in and see them? I think you probably just didn't look in them which is pretty amazing since entire grades are in trailers (without bathroom doors because there are no bathrooms in them). Frankly all the schools you mentioned need to be modernized. Murch isn't trying to jump ahead of the line. The timetable has already been pushed back a year and now DC is trying to push them back again. Clearly DCPS can work on more than one project at a time. Why not sign this petition and any others for Garrison, Marie Reed or Bancroft?

Will they change the boundaries for the upper northwest elementaries?

Anonymous wrote:How did Janney jump the line on Murch?

I've been wondering this as well.