I too was at Lincoln's Cottage for the open house, and was chased off the playground by volunteers who seemed to be with the Cottage. They vaguely alleged that the school was responsible for that decision, fwiw.

I agree that it is very difficult to understand why the playground cannot be accessed on the very few days the AFRH grounds are open to the public.

CMI parent here. It is definitely not the school, but it's also not just AFRH. The Lincoln's Cottage folks (who are also on the campus and next door to the school) become enraged when they see folks trying to sneak onto the playground on the weekends. They are not a fan of the playground in general - one of their employees recently vented to me about it. The school is getting hit from all sides on this one.

IF you saw CMI parent volunteers shooing people away, and you're sure they are not Linvoln Cottage people,, I can guarantee the school told the CFA (our PTA) they had to do so in order to placate our cranky neighbors.

Can't make it anymore clear. But AFRH neighbor, please - why don't you ask the home yourself? We CMI parents would LOVE the playground to be open.

Ask them. Please.

Again, if you havent be able to tell from the THREE pages telling you IT IS NOT THE SCHOOL.

Anonymous wrote:
The CMI playground is NEVER open. When the Lincoln's Cottage had their fall festival a few weeks back, they stationed three volunteers on the playground to literally shoo kids away. What gives, CMI parents? Why so f'ing stingy? Even Beauvoir opens its gorgeous playground on the weekends.

It's not CMI, it's the Old Soldiers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a CMI parent and I also find it really distressing that the AFRH in general is not open to the public except a couple of weekends a year. If it were open, then I assume CMI would be able to decide whether to open the playground as well, and I hope that it would.

But unfortunately AFRH has been closed off in this way for decades, and I dont know what it would take to get it to change its policy.

For those who are interested, this article discusses some of the history of the AFRH, including how it used to be "Washington's Central Park," and how Park View and Petworth were built without their own green spaces because the AFRH was so close. But it was closed and surrounded by razor wire after the riots in the 60s, and has been closed ever since:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/liveblog/wp/2013/03/01/post-magazine-can-soldiers-home-residents-and-urban-gentrifiers-overcome-barbed-wire/

Oh, I'm addressing my upset at closing off the playground on the few occasions a year that the AFRH grounds *are* open to the public. And I object to the statement by the PP who hints that when the AFRH grounds are open to the public, it is the AFRH that is opposed to children using the playground - on the occasions that the grounds are open. I think it is the school and the parents.

Wow. You really have it out for CM don't you?

I was one of the parents that volunteered that day. So I'm here to answer any of your questions.

1. No parents were told to keep families off the playground. If that happened, it was not a CMI parent.
2. I also go to many of the open days on the campus and my child will run to the playground (because, it's her school and she assumes she can). We are immediately told to leave.
3. This is, has been, and always will be the policy of the AFRH.
4. The school has asked for this policy to change as we (and many that live around there) would like to use the playground.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a CMI parent and I also find it really distressing that the AFRH in general is not open to the public except a couple of weekends a year. If it were open, then I assume CMI would be able to decide whether to open the playground as well, and I hope that it would.

But unfortunately AFRH has been closed off in this way for decades, and I dont know what it would take to get it to change its policy.

For those who are interested, this article discusses some of the history of the AFRH, including how it used to be "Washington's Central Park," and how Park View and Petworth were built without their own green spaces because the AFRH was so close. But it was closed and surrounded by razor wire after the riots in the 60s, and has been closed ever since:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/liveblog/wp/2013/03/01/post-magazine-can-soldiers-home-residents-and-urban-gentrifiers-overcome-barbed-wire/

Oh, I'm addressing my upset at closing off the playground on the few occasions a year that the AFRH grounds *are* open to the public. And I object to the statement by the PP who hints that when the AFRH grounds are open to the public, it is the AFRH that is opposed to children using the playground - on the occasions that the grounds are open. I think it is the school and the parents.

That's your speculation, not any fact.

I live not far away (Bloomingdale) and have been to a few of the community events (such as 4th of July fireworks viewing) at the AFRH. Frankly, we're far less interested in the playground than walking down to the fishpond. When events such as that do take place you've got a lot of volunteers and overlapping or poorly understood responsibilities. It may very well be community volunteers who are shooing people away from the playground - as they probably see it as beyond the scope of the event (and considering it's the 4th of July I seriously doubt anyone from the school is showing up to shoo people away from a playground instead of enjoying their own plans - that's just weird and strangely cynical ideation).

BTW, I'm not a CM parent and I don't have a dog in this fight. It just looks like some people are looking for reasons to be suspicious and miserable.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a CMI parent and I also find it really distressing that the AFRH in general is not open to the public except a couple of weekends a year. If it were open, then I assume CMI would be able to decide whether to open the playground as well, and I hope that it would.

But unfortunately AFRH has been closed off in this way for decades, and I dont know what it would take to get it to change its policy.

For those who are interested, this article discusses some of the history of the AFRH, including how it used to be "Washington's Central Park," and how Park View and Petworth were built without their own green spaces because the AFRH was so close. But it was closed and surrounded by razor wire after the riots in the 60s, and has been closed ever since:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/liveblog/wp/2013/03/01/post-magazine-can-soldiers-home-residents-and-urban-gentrifiers-overcome-barbed-wire/

Oh, I'm addressing my upset at closing off the playground on the few occasions a year that the AFRH grounds *are* open to the public. And I object to the statement by the PP who hints that when the AFRH grounds are open to the public, it is the AFRH that is opposed to children using the playground - on the occasions that the grounds are open. I think it is the school and the parents.

CMI parent here. I can attest that it's definitely not the parents.

If the OP is still here, a really good playground pretty close to CMI is Turkey Thicket at 1100 Michigan Ave NE.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a CMI parent and I also find it really distressing that the AFRH in general is not open to the public except a couple of weekends a year. If it were open, then I assume CMI would be able to decide whether to open the playground as well, and I hope that it would.

But unfortunately AFRH has been closed off in this way for decades, and I dont know what it would take to get it to change its policy.

For those who are interested, this article discusses some of the history of the AFRH, including how it used to be "Washington's Central Park," and how Park View and Petworth were built without their own green spaces because the AFRH was so close. But it was closed and surrounded by razor wire after the riots in the 60s, and has been closed ever since:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/liveblog/wp/2013/03/01/post-magazine-can-soldiers-home-residents-and-urban-gentrifiers-overcome-barbed-wire/

Oh, I'm addressing my upset at closing off the playground on the few occasions a year that the AFRH grounds *are* open to the public. And I object to the statement by the PP who hints that when the AFRH grounds are open to the public, it is the AFRH that is opposed to children using the playground - on the occasions that the grounds are open. I think it is the school and the parents.

I'm the CMI parent from 13:03 again. I just don't know the answer to this. I was there during the Fall Festival and saw some CMI kids and their families playing on the playground. If people were blocking other families' access to the playground I dont know who they were.

Anonymous wrote:I'm a CMI parent and I also find it really distressing that the AFRH in general is not open to the public except a couple of weekends a year. If it were open, then I assume CMI would be able to decide whether to open the playground as well, and I hope that it would.

But unfortunately AFRH has been closed off in this way for decades, and I dont know what it would take to get it to change its policy.

For those who are interested, this article discusses some of the history of the AFRH, including how it used to be "Washington's Central Park," and how Park View and Petworth were built without their own green spaces because the AFRH was so close. But it was closed and surrounded by razor wire after the riots in the 60s, and has been closed ever since:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/liveblog/wp/2013/03/01/post-magazine-can-soldiers-home-residents-and-urban-gentrifiers-overcome-barbed-wire/

Oh, I'm addressing my upset at closing off the playground on the few occasions a year that the AFRH grounds *are* open to the public. And I object to the statement by the PP who hints that when the AFRH grounds are open to the public, it is the AFRH that is opposed to children using the playground - on the occasions that the grounds are open. I think it is the school and the parents.

I'm a CMI parent and I also find it really distressing that the AFRH in general is not open to the public except a couple of weekends a year. If it were open, then I assume CMI would be able to decide whether to open the playground as well, and I hope that it would.

But unfortunately AFRH has been closed off in this way for decades, and I dont know what it would take to get it to change its policy.

For those who are interested, this article discusses some of the history of the AFRH, including how it used to be "Washington's Central Park," and how Park View and Petworth were built without their own green spaces because the AFRH was so close. But it was closed and surrounded by razor wire after the riots in the 60s, and has been closed ever since:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/liveblog/wp/2013/03/01/post-magazine-can-soldiers-home-residents-and-urban-gentrifiers-overcome-barbed-wire/

Anonymous wrote:NP...you really are obtuse. It's not the school shooing neighbors and CMI families away. It's the ARFH.

That's not what the volunteers told me.

Anonymous wrote:Something doesn't add up. CMI paid over $300,000 for that playground and they don't own it? What is the plan if they move -- the $300,000 just goes in the trash?

I get that it wouldn't be open on weekends (lots of schools aren't open on weekends) but I just don't get why it wouldn't be accessible when it is open (like events, after school, etc).

they lease like most charter schools. although I think CMI is in a better position than most because they have a long term lease, I think its at least 20 years.

NP...you really are obtuse. It's not the school shooing neighbors and CMI families away. It's the ARFH.