Last week, I attended a packed meeting at Stevens Elementary School in Foggy Bottom where about 80 parents, teachers, and staff were joined by Chancellor Michelle Rhee as they sought answers to what would happen to their kids, their teachers, and their programming with the school year ending days away.
First, a little background on Stevens. It’s not your average school. Located a 21st and K Streets, it has operated as a school continuously since 1868, when it served freed slaves. It’s the oldest school in operation in DC. Stevens current students are primarily “out-of-boundary,” meaning they are not zoned for the school but have chosen to come to Stevens either for convenience (close to parents’ work) or because it is known for its small class sizes and cohesiveness as a family.
As I’ve said before, I believe that the city needs to take drastic action to address low performance and the crisis of confidence in our ailing school system. School closings are inevitably a painful process, imposing hardship on children, parents, teachers, and school staff who are forced to adapt. That said, it is particularly important to make decisions in a deliberative manner, involving the community, and always putting the children and their education first.
Yet, I’ve been shocked when watching firsthand the disorganization of the school-closing process. I saw it at the “hearing” on whether to close Shaw Middle School at which a few community leaders but nearly zero parents or teachers testified, where the mic barely worked, and where a participant literally fell out of his seat in the hot auditorium as it broke from under him. In that instance, the result was an 11th hour politically-motivated decision to rhetorically close Garnet Patterson instead of Shaw. I say “rhetorically” because Shaw will in fact close this year and there are no plans in place for whether the school building will be renovated or rebuilt, where the money will come from, or a time frame for completion. It’s had no community forum to discuss it’s closure as schools have had in other Wards and now it will likely sit vacant for a long time. Well, this week, I saw the disorganization unfold again at Stevens. So on to the topic at hand.
Stevens parents have received nothing but confusion over the past months since they learned their kids would have to go somewhere else to school next year, and, as the school year comes to a close, teachers and staff have no idea where they will work in the fall. Parents were particularly incensed that this meeting was the first time Chancellor Rhee had visited their school. That’s right — she never saw the inside of the school before making the decision to close it.
Chancellor Rhee was able to provide some answers:
Francis Junior High School at 2425 N Street NW will become your school of right. So if you received a letter from Francis stating that your child was not accepted, wait listed, or tentative accepted, it was a mistake. You should not need to apply as an out-of-boundary school. If you received such a letter, contact Chancellor Rhee at 202-442-5004.
Francis should be on target to have an appropriate facility to serve young children by August. The city has received bids for a contractor, who will work feverishly over the summer.
Stevens’ parents, teachers, and staff will, at some point, have an opportunity to communicate with the city and contractor re: the Francis renovation plans so that it best serves their teaching and programming needs. For more information, contact Anthony DeGuzman at 202-684-5051.
Ms. Wilkinson’s before and aftercare program will continue at the current rate and with the same service.
Some questions Chancellor Rhee was not able to answer:
Which Stevens’ teachers will move to Francis? Teachers will apparently need to reapply for vacancies at Francis. They can also accept a buy out or apply for new positions, such as literacy counselors. Chancellor Rhee stated that DCPS and the teacher’s union needs to worked out transfers to Francis and she committed to work with the union to move all Stevens teachers who would like to continue there. Odd, however, that Chancellor Rhee and the vice president of the union had apparently not communicated and addressed this key issue before and were literally debating the provisions of the teachers’ contract in the public meeting.
Which administrators and support staff will move?
How many Stevens students will actually move to Francis? Since parents do not know whether their students’ teachers, administrators, and programs will continue at Francis, some have already made alternative arrangements.
What will happen to the school building? Chancellor Rhee repeatedly avoided the issue and then referred such questions to Neil Albert, the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development. Parents, teachers, and residents expressed dismay that the historic school is being treated differently from other schools because it is prime downtown real estate. Some feared it would be sold off for condos. There are also rumors of a lease to the Corcoran. ANC Commissioner Florence Harmon, who has worked hard to fight for Stevens, has announced that there is a DC Preservation Board meeting at Stevens on May 13 at 12:30pm to discuss this issue. The Advisory Neighborhood Commission will also discuss the future of the school building on May 21 at 6:30pm.
What uniforms will the students wear? This is an issue to be addressed by a transition team over the summer. Chancellor Rhee did commit to there being some fund in place to assist parents in purchasing new uniforms.
Will safety measures be in place for students walking from the Foggy Bottom and Farragut West metro stations through busy downtown intersections? Many students at Stevens are “out-of-boundary,” making this a particular concern.
How will moving Stevens students into Francis, which is mandated to restructure due to low test scores, work? Is this fair to Stevens’ students?
Parents and teachers spoke passionately about the school as a family, about the personal attention provided to their children, and about how the closure will disrupt their childrens’ lives. They also expressed extreme skepticism about the motivation for the closure — suggesting that that school’s prime location and potential for profit explained why it is being treated differently than other schools. They pleaded for a one-year extension on the closure, both to have a more orderly transition as well as to make their case that the school should remain open.
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Posted in
Government Responsiveness,
Foggy Bottom-West End,
Downtown
