Shawington

Photo: DC Public Libraries. Latest rendition of the design for the new Watha T. Daniels library in Shaw. Where did all the windows go? Click for additional images.
I’ve pushed for the need for the city to build and renovate libraries for the 21st Century. But I was shocked this week by news that you might have missed.

Despite the fact that libraries are seeing increased demand, The Examiner reports that DC public libraries are planning to reduce their hours due to budget cuts, possibly shutting down on Fridays altogether. So let me get this straight. The District’s recreation centers are open only a few hours on Saturdays, closed Sundays, and not open late at night, and now the libraries are starting to close as well. And we wonder why kids have few alternatives to trouble on the streets.

Speaking of scaling back, have you seen the latest version of the design plans for replacement of the Watha T. Daniels Library in Shaw? As I reported, at the last public comment meeting, library officials noted that they would have to cut costs, due to the rising price of materials, unanticipated underground water, and the proximity to the metro line. But the new design looks similar to the old library — except made out of metal rather than concrete. So now not only is there nothing new about the services it provides on the inside, but the outside isn’t a significant improvement either. We’ve got to create inviting libraries that serve the needs of the community!

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Today, I joined DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee and students at Scott Montgomery Elementary School in Shaw. Third and fourth grade students were treated to a story from the Chancellor herself, Miss Nelson is Missing by Harry Allard.

Students then had a chance to ask Chancellor Rhee about her boss, Mayor Adrian Fenty, and how hard she works. In response to a student’s question as to whether she has a hard job, Chancellor Rhee noted that she regularly works from 6am until 2 in the morning, but she has the best job in the city. “Doesn’t the president have the best job in the city?,” one inquisitive student responded.

More details and photos on the ANC2C02 Forum.

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Last week, I received a notice that the Deputy Mayor for Education had planned a series of “school reuse meetings” for the 23 schools set to shut down at the end of the academic year. The purpose is to gather public input to develop a strategy for the future use of the public buildings and property. The meetings, one for each Ward, began on Friday, March 20 (Wards 4, 5, 8), and continue this evening, on Monday, March 24 (Wards 1 and 7).

Notably absent is any public meeting for the school closures in Ward 2. Two schools are set to close in Ward 2: Stevens Elementary School, on 21st Street NW in West End/Foggy Bottom, will merge with Francis Middle School, which will expand into a pre-kindergarten-through-8th grade school. Shaw Middle School on Rhode Island Avenue, originally on the closure list, will have its students moved to Garnet-Patterson, with the goal of eventually building a new facility in Shaw, according to officials. That still sounds like Shaw is closing to me, indefinitely, unless someone can point us to plans and funds allocated for designing and building a new school in the very near future. Remember the Watha T. Daniels Library, located just down the block from Shaw Middle School — it sat isolated by a 6-foot chain link fence for about three years before demolition even began on the old structure. The design is still in progress.

So why isn’t there a public meeting for residents of Ward 2, particularly those in Foggy Bottom and Shaw, to discuss the future of these public properties? I asked District officials that very question. According to the Deputy Mayor’s office:

“Stevens, the only Ward 2 school slated for permanent closure next year, is not included in these discussions because through the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development we have identified other potential city uses for this site. Plans will be shared by DMPED as they develop.”

As for Shaw Middle School, they don’t consider it closing (tell that to the students who will be moving to Garnet in the fall or the surrounding residents who will likely walk by a shuttered building for the next few years). Foggy Bottom residents who remember the West End Library debacle, may soon have another surprise, and Shaw may have yet another building to add to its long list of vacant property.

I believe that DC needs to close and consolidate some of its failing and half-empty schools, and build modern, state-of-the-art schools for the District’s future. Yet, I was struck by what was a haphazard process of deciding which schools were to remain open and which schools were to close, and now in determining what to do with these properties in the future. Decisions regarding each school should be made after public input and closely examining all of options, and through an open and transparent process.

3/27 UPDATE: The Deputy Mayor for Education just announced a second round of community meetings to discuss future uses of the closing schools. Still not included - Ward 2 - even after the ANC Commissioner representing the area including Stevens Elementary raised the issue.

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After years of inaction, the process of reconstructing the D.C. Public Library’s Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Branch seems on-track. A new temporary library hums with activity, demolition of the old building is well underway, and a meeting is scheduled later this month to reveal a preliminary design for the new building.

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UPDATE: This meeting has been canceled. If, like me, you received a post card about it in the mail please disregard it.
Next week the D.C. Public Library will start the first round of public meetings connected to the redesign of three neighborhood libraries: the Benning Neighborhood Library, Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library, and Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood […]

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