Community Rises Up Against Proposed School Closures

by John Perrino

The community has shown its support for Francis-Stevens Education Campus and Garrison Elementary School with signs like the one above.  

WASHINGTON  – A proposal by DC Public Schools to close 20 schools across the district is meeting the opposition of parents and community members from two of the schools set to close in Ward 2. 

Organizers are fighting the proposed closings of Francis-Stevens Education Campus and Garrison Elementary School with signs, petitions, letters, and meetings to advocate for the schools to remain open.

Parents cite a growing need for Francis-Stevens that houses grades kindergarten through eighth grade and was forced to turn away a classroom of about 40 students in the early childhood program last year after DCPS would not staff the room.

“There’s a baby boom in Ward 2,” said local Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner-elect Jackson Carnes. Children under the age of five account for 43 percent of all children who live in Ward 2, Carnes added. 

The school also houses a unique low vision special education program for over a dozen visually impaired students. This would be the third time in three years the children in the program have had to move schools said parent Vincent Kargatis, a parent of two children in the program.

“They're simply shuffled as a bureaucratic peg to a school performing, on average, a full 14 percentage points lower than Francis-Stevens in the DC-CAS - without any consultation of the expert educators involved in the program,” he said.

The proposal would consolidate Garrison Elementary into Seaton Elementary, also in Ward 2, according to DCPS.

Francis-Stevens would consolidate lower grades into Marie Reed Elementary School, in Ward 1, and higher grades into Hardy Middle School, in Ward 2, according to DCPS.

“It would be like breaking up a family,” said Francis-Stevens PTA treasurer Erin Michener.

Parents choose the downtown school in order to be close to their children, allowing them to be an “active participant in (their) child’s education,” said Michener.

The schools proposed for the consolidation of Francis-Stevens are not accessible by public transportation and are both over a mile away from Francis-Stevens.

DC State Board of Education President, Theodore Trabue, says the consolidation is, at its most basic level, a matter of economics. Closing under-enrolled schools will help reduce overhead helping to “put money back in the classroom,” he said.

The consolidation will open up more money to be spent per student and on teachers, staff, supplies, and modernized schools said Trabue.

Right now, both schools are only using about 60 percent of the building space and enroll about 225 students in each of the schools, according to DCPS.

“The Chancellor really is basing her decision solely… around enrollment and a modernized building,” said Michener. 

It is important to “understand the bigger picture,” she said, adding that modernization and enrollment should not be the only reason to close a school that is performing well.

Test scores at Francis-Stevens are in the top 30 percent of D.C. Public Schools, according to an ANC Resolution on the matter of the proposed closure.

Scores at Garrison Elementary are higher than those of Seaton Elementary in both reading and math, according to DCPS.

Making a Stand

Parents have come together in support of both schools along with community members and local representatives from Ward 2.

A petition on Change.org calling for D.C. officials to keep Francis-Stevens open has received the signatures of over 600 people as of December 12th. Another for Garrison Elementary has collected well over 500 signatures.

“The one good thing that has come out of this is that it has brought us even closer together through this process…there is a lot of parent involvement,” said Francis-Stevens parent Michener.

The Francis-Stevens PTA has held family dinners and school meetings to discuss the proposed closure of the school. Parents have also attended city council hearings and community dialogue sessions hosted by DCPS on the school closings.

About 150 people were in attendance for one PTA event at Francis-Stevens where elected officials, community members, parents, kids and vision-impaired activists gathered to speak out against the proposed closing of their school, according to those in attendance.

The Francis-Stevens PTA was set to meet with Kaya Henderson, Chancellor of DCPS, again last Wednesday after requesting a meeting to express their concerns to the Chancellor.

For Garrison Elementary, community involvement has been tremendous with signs reading “We Love Garrison” and “Save our School” popping up around the neighborhood.

Numerous community associations, neighborhood churches, and local businesses have come forward in opposition of the proposal to close Garrison Elementary School, according to a press release by the Garrison Elementary PTA.

"The bottom line is that we have to make the right decisions for our children," said Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans at a community meeting hosted by DCPS. “Both of these schools have waiting lists for their pre-school programs, and we need to listen to what that means."

GW School of Business Partners with DC Public Schools

The George Washington University's School of Business has partnered with local District public schools as part of a new mentor program between business students, local business professionals and students from Anacostia High School. 

Labeled the 2+2 Mentor Program, it will bring together high school students in the 10th through 12th grade and mentors to develop ideas and minds to help make an impact on their communities.

Liesl Riddle, the associate dean for MBA programs, said the plan was to focus on an area in the city challenged by unemployment.

"Dean Guthrie, Mayor Vincent Gray and the D.C. Economic Partnership have been working closely to identify ways to stimulate job growth in the District, with a particular emphasis on Ward 8," Riddle said.  "We are piloting our 2+2 mentor program concept with Anacostia this year. We are hoping to extend this model to other high schools in the District in the future."

The program will allow GW business students to apply their knowledge as co-mentors while also receiving guidance from a local business leader.

"Our innovative MBA students and alumni inspired us to initiate this program," Ridde said.  "Our MBA program focus on the positive ways business can impact society attracts a special kind of student, one who likes to give back to the community, utilizing business knowledge and skills to make a difference."

Riddle also mentioned that the business students benefit from the emotional and intellectual satisfaction of seeing how their business knowledge and skills translate into making a difference in a young person's life.

"All mentors who were selected are passionate people seeking to commit themselves to a valuable volunteer program," Riddle said.

Riddle also said that after the pilot, the business school hopes to extend the model to other District high schools in the future. The plan is to pilot the program for at least three years to give it a chance to grow.

Comcast Launches New Program to Extend Internet Access

DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson (left) talking with Comcast EVP
David L. Cohen (middle) and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski

The Comcast Corporation is launching a new initiative aimed at bringing inexpensive internet access to low-level income families.

The Internet Essentials program is simultaneously kicking off in 39 states and the District of Columbia. It's open to families who qualify for the National School Lunch Program, which provides free lunch to more than 29 million public and charter school students nationwide.

Speaking to WRGW over the phone, Executive Vice President David L. Cohen called the program a "continuation and refinement" of Comcast's existing goals.

"Working towards broadband adoption versus broadband deployment has always been a passion for Comcast," said Cohen, who was in town Tuesday for the DC-area launch of the program. "The Internet has the potential to narrow differences between people by providing access to education, news, entertainment, etc."

However, because of the so-called "digital divide" between the wealthy and the poor, Cohen said "the Internet exacerbates differences instead."

A recent report by Pew Research found that approximately one in four U.S. households are without a computer. In an attempt to change this, Internet Essentials will provide broadband access to qualified individuals for $9.95 a month, and Comcast is working with Dell and Acer to provide those households with computers for $150. The program will also work with local non-profit organizations to offer free computer and internet training for those who don't know how to use them.

Internet Essentials will affect more than 140,000 students in the DC-Metro area, in an attempt to aid the struggling DC Public School system. WRGW's own Michael Fische experienced DCPS firsthand.

"My school had a lot of kids that didn't have internet access," said Fische, a sophomore. "In middle school, I'd say 50% of the class didn't have it, and in high school maybe 60% were without internet access at home. I would be in classes with students who would have to stay after class or during lunch to get access to resources they couldn't get at home."

Comcast believes it can help by extending internet access to those who would otherwise never have it. "The Internet has shrunk the world, but only for the wealthy. For the poor, the world is just as big and intimidating as ever," said Cohen. "We are going to make a contribution to try and change that."

The program launched in DC on Tuesday.