Shaw

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ShawMS@Banneker community meeting – Sunday 11/24/18 at 2pm

Neighbors –
On behalf of the parent-led ShawMS@Banneker group, I am writing to invite you to our community meeting this coming Sunday, November 24th, at 2pm at the Thurgood Marshall Center (1816 12th St NW). Shaw@B is a group of parents formed to engage with DCPS and the community around the planning process for a Shaw Middle School at the Banneker site, with the goal of having students in 800 Euclid St NW as soon as possible, potentially as early as the fall of 2021 (when current 4th graders would be in 6th grade).
At this meeting:
  • we will present the background on Shaw@B,
  • host a presentation by Cardozo EC Principal Arthur Mola on the current middle school program at Cardozo, and discuss how the community can support his school,
  • dig into the result of our survey of parents on their aspirations regarding educational programming for middle schoolers, and
  • discuss next steps.
We hope you can join us!
Becky Reina
Cleveland ES parent
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Support The Master Facilities Plan – Modernize Banneker HS and Shaw MS Campuses on Separate Sites

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2019 
     Contact: Alexandra Simbana
   Save Shaw Middle School Coalition
   202-907-5518
Save Shaw MS Coalition Opposes Mayor Bowser’s Proposal
to Build Two Schools on Shaw Site
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a closed-door meeting yesterday with ANC 6E Commissioner Alex Padro, the Mayor proposed a plan to build both Shaw Middle School and Banneker High School on the Shaw JHS site.

The Save Shaw Middle School Coalition strongly opposes this plan. “This proposal is a profound disservice to both the Shaw Middle School and the Banneker High School communities”, declared Alex Padro, ANC 6E Commissioner.
The Council has consistently voted for the modernization of Banneker at Euclid Street and has supported the rebuilding of Shaw at Shaw.  These decisions are consistent with the educational facility master plans, the approved capital budgets, and the recommendations on feeder patterns and student assignment that then Mayor Gray accepted and the Council approved in 2014 and should not be delayed.

A high school with a middle school like the one designed and built in Ward 4 to include Roosevelt High School and MacFarland Middle School involves about 17.5 acres for a middle and high school with total capacity for 1800 students.
Source_ Google Earth_ both juxtaposed pictures taken at 965m
Another public school campus is the Columbia Heights Education Campus, built in 2006 with a 1400 student capacity for both an application high school and a neighborhood middle school sites on a tight 8 acres. The Columbia Heights Education building is 325,248 gross square feet, a building that is larger than is permitted to be built on the Shaw site. In addition, the Columbia Heights Education Campus schools were constructed and opened at the same time, which was the only way to fit on their small site.

Maggie Koziol, parent at Seaton Elementary DCPS said “Building two schools on this small site would deprive children and community critical access to outdoor and athletic facilities. I don’t understand why Banneker would want to make this move to the Shaw site.  We have no tennis courts, no track, no baseball or softball fields.  There are only 6.1 acres for the Shaw school and recreation areas, but there are 13.1 acres of school and athletic areas at the historic Banneker site.”

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About the Save Shaw Middle School Coalition:
The Save Shaw Middle School Coalition (https://twitter.com/saveshawms) was born in response to the Mayor’s decision in October 2018 to build Banneker High School on the site of the Shaw Junior High which had been promised to the community since the school was closed in 2008. We believe all children – at Banneker and in the schools that feed into Shaw Middle School – were promised modernized schools and deserve a thoughtful long-term solution that meets their needs.
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CHPSPO Meeting Notes – November 19, 2018

Payne Elementary School, 1445 C Street, SE
November 19, 2018, 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

1. DDOT’s Safe Routes to School Program (https://ddot.dc.gov/saferoutes), Amber Gove.

Steps to getting DDoT support for traffic issues

1)    Traffic safety investigation via 311 ticketà https://311.dc.gov/

2)    Traffic calming petition – 75% of houses on block(s) need to sign à https://ddot.dc.gov/page/traffic-calming-and-traffic-safety-101 (scroll to bottom)

3)    ANC submits petition. (Reach out to traffic committee at ANC)

4)    DDoT to collect data – need to follow up to learn when the data will be collected – is it representative? (See process, per DDOT here). 

  • DDoT will give average – ask for microdata
    • Data will enable conversation, should DDoT agree action is required
    • Lamont Hinton is contact from MPD (if camera speed/tickets are warranted); only tickets at 11 miles over speed limit

Lessons:

  • Constitute a committee at PTA/SIT
    • Try to include community members outside of the school
    • Leverage ANC
    • School leadership participation is critical
    • School culture needs to be addressed, as much as infrastructure changes
  • Schools can take on own measures while safe routes plans are implemented. For example, Tyler ES uses cones to create curb extensions to calm traffic

Contacts:

Other: Daytime School Parking Zone Act may need additional advocacy

 

2. OSSE School Report Cards, Chloe Woodward-Magrane

New OSSE School Report Cards, featuring STAT rating will be released in December 2018

  • All data/metrics used to generate the STAR rating are listed and defined.
  • Majority of data will be coming from previous year.  Contact data, etc will come from current year

Discussion:

Q: Will data be disaggregated by program (schools like Tyler ES have 3 programs). A: No, but schools can share this data.

Q: There will likely to be 1 or 2 STAR schools in Ward 6. We’re concerned about this creating a cycle of parents not wanting to send students to schools with 1 or 2 STARS, affecting enrollment. What is message schools should give to families? A: OSSE is working w/ school leaders to know and understand own data; schools should ID bright spots when they are talking about their schools;

Q: What is OSSE doing to support schools that are rated 1 or 2? (STAR is a 1-5 point rating). What is OSSE prepared to do; how is it thinking about school improvement? Where is support for schools outside of the bottom 5% (no clear answer given by OSSE on this Q)? A: OSSE is identifying and putting forward 11M over 3 years grant available to schools in need of comprehensive support – $1M/school; schools must apply, but the amount is reserved only for the bottom 5% of schools. OSSE is working closely with LEAs to ensure grants are in alignment with school-level interventions.

Tenets of OSSE grants:

1- People: how are we supporting people/educators; leadership; training

2- Instruction; instructional practices in school, plan

3- Structures: ex: way you are organizing building (ex: academies; grade bands; supports/autonomies)-

Q: How can we move towards metrics that gauge school quality. A:  disagree that measures do not gauge quality. Examples- median growth percentile; growth proficiency; subgroups compare to subgroups (ex: students w/ disability), not to the whole population;

Next Steps: OSSE come back early next year.

 

3. Open Discussion with Paul Kihn, Acting Deputy Mayor of Education

DME Thematic priorities

  1. Reducing achievement gap
    • Influencing factors: 2 systems and Critical importance of by right neighborhood systems
    • Within DME office: direct influence over LEAs & Indirect influence over libraries, UDC, etc
  2. Building public confidence in public school system

Brief Presentations about current initiatives within CHPSPO community:

  1. Denise Forte: Chancellor Search – working towards a citywide meeting re: vision across all wards on what we want from school system based on equity; by right
  2. Betsy Wolf: Equitable Spending (see data analysis here and embedded below)
    • Equitable spending; ex: at-risk funding spent on special education
    • Charters: data is not available – DCPS serves more at-risk/special ed students than charters
    • Recs: California does a good job w/ funding formula; gives great bump for concentration of poverty
      •  Separate special ed from at risk/funding
      • Need policy folks to connect more closely w/ schools to see how policy plays out on the ground
  3. Suki Lucier: Advocacy for Shaw Middle School
    • Families need clear pathways for neighborhood schools and DCPS/DME need to fulfill commitments to Shaw community
  4. Grace Hu: Technology in DCPS
    • DCPS making good faith effort to inventory state of tech in schools; schools need to train staff on inventory system (by Nov 30) and inventory needs to be done by January. Push is based on need for technology for PARCC testing
    • DCPS considering a proposal to get schools to 1 to 1 ration in 4 years; year 1 for grads 3, 6, 9, year 2 for 3 6 9, year 3, 3 6 9, etc

Discussion:

Q: Chancellor; timing. A: Steering Committee delivered report to mayor and when ready, will pull together stakeholders to continue with process

Q: STAR rating; can we revisit data included in rating? A: Need to share timetable and process for revisions (ex: this rating for 3 years and work on new version over that period, etc?)

Q: Principal contracts (1 year); is DME looking into that? Need stability to ensure strong, quality leadership. A: thinking about as a matter of urgency, that we are attractive as a city

Issue: Improving environmental standards in schools; including improvements of trust and transparency in testing process: requesting parents to be allowed to observe testing.

Issue: Level playing field; moving all schools to start middle school at 6th grade, as charters which start at 5th grade is disruptive.

Q: How will DME work to build trust across ed/school related issues? A: Listening to community. (Transparency was also suggested by group)

4. Next CHPSPO Meeting:

  • December 18, 2018
  • Agenda items proposed: Safe Passages/Routes,

Upcoming Events

  • November 27 (NEW), Committee of the Whole, regular meeting to consider Bill 22-776, “District of Columbia Education Research Advisory Board and Collaborative Establishment Amendment Act of 2018”
  • November 28, DCPS Book Club, 6 pm, Dorothy Height/Benning Neighborhood Library
  • December 8, EdFEST, 11 am – 3 pm, DC Armory
  • December 12, DCPS FY20 Budget Community Forums – RSVP
    • Morning Community Forum: Wednesday, December 12 at 8:45 am at Moten Elementary School – 1565 Morris Road, SE
      Evening Community Forum: Wednesday, December 12 at 6 pm at Janney Elementary School – 4130 Albermarle Street, NW

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Status

CHPSPO Meeting Notes – October 16, 2018

Seaton Elementary School; 1503 10th Street, NW
October 16, 2018; 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

1. Technology Update, Grace Hu (ghgracehu (at) gmail (dot) com)

Objective is for DCPS to develop a comprehensive technology plan

  • First: need basic access to technology(impacts digital literacy, testing
  • Second: Have DCPS look at how they will fund technology in a way that is sustainable
  • DCPS Technology Challenges and Opportunities (Excerpt from)
    • DCPS has a tech plan but it’s not funded; working on inventory so they know what is at each school; exploring leasing
  • Students testified at Education Committee’s Public Oversight Hearing on Issues Facing District of Columbia Youth on October 15, 2018
  • Next Steps: Without advocacy, not likely to move forward
    • Talk to Councilmembers, email campaign
    • Contact Grace Hu (ghgracehu (at) gmail (dot) com) to share your school’s data and needs re: technology, and to support ongoing advocacy towards comprehensive technology infrastructure across all of DCPS

2. Research Collaborative, Danica Petroshius

Bill pending in council for research collaborative; way for research institute to partner w/ city to support research capacity the city alone cannot support: http://lims.dccouncil.us/Legislation/B22-0776?FromSearchResults=true

Background:

  • City administration does not want it, but community wants it
  • City wants pursue this on their own, w/out engagement;
  • Bill moved forward unanimously and expected to pass by Committee of the Whole
  • The collaborative is to be led by a steering committee made up of community members to make decisions around research to be conducted
  • To ensure effectiveness of collaborative, need to focus on:
    • Ensuring steering committee is representative of school community; not just agency members
    • Incubate somewhere in government so it has a real chance to take off; proposed in auditor’s office
    • Create and develop a data warehousing system; to make data transparent and useful while ensuring student/family privacy is protected

3. Shaw Middle School Discussion

Background:

  • Shaw Middle School in 2008 closed and consolidated w/ Garnet-Patterson.
  • Although 54M was put into DC capital budget to renovate the Shaw Middle School, it was not prioritized; instead, funding for Shaw moved to Ward 4 for MacFarland Middle School. Garnett-Patterson closed and students dispersed to Cardozo and School Without Walls/Francis-Steven MS; Center City MS was “to be built” to support feeders in Wards 1,2,5, & 6; CM Allen required DCPS to conduct study on feasibility, but DCPS has not complied

Today

  • At some point around late 2017,  DCPS began considering moving Banneker High School to the Shaw Middle School location. DCPS only engaged the Banneker community on their plans to potentially repurpose the middle school as a high school.  They commissioned a feasibility study that was issued in August 2018, which essentially extolled the virtues of the Shaw site.
  • Community does not support a HS (application) but needs a middle school.
  • ANC6E prepared a resolution and sent to mayor that while would like to accommodate Banneker, will only support it if MS component is built into plan; DCPS needs to be more transparent
    • Top priority from community’s perspective is a middle school serving feeder patterns in schools Wards 1,2,5,6<
    • If there is to be a new Banneker on the Shaw MS site, the community would only consider supporting that if there is a middle school component
    • If there is no middle school component, then ANC will oppose Banneker moving to Shaw Middle School site

Questions/Comments:

  • Q: Where are students going to MS? A: Charters; MacFarland
  • Q: As parent of 5th grader, I need help in figuring out where my daughter will go to MS. What is a good choice? A: Seaton ES is planning a MS fair; provide guidance
  • Neighbors internally are not aligned and w/o having been consulted with by DCPS will not have opportunity to think through implications
  • When people talk about a lack of a middle school the conversation does not flow towards whether Cardozo is viable option (if more resources were to be invested, would it be?)
  • Current Banneker school community, regardless of site/solution, does not want delays
  • Site reflects a massive parking lot;

Next Steps:

  • Key Asks: 1; Delay decision to at least have a discussion w/ community. 2: ask for a middle school
  • Engage community stakeholders: Ward 1,2,5, & 6 education councils; Senior High Alliance of Parents, Principals and Educators (SHAPPE).  Suki Lucier will draft a sign-on letter.

4.  Proposed Mount Vernon PEPCO substation and loss of K St. Farm at Walker-Jones EC (Tiffany Aziz)

  • Health risks to community, Walker-Jones students and educators
  • Does not align with positive development contributing to the economic and social infrastructure of K street
  • Loss of the Farm at Walker Jones community garden
  • More information here: https://www.notinmycommunity.com/who-we-are

5. Next CHPSPO Meeting:

  • November 19, 2018 (NOTE:  This is a Monday)
  • MONDAY, November 19
  • Agenda items proposed: DME Paul Kihn, Safe Passages/Routes, ongoing diversity, equity, inclusion conversations

Upcoming Events

  • Empower Ed Teacher Voice Summit, October 20 (registration required)
  • DC Council Education Committee Hearing – Care of D.C. Coordinating Committee Act of 2018 – October 22: Register to testify.  
  • Feed-the-Feeder Event, October 24
  • Hill-o-Ween, Eastern Market – October 26
  • DC Council Education Committee Hearing – School Safety Act of 2018 and the Student Safety and Consent Education Act of 2018 –Nov. 1: Register to testify.
  • DC Council Education Committee Hearing – DME Confirmation – Nov 8 Register to testify.
  • DC Council Education Committee Roundtable – Plans for Shaw Junior High School Campus and Benjamin Banneker Academic High School – November 15 :Register to testify>

Visit CHPSPO on the web at http://chpspo.org