Tag: schools

Armstrong, New York Ave, and neighborhood charity

Those two have nothing to do with each other except they are the emails I have flagged in my inbox.
First Armstrong. I guess I’m on the mailing list for this subject because I attended the BACA meeting that covered it and I guess this is the ‘getting back with the community’ part of that discussion. Anyway here was the notice that was sent out:

Dear Community,
On Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 7:00 pm at Armstrong School, Kent Amos, founder of the CAPCS education campus, will met with community for follow up discussion on his recent decision permitting Metropolitan Baptist Church use of the school for Sunday services. Senior Pastor Beecher Hicks also plans to attend. Please make every effort to come out and bring your questions and alternative ideas for addressing this community dilemma.
Light refreshments will be available. For further information, please contact me at 55O-O619* or by e-mail at adbonds g mail com*.
I’m looking forward to seeing you,
Anita Bonds

There have been a couple of ‘reply all’ emails concerning the upcoming meeting. One, going on the separation of church and state thread is a fruitless one. The relationship between the charter school and the church is that of landlord and tenant and not unusual. My best friend’s church rents out a PG County high school gym while they wait for their building to be done. Difference? High schools have way more parking than middle and elementary schools. And it is the parking that has raised the immediate resident’s ire. Second, sticking to the point of the matter, parking, and using the threat of strong parking enforcement may prove fruitful.
This weekend being so nice I rode my bike to church, taking my old route by the old location of Metropolitan Baptist. I could see the difference. When Metropolitan was on R Street, the streets were congested and there was almost ALWAYS someone blocking the bike lane. And the Washington Post newspaper vendor dude used to be on the corner. But no more. The streets around 13th and R were ‘normal’, no more crowded than 9th and R.
New York Avenue. It is websites like Stimulus Watch that make me think that the net was made for democracy. Apparently, the intersection at Florida and New York Avenue is to take up 8 millllllllyon dallahs. There is another New York Ave project also included but no detail of what NY Ave bridge. Anyway, I need someone to define ‘shovel ready.’ Seriously there must be a treeful of paper of studies on New York Avenue NE and NW and it’s various intersections that have never gotten past ‘oh look we have a study.’ After looking at the guts of some road studies (not New York Ave but other DC roads), the info in them goes bad quicker than a gallon of milk, which means after a few years…… you do another study (and the contractors who do studies say yay!). Seriously define ‘shovel ready’ because if it involves a study and community buy in and the other things that take up time and effort, it’s only shovelin’ manure.
Lastly, something good from the Eckington listserv:

Hi Neighbors,

Thank You!!! When members of our community were in need of support their neighbors stepped up to help out. The Stancil family has found an apartment to live in until repairs to their home are completed. Our efforts to raise funds and provide clothing was a great success. The community members, area churches and strangers that happened to read about the Stancil family at the Big Bear Cafe contributed $2,000 in cash, checks and gift cards. I had to make daily trips from the Big Bear to Emery with my Outback stuffed full of clothing donations. The Stancils were overwhelmed by the out pouring of support when they needed it the most. Any clothing the family can’t use will go to area clothing banks. We all face uncertainties with the economic crisis yet this community opened their hearts to help. Thank You!

we all work together, ted

*I made changes here.

1950s School Map


JrHigh1956Borders
Originally uploaded by In Shaw

I also have the High School map and I can’t help but notice that 16th Street is a common dividing line.
This is from “Corning Sets Integrated School Zone Boundaries,” by Marie Smith, Washington Post, July 2, 1954 p. 1, 25-26. It is the proposed school boundaries for schools that were to integrate. Wanna guess what big demographic change occurs east of 16th?
Also I want to mention that when I present stuff from the past, occasionally called ‘history’, I will try to cite it so you dear reader can find the information yourself. History is subject to interpretation, and I bring my own biases. Un-cited, history is subject to being made up.

KIPP and the arts

I want to thank Neda for cc’ing me in an email inquiring about KIPP and FLUX, as it got me to get around to asking KIPP’s Mr. Alex Shawe about more informationwhich he provided (PDF). It’s the executive summary, there is a more detailed paper with diagrams and good stuff but it’s a big file. Anyway in the diagrams you would see where a proposed arts space would be in relation to the school part.
Yes, I know it is cruel to talk about a picture you can see and I’m not providing. But when I first heard of the arts/ school combo I was thinking of a shared building like it would be a duplex, or townhouse with English basement, where each party has separate space in the same structure. After looking at the drawings it is more like roommates but where one roommate dominates. Shared space really looks shared. There are separate rooms, but it looks like shared hallways, entrances, exits and the artists and kids would not be able to avoid each other. This sparks a list of concerns in my head.
Like I mentioned before charter schools get first dibs on public school buildings. So if KIPP were to get Cook/Cooke it would be the primary roommate in this scenario who would set the tone. This may limit what an arts roommie can and cannot do or leave up/ lying around or perform during nap time. However, if the two parties can work something out in a way that the relationship is beneficial and enriching, the community will be changed for the better.
With the arts traditionally being on the bottom of public schools’ agendas (probably because you can’t put it on a standardized test), I think and active arts space would be great for kids. It is good for kids and adults to interact causally and formally with artists to make it more real.
What are your thoughts? (remember to ID your comments, anons will be eliminated).

Quick BACA review

In two paragraphs or less:
Mayor Fenty showed up after the police were happy to report that certain crimes were down. There was a big crowd and 1/2 of em disappeared after the mayor departed. KIPP presented a video and talked about the kind of school they would like to have and the improvements they would make to the Cook campus.
KIPP was talking mixed use and apparently they’d been talking to Paul Rupert (of Warehouse Theater) and seem open to a partnership with the arts community. Charter schools have first dibs supposedly, so if the arts group can ally with a charter school for the proposal than, win-win.

BACA meeting, Fenty might show

Once again, like every first Monday of the month there is a BACA (Bates Area Civic Association) meeting 7pm in the basement cafeteria of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church at the corner of Q & 3rd. Jim Berry says that Mayor Fenty will make a quick appearance. Also on the schedule is someone from KIPP to talk about their interest in the Cook School. Last time the KIPP person did not show.
I’m just happy there are two parties interested in the school. One being a collection of arts folk, called FLUX, the other KIPP. I have concerns about both. The question I have about the arts group is how open they’d be with the surrounding area. There are about two places with artists down in the Hanover region of the TC and they periodically open their doors. Would this be another art fortress, and I completely understand the need for closed doors, or would the doors open more often for regular exhibits and performances? With the KIPP school the problem is traffic and the attraction of students from all over the city. P Street can be tight already, add that to the Armstrong charter school and other KIPP school on P.

Dunbar High School Band Dinner Show

If I only knew where the heck my camera was I’d have pictures.
Whilst sitting around the house this afternoon enjoying a post dinner fattening sweet, I heard. No, felt, drums and brass. It sounded very close. It sounded like it was getting closer, so I poked my head out the door and discovered a pleasant surprise. There was a casually dressed marching band coming down my street. It was like a mini parade. The sound brought out a few of my neighbors who looked on the assemblage of dancers, flag girls, brass, wind, and percussion.
As an occasional, once in a while, mobile thing, it was quite nice.

I went to community college

Just a quick mention, in relation to something I thought about while responding to a comment. I wonder why there isn’t a stronger push for community colleges in the DC metro area?
A little info on me. I have about 12 or 20 (I have to look) credit hours from my hometown community college. At least 4 credit hours I took while still in high school. The county school system had this great program where we could get a head start with college by taking courses at the CC (comm. coll.) free of charge. Since a huge bunch of us were going to go to Univ of Florida, FSU, FAMU, or another state university it was a great way to knock out some required courses for free. Later, I went to CC during the summers so I could get Cs in classes I was going to do badly in anyway, so why not get a C for about $29 a credit hour, vs a D (these were weed out classes) at $45 a credit hour?
My mom got her Certified Nurse’s Assistant (CNA) certificate from the CC, and that is what she’s doing now in her semi-retirement. My sister is a CC drop-out, but she was aiming for something in the veterinary field. So I’ve experienced and seen how CCs are useful in a community in helping people get jobs by giving them specific training. When I hear about job training around here, it (and please forgive my ignorance) doesn’t sound like more than advice on doing a job interview and introduction to a computer. And this goes back to another problem I mentioned before of the community trying or asked to support programs it has no direct dealings with, difficulty judging the efficacy of those programs. Basic skills have value, but I wonder how far it gets you in an environment where more workers have that skill set, plus this, that, and something else.