July 14, 2015

DCPS sends update on Roosevelt and MacFarland

July 14, 2015/ Drew

DCPS sent out an email update on Roosevelt High School and MacFarland Middle School, what they've accomplished so far and the names of their new Roosevelt Community Cabinet.

At the community meeting on June 18th, DC Public Schools (DCPS) and the Department of General Services (DGS) committed to looking into improvements to the MacFarland building to ensure it will provide a warm and welcoming learning environment for Roosevelt Senior High School students as they await the completion of their new state-of-the-art facility. Together, we conducted a walk-through of MacFarland with several community members to identify specific concerns, and we are happy to announce that we have been able to address those concerns with the following improvements...

Read their full message after the break:

July 06, 2015

Sheon gets safety improvements to Illinois & Georgia Avenues

July 06, 2015/ Drew

When ANC 4D04 Commissioner David Sheon was campaigning as a first-time candidate for ANC last Fall, he spent a lot of time walking from house-to-house in his Single Member District (SMD) asking every person he could find what they would like to see changed in their community.

And like any dedicated community leader, he kept track of the responses. Improving how traffic and speed on Illinois Ave was managed was at the top of the list of concerns.

Read about the concerns, and what DDOT is proposing to do to resolve them:

June 26, 2015

New Principal for Powell Elementary

June 26, 2015/ Drew

Powell Elementary is getting a new principal.

With current principal Janeece Docal leaving to move with her family to Spain, the DCPS Chancellor has selected Ms. O'Kiyyah Lyons-Lucas as the next principal of Powell Elementary.

Ms Lyons-Lucas has been a teacher since 2007, was the vice principal of Columbia Heights Education Campus and was recently the principal of Center City Public Charter Schools.

The message from Kaya Henderson, DCPS Chancellor:

"After balancing your input and recommendations with the needed experience and skills that research links to success, we concluded that your recommendation, O’Kiyyah Lyons-Lucas, is the strongest candidate to lead the Powell school community. We are happy to report that Ms. Lyons-Lucas has accepted the offer to be the Powell Elementary School principal. Her official appointment begins on June 29, 2015.

O’Kiyyah Lyons-Lucas has spent her entire career in education serving the students of Washington , DC. She began her career as a Teach for America corps teacher in 2007 at Columbia Heights Education Campus. She spent four years as a teacher before being promoted to an instructional coach position at the school. After serving as an instructional coach, Ms. Lyons-Lucas was promoted to an assistant principal position. Ms. Lyons-Lucas was an assistant principal for two years before leaving DC Public Schools to become the principal of Center City Public Charter School at the Capitol Hill campus. Ms. Lyons-Lucas holds a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University and a master’s degree from American University."

There's an informal meet and greet with Ms Lyons-Lucas on Monday, June 29th, at 9:30am at Powell' summer off-site location of Sharpe Health School (4300 13th St NW, Washington, DC 20011).

Good luck to Ms Lyons-Lucas! And a fond farewell to Ms Docal, the DC Principal of the Year last year.

June 23, 2015

Youth Summit on rights & law enforcement

June 23, 2015/ Drew

So this is pretty interesting, and frankly, is something that everyone should attend. The USAO's office (United States Attorney's Office) is holding its 5th Annual United States Attorney's Office Youth Summit. The summit focuses on educating youth about understanding their rights and responsibilities when interacting with law enforcement. The goal is to teach kids how to deal with the police so that interactions don't escalate. Read more for details:

June 15, 2015

Child injured in front of Powell Elementary

June 15, 2015/ Drew

Speaking of the dangers of cars... A second grade child received minor injuries when he was struck by a car in front of Powell Elementary this morning. The boy was running across Upshur Street from the soccer field across the street and ran out between the cars. Fortunately, he's ok and is back home after a quick trip to the hospital.

It did create quite the scene with EMS, Fire and MPD. It also has created concern among parents on how to ensure drivers are aware of the children, and ensure children don't dart out into traffic. On a Powell Parents Facebook page, parents... Read more after the break:

June 11, 2015

A noisy and contentious ANC 4C meeting

June 11, 2015/ Drew

The ANC 4C meeting was a contentious meeting. Lights at EL Haynes despised by residents, a new condo on Varnum despised by neighbors, a lack of parking at the proposed development at Latney’s Funeral Home and a visit by the DCRA Director Melinda Bolling rounded out the evening. Oh, and sadly, it was Commissioner Joe Maloney’s last meeting before he resigns (he’s moving to Maryland).

Read the details in the longer version after the break:

June 04, 2015

MacFarland Middle School is looking for advisors

June 04, 2015/ Drew

MacFarland Middle School is looking for volunteers to join their Community Cabinet. The school, adjacent to Roosevelt Senior High School, is scheduled to open for the 2018-2019 school year.

The middle school will align with Roosevelt's global studies focus, and offer a dual language pathway for qualified students. The feeder elementary schools will be Powell, Bruce Monroe and Barnard, in addition to Truesdell and West Education Campuses.

The school is looking to put together a group of parents and community members to serve as an advisory committee, making recommendations to the Chancellor about things like school programming, extracurricular activities, and community partnerships. The Community Cabinet will meet once every three months beginning in September.

You can apply online, and if you have any questions, contact Julienne.Vinson@dc.gov or call (202) 507-0164.

May 30, 2015

Powell Carnival full of fun, sun and kids

May 30, 2015/ Drew

The Powell Carnival is going on at Upshur Street Park (at the basketball courts until 4pm).

There's a bouncy house, games, food and lots of neighbors and Powell parents with their kids. Councilmember Todd and his Director of Constituent Services Jackson Carnes were there (Todd even bought a Powell Elementary shirt). Carla Ferris, co-president of the Powell parents group, was doing great running the hoola hoop contest, while her husband Horacio Artiga made some outstanding hot dogs.

Andy Rowe, co-president of the Powell parents group, said "Turnout today has been great. We have folks from the school and from the neighborhood. It's been a great time!"

See pictures after the break:

May 29, 2015

Powell construction update meeting

May 29, 2015/ Drew

ANC 4C05 Commissioner Zach Teutsch sent out an email today about the construction at Powell Elementary. The DC Department of General Services will present on their progress with the Powell renovation project and the Twin Oaks construction at a meeting on June 11th at 6:15pm at Powell Elementary (1350 Upshur St NW).

Zach is hopeful that they will solicit community input about the design of the parking lot, as there has been vocal support for green screening and permeable paving for the parking lot.

Zach will followup with DGS to request they seek community input. If you have questions or concerns, contact Commissioner Teutsch.