|
Aerial view of McGogney property
|
A large Ward 8 school property – the former home of McGogney Elementary – will soon leave the DC Public School inventory, if a current proposal is approved. The 3400 Wheeler Rd. facility -- encompassing 4.16 acres between Congress St. and Mississippi Ave, SE -- has been empty since McGogney consolidated with M.C. Terrell in 2006. The Ward 8 DCPS Parent Resource Center also moved from McGogney to Terrell.
The move into M.C. Terrell, at 3301 Wheeler Rd, was to be temporary, while McGogney was modernized. The current proposal would permanently close the emptied school and transfer that property to the District Department of Real Estate Services (formerly known as Office of Property Management).
Principal Tanya H. Deskins noted that the community was originally promised a fully modernized facility at McGogney for the consolidated school. She says, however, that M.C. Terrell facilities – which include a full gym and a separate early childhood wing -- serve current school needs.
Since the consolidation, M.C. Terrell has undergone some facility upgrades, including the construction of walls in the open space school. A School Improvement Team will be looking at how to make best use of the existing space, prior to additional work, Deskins reports.
“In contrast,” Deskins and DCPS Chancellor Michelle Rhee wrote to the school community, “the McGogney building has not been modernized and would require significantly more financial investment to create a suitable learning environment for students.”
If the permanent closure is finalized, the Deskins/Rhee letter says, modernization funds would simply be “directed” to “the M.C. Terrell site instead of the McGogney site. Future facility modernizations would be able to take place during the summer and would not require an additional move for students or staff.”
Moreover, the letter says, “the action would have no impact on the operations of the M.C. Terrell school program including its students and staff.”
M.C. Terrell/McGogney Elementary will continue to serve pre-school through grade six. Recent Master Facility Plan documents cite the capacity for Terrell's 112,000 square-foot building as 366 and list 2008 enrollment as 261. Building capacity is expected to change as a result of renovations.
Community Input Not Facilitated
On October 23, DCPS announced the proposed closure in a press release and a letter to the school community. While the letter promised to “provide as much information as possible about this proposal while it is under consideration,” neither the press release nor the letter mention a hearing or other opportunity for community input, and neither describes any sort of decision process.
In November, DCPS put out flyers advertising an “Open Community Meeting on the proposed closure of McGogney School building,” Nov. 18. Flyers offered community members each “three minutes of public testimony at this hearing” and warned, “there will not be a question and answer session.” The meeting drew very few community participants, however, and was ultimately conducted with more informality.
The entire attendance, in addition to DCPS central office personnel, was composed of the principal and two school staff members; one staff member of a volunteer partner; two parents; and two ANC commissioners. Only Absalom Jordan (ANC 8D03) offered testimony. Sandra “S.S.” Seegars (ANC 8E02) and Sarah Johnson, director of the Parent Resource Center central office staff, were the only other participants to speak during the brief meeting.
“The system is just not moving to notify people of these meetings,” William Lockridge, neighborhood activist and Ward 8 representative to the State Board of Education, said in a telephone interview. “I only found out about the meeting myself, when I attended a presentation at the school that morning...and I had a State Board conflict [the Board's regularly scheduled monthly public meeting].” Moreover, he says, prior to the closure announcement, “there was no conversation with the community.”
Concerns about Excessing and Disposition
Referencing community discussions in relation to the 2006 consolidation of McGogney into M.C. Terrell, Jordan argued that DCPS could not simply announce a closure decision without responding to earlier concerns.
“I don't see any evidence that the community has changed its position on right-sizing,” Jordan testified. He also asked if the proposal had been brought directly to the affected ANC, 8E. (DCPS sent commissioners a flyer.)
Jordan noted that Ward 8 already has the largest school-age population in the city and added that nearby residential developments are expected to bring new students to the area. The ward has about 17,000 students, he said. But only 11,000 attend school in the ward. (The recent “Quality Schools and Healthy Neighborhoods” study, sponsored by the State Superintendent of Education, reported similar figures.)
DCPS capacity should be maintained so that those 6,000 out-of-ward students can “be brought home,” Jordan concluded.
Abigail Smith, chief of transformation management for DCPS, offered no specific figures but said that DCPS has enough capacity in the ward. She said it is a DCPS goal to ensure high quality schools everywhere that will encourage families to use schools in their own ward.
Sarah Johnson asked whether DCPS would continue to improve the M.C. Terrell building, including the Parent Resource Center, and whether there will be community input regarding the future of the community school. Responses were positive but non-specific.
Seegars asked about outreach prior to the meeting. Smith responded that notice was sent home to school families. Seegars also asked what would happen to the McGogney building once it left the DCPS inventory. She noted a community concern that a charter school will open across the street from M.C. Terrell, adversely affecting DCPS enrollment.
Smith said simply that DCPS does not make the decision about the building's disposition once it “leaves the DCPS inventory.”
Dontia Carter, a neighbor of the school and the sister of a student, did not speak during the meeting but said afterward that she is concerned about multiple school closures, at a time when the population is expected to grow. Carter is the parent of a three-year-old, and she has seen many families with youngsters moving into the area. Turner closed two years ago. Draper closed last year and now houses a charter school. If McGogney closes, too, she says, there won't be enough facilities within DCPS to serve the neighborhood's future needs.
Lockridge expressed concern that the ANCs were not notified in enough time to take a position and that Congress Heights community groups -- “people who know the history and have a vested interest in the future” -- have not had a say in what happens to the McGogney school or property. “The community is very concerned about what the city is doing.”
No information about the process involved in finalizing the proposal was offered. Community members are instructed to contact Margie Yeager at 202-442-5612 or margery.yeager@dc.gov with any comments or questions. |
