Capitol Hill area residents can start parking their cars along snow emergency routes tomorrow evening, Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a press conference this morning.
The snow emergency that was initiated on Friday morning is set to end at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Bowser said.
Those who parked along snow emergency routes during the snow emergency and were towed can pick up their cars, but the Department of Public Works warns that they might have to dig them out of the impound lot.
If you're going to DC impound lot to recover your car that was towed, bring a shovel. @DCDPW advises you'll have to dig your car out.
— Mark Segraves (@SegravesNBC4) January 26, 2016
Bowser also announced that DC Public Schools have been cleared and will be ready for classes to start tomorrow.
The District government will also begin issuing fines to businesses that have not cleared sidewalks in front of their properties. A new law this year allows the Department of Public Works to fine homeowners and business owners who do not remove snow and ice from sidewalks adjacent to their property.
However, Bowser said that given the severity of the recent storm, fines will not be issued to homeowners or residential properties.
D.C. Public Schools and government offices will all be open tomorrow. The D.C. Public Charter School Board is updating the status of charter schools throughout the District online.
Though the District government will be open, trash collection will still be on hold until Thursday at the earliest. DPW announced that it will attempt to reach every regular route with pickup scheduled for Thursday or Friday. Regular trash collection service will resume on Monday.
Photo via Twitter/ Mayor Muriel Bowser
Parents will have a chance to learn about more than 200 schools in the District tomorrow at a free education fair at the D.C. Armory.
EdFEST 2015 is hosted by My School D.C., an organization that partners with D.C. Public Schools and most District charter schools that operates the District’s school lottery system. The free fair will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and will feature public and public charter schools from Pre-K through high school. It is the only citywide public school fair in the District.
Representatives from each school will be on hand to talk with parents. Meanwhile, the Department of Parks and Recreation and the D.C. Library will have activities for kids of all ages.
The Department of Health will also be administering immunizations and flu shots at the fair.
Catherine Peretti, executive director of My School D.C., also added that My School D.C. employees will be on hand to answer parent questions about the school lottery application for placement in preferred schools.
My School D.C. applications for the 2016-17 school year will begin on Monday and end on Feb. 1 for High schools and March 1 for elementary and middle schools.
About 4,500 families attended last year’s fair, Peretti said.
“We have some really wonderful school options in the District, so our families are lucky in that way and we are glad to give our schools the opportunity to tell their story,” she said.
The D.C. Armory is located at 2001 East Capitol St. SE and parking will be free throughout the event.
Students at 10 Capitol Hill-area Elementary and Middle schools scored above the District average in math and English according to test results from the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers released today.
Students across the District took the PARCC tests to determine how well schools are preparing students for college and careers. Earlier today, Mayor Muriel Bowser released the results of test scores for grades 3-8. On average, 25 percent of students between grades 3 and 8 scored at “On track for college and career readiness” in math and 24 percent were on track in English.
However, multiple elementary and middle schools in the Capitol Hill area scored above the District average. Brent Elementary led area schools in both math and English, with 57 percent of students considered on track in math and 68 percent in English.
The other local schools that exceeded the District average in both math and English are:
- School Within School
- Ludlow-Taylor Elementary School
- Maury Elementary School
- Watkins Elementary School
- Two Rivers Public Charter School
The following schools scored above average in math only:
- Tyler Elementary School
- J.O. Wilson Elementary School
- Chamberlain Middle School (Friendship PCS)
Capitol Hill Montessori School at Logan scored above average in English but not math.
Catharine Bellinger, the Director of the D.C. chapter of Democrats for Education Reform touted Ludlow-Taylor and Tyler elementary schools as schools that performed well despite having a high number of economically disadvantaged students in a statement about the scores.
Bellinger said that students at these schools are “beating the odds” and said DFER “commend the teachers and leaders working every day in these schools to prepare their students to succeed, not just on tests, but as life-long learners and critical thinkers.”
Fire Shut Down Stadium-Armory Station for Nearly 10 Hours — Fire officials still are investigating the cause of a fire at a Metro power facility that burned throughout the day yesterday, closing the nearby Stadium-Armory Metro station for most of the day. [NBC Washington]
New Restaurant and Wine Bar to Open Near Lincoln Park — Lincoln Park Kitchen and Wine Bar, which will replace Ninnella Italian restaurant at the corner of 13th and East Capitol streets SE, is slated to open in early October. [Barred in DC]
Capitol Hill School Accused of Violating Rules on Standardized Tests — The Capitol Hill campus of Center City Public Charter Schools is one of six D.C. schools accused of violating standardized testing rules. Students at Center City said a test administrator encouraged them to change their answers to some questions. [Washington Post]
Restaurant Near U.S. Capitol Will Close if Forced to Remove Patio Seating, Eatery’s Owners Say — Owners of The Alibi restaurant at 237 2nd St. NW said a District Department of Transportation order to remove their sidewalk patio enclosure will eliminate two-thirds of the eatery’s seating and force it to shut down. [PoPville]
Road closures, transit changes and extra security are set to arrive in the Capitol Hill area this week when Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the District.
Locals near Capitol Hill are expected to feel the effects of the pope’s visit most strongly on Thursday, when he is slated to speak to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol.
Here’s how his trip will affect the Capitol Hill area:
- A ticketed event is scheduled to view a live video feed of the pope’s 10 a.m. address to Congress from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. Attendees also might catch a glimpse of Francis outside, but should check the list of prohibited items.
- No public, non-ticketed viewing areas are available on the U.S. Capitol grounds or the National Mall.
- The U.S. Capitol will close to the public at 5 p.m. Tuesday and remain closed for the duration of the pope’s visit.
Street Closures
- All streets within a three-block radius of the U.S. Capitol will be closed from midnight to noon on Thursday.
- Pennsylvania Avenue NW between 3rd and 1st streets NW and Maryland Avenue SW between 1st and 3rd streets SW will both be closed from 5 p.m. Wednesday to 4 p.m. Thursday.
- Louisiana Avenue NW between Columbus Circle and Constitution Avenue NW, Washington Avenue SW between South Capitol Street and Independence Avenue SW, and East Capitol Street between 2nd and 1st streets SE and NE will be closed between midnight and 4 p.m. Thursday.
Metrorail
- Metro will increase service during afternoons and evenings. Metro does not have the capacity to increase service during rush hours and expects trains to be very crowded at those times.
- Bicycles and large coolers won’t be allowed on Metro trains Wednesday or Thursday.
- Bags, packages and containers may be searched at Metro stations.
- There is no scheduled track work on any lines during the pope’s visit.
- Updated information will be made available online.
- D3 bus will not operate on Wednesday or Thursday.
- X2 will not go further downtown than Gallery Place from 10:30 p.m. Tuesday to 2 p.m. Thursday.
- 30N and 30S will not run between Foggy Bottom and Federal Triangle from 10:30 p.m. Tuesday to 2 p.m. Wednesday.
- 32 and 36 only will operate from Southeast to 12th Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW from 10:30 p.m. Tuesday to 2 p.m. Wednesday.
- 39 only will operate between Naylor Road and 6th Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW.
- A9, P17, P19 and W13 only will run between Southeast D.C. and L’Enfant Plaza.
- X1 only will operate between Benning Road NE and 6th Street NW and Constitution Avenue NW.
- The National Mall route will not operate at all on Wednesday or Thursday.
- Buses on the Union Station-Navy Yard route will detour to avoid road closures near the Capitol. Buses going to Navy Yard will take Massachusetts Avenue NW to 4th Street NW to Pennsylvania Avenue SW, where it will resume its normal route. Buses going to Union Station will take Pennsylvania Avenue SW to 6th Street SW to Massachusetts Avenue NW, where it will resume its normal route.
- Buses on the Georgetown-Union Station, Potomac Avenue-Skyland and Union Station-Navy Yard routes will all operate every 15 minutes from noon to the end of the day Wednesday.
Public Works
- Street sweeping has been suspended on Wednesday and Thursday on the 200 block of East Capitol Street and the 200 to 300 blocks of Massachusetts Avenue NE.
- All other parking restrictions and street sweeping schedules will be enforced as usual.
Schools
- D.C. public schools all will be open for the entirety of the Pope’s visit. But school officials warn that road closures and crowds may affect transportation to and from school and said parents can contact the Parent Resource Center at 202-576-5000 for transportation-related questions during the pope’s visit.
- Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy will close Wednesday.
- Center City Public Charter Schools won’t hold classes Wednesday.
A restaurant on Capitol Hill is looking to a help a local school with some jazz this week.
Mr. Henry’s Restaurant at 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE is asking locals to bring in school supplies to donate during its Capitol Hill Jazz Jam Wednesday night. The drive, which is scheduled to run from 8 to 11 p.m., will benefit Two Rivers Public Charter School. The school has campuses in Near Northeast.
The restaurant hasn’t hosted a school supply drive before. But its employees are “interested in working with local schools as we rebuild Mr. Henry’s and develop local connections with Hill residents,” restaurant manager Mark Steele said in an email.
Admission to the jazz jam is free. But each attendee must order at least two items from Mr. Henry’s menu. School supply donations are optional.
Photo via Facebook/Mr. Henry’s Restaurant
H Street NE Streetcars Still Running Empty — The end date for practice runs of the H Street corridor’s streetcars is unclear. D.C. transportation officials still don’t know when the streetcars will start carrying passengers. [FOX 5]
Ex-TV Anchor Removed from Northeast Capitol Hill School Lawsuit — Former WUSA anchor J.C. Hayward, a onetime Options Public Charter School board chairwoman, was removed from a high-profile lawsuit alleging financial mismanagement at the northeast Capitol Hill school. [Washington Post]
Vegan Diner and Bar to Arrive on H Street Corridor This Fall — Fare Well, a diner-style vegan restaurant from the owner of Sticky Fingers bakery in Columbia Heights, is slated to come to the H Street corridor in the coming months. [Hill Now]
A public charter school in Navy Yard has appointed a new leader.
Royston Maxwell Lyttle, a school administrator, is the new principal of Eagle Academy Public Charter School at Capitol Riverfront, the school announced last week. Lyttle has worked for the school since 2006.
In addition to its Capitol Riverfront campus at 1017 New Jersey Ave. SE, Eagle Academy has a location in Congress Heights. Both of the campuses serve students in preschool to third grade.
Lyttle has held positions including summer school principal, vice principal and interim principal at Eagle Academy.
He succeeds Nicole Walker, who served as principal at the Capitol Riverfront campus for two years.
Lyttle wasn’t immediately available to comment. But a news release issued by Eagle Academy said he “strongly believes that all students should be provided a high quality education and all students can learn at high rates no matter their social or economic background.”
Photo via Eagle Academy Public Charter School
Two Rivers Public Charter School in Near Northeast has the longest wait list in the District, new data shows.
The school at 1227 4th St. NE has 1,381 students waiting to enroll in its preschool, elementary school and middle school classes, according to a District, Measured analysis of D.C. Public Schools and the D.C. Public Charter School Board wait list numbers. Two Rivers had 516 students in the 2013-2014 school year, according to PCSB.
Brent Elementary School on Capitol Hill also has one of the District’s longest wait lists. With 880 students on the list to get into Brent, only five other schools in D.c. have longer wait lists. The school at 301 North Carolina Ave. SE has 368 students this school year, according to DCPS.
Of the 33 Capitol Hill-area schools that have wait lists, almost half have more than 100 students trying to get in. Those schools include School-Within-School (920 F St. NE), Capitol Hill Montessori (215 G St. NE) and Maury Elementary School (1250 Constitution Ave. NE.)
The wait lists, which DCPS and PCSB released last week, came after the first round of the District’s annual public school lottery. The lottery dictates which students receive admission to D.C. charter schools, out-of-boundary DCPS schools and DCPS preschool classes.
Photo via Two Rivers Public Charter School
New data from the city shows how many local high school students got their cap and gown last summer.
The Capitol Hill campus of Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy had the highest graduation rate of any high school in Ward 6 where administrators reported stats to the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education.
The school at 709 12th Street SE saw 66 percent of its students graduate in 2014, according to a report by the D.C. Office of Revenue Analysis.
Of the 31 schools that reported data on their graduation rates, 17 schools gave a greater percentage of their students diplomas than Cesar Chavez did. The school had 380 students in the 2013-2014 school year.
Options Public Charter School was the only other Ward 6 school to report its graduation rate. With 49 percent of its students graduating, the school at 1375 E St. NE came in at No. 24 on the citywide list. Eastern High School and Richard Wright Public Charter School for Journalism and Media Arts in Ward 6 didn’t submit information on their graduation rates.
The Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in Northwest had the highest graduation rate District wide, with 100 percent of its students receiving diplomas. At 32 percent, the Hospitality High School in Northwest had the lowest percentage of graduates.
Overall high school graduation rates for charter schools across the District fell to 68.9 percent in 2014, from 75.6 percent the previous year, WAMU reported.
Photo via MySchoolDC.org
Remaining Questions on Streetcar Service — WAMU dug into questions on the safety of the H Street streetcar that still need to be answered, including what caused the small fire on Feb. 21 and how employees will be trained. [WAMU]
Ugly Mug Expansion Update — The Barracks Row bar The Ugly Mug has reached an agreement with ANC 6B on its plans to expand and add a retractable roof. After months of community meetings, the board withdrew its previous complaint. [Capitol Hill Corner]
Smoking-at-Home Ban and Homeowners’ Rights — A libertarian scholar weighed in on the court order that bars a 5th Street NE man from smoking in the house. The D.C. Superior Court ruling sets a precedent that could chip away at what people can do in their own homes, Walter Olson said. [Washingtonian]
More Details on New Charter Schools in Rosedale — The former Gibbs Elementary School building on 19th Street NE will have separate entrances for programs that serve at-risk children and adults preparing to attend community college. Building renovations are expected to be complete this year. [Hill Rag]
A charter school for children in foster care and another that will serve adults are slated to give a glimpse of their future at a meeting next week.
Officials from Monument Academy and the Community College Prep Adult Education are holding an information session for the public on their plans for the former Gibbs Elementary School. The Rosedale Community Center at 1701 Gales St. NE will host the meeting at 6 p.m. Monday.
CCPA will assist adults looking to attend community college. Monument will serve as a residential school for children in foster care.
Gibbs Elementary, located at 500 19th St. NE, has been vacant since 2008. A total of three schools bid for the property through the D.C. Department of General Services, as Hill Now reported. CCPA and Monument were selected in December, The Washington Post reported.
Photo via Google Maps
Local public charter schools are meeting and exceeding city standards, according to annual school quality ratings released today (Friday) by the D.C. Public Charter School Board.
Four out of seven Ward 6 charter schools received a Tier 1 rating of “high performing.”
“This is tremendous news and it is evidence that charter school quality is continuing to grow,” Mayor Vincent Gray said in a statement.
Here’s how the schools placed:
High-Performing (Tier 1) Schools
Center City Public Charter Schools – Shaw (711 N St. NW): 68.8 percent in 2014. Tier 2 in 2011, 2012 and 2013
Friendship Public Charter School – Chamberlain (1345 Potomac Ave. SE): 77.1 percent in 2014. Tier 1 in 2013, Tier 2 in 2011 and 2012
KIPP DC – WILL Academy (421 P St. NW): 73.2 percent in 2014. Tier 1 in 2011, 2012 and 2013
Two Rivers Public Charter School (1227 4th St. NE): 67.7 percent in 2014. Tier 1 in 2011, 2012 and 2013
Mid-Performing ( Tier 2) Schools:
- Center City Public Charter Schools – Capitol Hill (1503 E. Capitol St. SE): 43.5 percent in 2014. Tier 2 in 2011, 2012 and 2013
- Cesar Chavez Public Charter Schools for Public Policy (709 12th St. SE): 57.2 percent in 2014. Tier 2 in 2011, 2012 and 2013
- Richard Wright School for Journalism and Media Arts Public Charter School (770 M St. SE): 48 percent in 2014. Tier 2 in 2012. Other data not available
The rankings account for students’ math and reading skills, college preparation and other performance metrics, the board’s statement said.
Photo via Google Maps
Three charter schools are vying to take over the former Gibbs Elementary School building in Rosedale.
The Department of General Services expects that three schools will submit bids due this evening for the longterm lease of the vacant 500 19th St. NE school: Community College Preparatory Academy; Monument Academy and Washington Global, DGS closed schools manager Althea Holford said.
Monument Academy and Washington Global received approval from the D.C. Public Charter School Board in May. Monument would run a residential school for children in foster care. Washington Global would teach middle school students and emphasize language learning, their website says.
Community College Preparatory Academy, approved in April, would help adults prepare to attend community college.
Representatives of the schools will speak with residents about their plans at a community meeting 6 p.m. Monday at Rosedale Recreation Center (1701 Gales St. NE).
“They are going to give us a snippet of their offer and what they’re proposing for the site,” Holford said.
Gibbs Elementary has been vacant since 2008.
