A new principal will take the helm at Jefferson Middle School Academy for the 2016-2017  academic year.

Former Jefferson assistant principal Greg Dohmann will serve as the school’s head principal this fall, according to  D.C. Public Schools press release.

Dohmann, who also previously served as the school’s lead math teacher, was named Teacher of the Year and was honored with a Rubenstein Award for Highly Effective Teaching in 2013.

We are excited 2 announce the appointment of our dedicated, creative & AWESOME new principal Mr. Dohmann! @dcpublicschools @pta_jefferson

— Jefferson Academy (@JATrojans) June 14, 2016

Dohmann will replace former principal Natalie Gordon, who led the school for five years.

More information from that press release:

Greg Dohmann is the new principal at Jefferson Middle School Academy for School Year 2016-2017. He served as Jefferson Academy’s assistant principal for two years, and prior to that role, was a lead math teacher for two years. As a school leader at Jefferson Academy, Dohmann helped reduce school suspensions by 44 percent in School Year 2014-2015. He is committed to ensuring that students always feel safe, are supported and motivated to work hard, and love their school. In 2013, he was the Teacher of the Year at Jefferson Academy and was honored with a Rubenstein Award for Highly Effective Teaching. He holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree in education from American University.

Photo via DCPS Twitter

Questions Remain After District Council Votes to Move Ward 6 Homeless Shelter to Mount Vernon Triangle — Mount Vernon Triangle residents are questioning the process of selecting sites for homeless shelters after the District Council voted to move the proposed Ward 6 shelter location from Southwest to 2nd and K streets NW. [Washington City Paper]

Jefferson Middle School, Capitol Hill Montessori to Receive Improvement Funds — As part of the proposed 2017 education budget, Jefferson Middle School at 801 7th St. SW could receive $1 million to upgrade its science labs while Capitol Hill Montessori at 215 G St. NE is slated to receive $4 million to pay for a new heating and cooling system. [Hill Rag]

Interviewing the Owner Behind Capitol Hill’s Most Unique Bookstore — Jim Toole, the owner of Capitol Hill Books, spoke to Washingtonian magazine about his unorthodox organization and his handwritten rules posted throughout the store. [Washingtonian]

Navy Yard Eatery Due South Eyeing Satellite Location on Yards Park Boardwalk — Navy Yard restaurant Due South is in the early stages of planning “Due South Dockside,” along the Yards Park boardwalk to serve drinks and a limited food menu. [JDLand]

Monthly Capitol Hill Area ANC Meeting Roundup — Hill Rag takes a look at what happened last month with Capitol Hill area ANCs, including 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D. [Hill Rag]

D.C. children can grab some free food, jump on a moon bounce and dance to music at a Southwest school this weekend before classes begin later this month.

Jefferson Academy Middle School and Amidon-Bowen Elementary School are scheduled to have their second annual “Jamidon” Saturday, according to a flyer for the event. The party is slated to run from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Jefferson (801 7th St. SW).

In addition to Jefferson and Amidon-Bowen students and their families, the festivities are open to families with children at Beers, Brent, Tyler and Van Ness elementary schools.

Jamidon’s organizers are looking for volunteers to help with the event and Jefferson’s “Beautification Day” work, which is from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday. The Beautification Day includes painting, gardening and classroom setup.

Interested volunteers can sign up online.

Image via Jefferson Academy Middle School

Jefferson Academy Middle School is seeking $5,000 to help pay for its graduating 8th grade class to visit college campuses in Philadelphia, New York City and Princeton, N.J.

“We are fundraising money to help pay for transportation,” assistant principal Christina Lee wrote online. “Covering transportation will help ensure that more students are able to attend the trip.”

Since the trip’s GoFundMe page launched in April, $650 has been raised by 11 donors. In order to attend the class trip, each student and their family must also contribute $200.

For donating $50, contributors will receive a T-shirt. Additionally, the first 50 donors who contribute at least $100 will receive a teddy bear.

Last year, Jefferson Academy Middle School’s 8th grade class visited the campuses of the University of Virginia and Hampton University in Virginia.

Photo via GoFundMe/JAgoestoCollege

Planning for major renovations at Eliot-Hine and Jefferson Academy middle schools would begin in the coming year under a budget plan approved today by a D.C. Council panel.

Each of the Ward 6 schools would receive $1.5 million in fiscal 2016 and 2017 for modernization planning, according to the proposal endorsed this afternoon by the D.C. Council Education Committee. But renovations under the panel’s plan still would begin in fiscal 2019, as Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed last month, angering locals.

Under a previous version of the committee’s proposal, neither school had money to prepare for renovations in fiscal 2016, and only Jefferson could start planning in fiscal 2017. But that plan also left most of the modernization work until fiscal 2019.

Councilman Charles Allen of Ward 6, who pushed for the planning money, said Eliot-Hine and Jefferson both show a “clear need” for updates as soon as possible. He noted that Eliot-Hine has bars on the inside of its windows and Jefferson’s air conditioning system doesn’t work in its gym.

“Neither of these buildings I think serve the students as well as they should and inspire the confidence of the parents,” he said at the Council meeting today on the budget plan.

At the meeting, Allen tried to move up the year for renovations for Eliot-Hine and Jefferson from fiscal 2019, but didn’t receive the support of his fellow Council members.

Overall, Jefferson (801 7th St. SW) would receive $36 million for renovation work between fiscal 2016 and 2020, according to the D.C. Council plan. The sum is $12 million more than the $24 million Bowser has proposed.

Eliot-Hine (1830 Constitution Ave. NE) would get $38.1 million for modernizing the school between fiscal 2016 and 2020, under the Council’s proposal. The amount is $4 million more than the $34.1 million the mayor wants to offer.

Eliot-Hine and Jefferson Academy middle schools wouldn’t get the money locals have requested for major renovations in the coming year under a new D.C. Council budget plan.

The Ward 6 schools would have to postpone modernization plans until at least fiscal 2017, according to a fiscal 2016 budget proposal released by the D.C. Council Education Committee today. But most renovation work would begin in fiscal 2019, as Mayor Muriel Bowser has proposed.

Locals have said the schools need money sooner to help fix malfunctioning heating and cooling systems, broken bathrooms fixtures and classrooms without adequate lighting and ventilation.

Jefferson at 801 7th St. SW would receive $3 million in fiscal 2017 to help start renovations. But Eliot-Hine at 1830 Constitution Ave. NE wouldn’t get any money until fiscal 2019 to begin its modernization.

Overall, Jefferson would receive $36 million for renovations between fiscal 2017 and 2020, according to the D.C. Council plan. The sum is $12 million more than the $24 million Bowser has proposed.

Eliot-Hine would get $38.1 million for modernizing the school between fiscal 2019 and 2020, under the Council’s proposal. The amount is $4 million more than the $34.1 million the mayor wants to offer.

Despite the proposed increase in the modernization budget for Eliot-Hine and Jefferson, Joe Weedon, Ward 6′s representative to the D.C. State Board of Education, said he can’t support the Council’s timeline for renovations.

“I am disappointed to see that the renovations of Eliot-Hine MS and Jefferson Academy MS were not restored” for fiscal 2016, Weedon said on his website, adding that locals should tell the D.C. Council not to approve the budget proposal.

Councilman Charles Allen of Ward 6 wasn’t immediately available for comment. But he has said he has concerns with proposed funding delays for renovations at Eliot-Hine and other Ward 6 schools.

He said at a hearing he saw doors falling off hinges and paint peeling at Eliot-Hine.

“It was a mess,” he said. “I’m going to keep pushing and fighting.”

The Council’s Education Committee is scheduled to vote on the budget proposal tomorrow.

Eliot-Hine Middle School could receive more money per student than any other D.C. public school in the coming year, an analysis released this week shows.

The Capitol Hill-area school would get $16,467 for each of its students under the fiscal 2016 budget proposal released earlier this month by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, according to a study from public school advocates the Coalition for DC Public Schools & Communities and Code for DC. The sum is a 9.3 percent increase from this year.

The school at 1830 Constitution Ave. NE is expected to have 239 students in 2016.

Locals have lamented that the mayor hasn’t supported funding for major renovations at the school.

Eliot-Hine students and their parents yesterday called on the D.C. Council to fund significant upgrades to the school in fiscal 2016, instead of fiscal 2019, as Bowser has proposed. The school has dated facilities and an outdated HVAC system that often leaves students boiling or freezing, locals have said.

In addition to Eliot-Hine, two other Ward 6 schools would be among the top 10 schools citywide for per student funding.

Van Ness Elementary School, which reopens this fall in Navy Yard, would receive $16,356 for each student. Jefferson Academy Middle School in Southwest would get $15,543 per student.

Not every Capitol Hill-area school would receive five-figure per-student funding, however.

Maury Elementary School, near Lincoln Park, would end up with $9,611 for each student. Watkins Elementary School in Hill East would get $9,562 per student.

Out of all the D.C. public schools, Woodrow Wilson High School in Northwest would have the lowest per-student funding, at $8,312 each.

Photo via Google Maps

The middle school on 7th Street SW was burglarized earlier this month.

Police distributed video today that appears to show a young man fleeing Jefferson Academy Middle School with a computer monitor under his arm.

The person of interest can be seen on video walking past lockers inside the 801 7th St. SW school. With his sneakers in his hands, he appears to try to open locked doors in a hallway, stops to use a water fountain and then walks down stairs with the monitor and some computer accessories. The burglary occurred about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, April 5, police said today.

The person of interest was wearing a dark T-shirt and black shorts with a white stripe on each leg. He appeared to wear red compression pants under the shorts.

No one from the school was immediately available to comment.

Jefferson has 277 student this school year, according to D.C. Public Schools.

Crime Solvers of Washington, DC currently offers a reward of up to $1,000 to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for a crime committed in the District of Columbia. Your assistance is appreciated by your community. CCN 15-047-752.

Anyone who can identify these individuals or who has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at (202) 727-9099 or text your tip to the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE at 50411.

Video via the Metropolitan Police Department

New Ward 6 school budget proposals have brought cheers and jeers as locals push for school renovations.

A plan to start upgrading Hill East’s Watkins Elementary School in the coming year drew praise from some locals. But some parents are concerned after Mayor Muriel Bowser’s budget released yesterday looked to fiscal 2019 to begin repairs at Eliot-Hine Middle School in Kingman Park and Jefferson Academy Middle School in Southwest.

Joe Weedon, Ward 6’s representative to the D.C. State Board of Education, said the District must start renovations at Eliot-Hine and Jefferson in the coming year. The schools need functioning heating and cooling systems, repaired bathrooms and classrooms with better lighting and ventilation, he said.

“The facilities at Eliot-Hine MS and Jefferson Academy MS are far below standard and fail to meet the basic needs of students,” Weedon said on his website.

Bowser proposed a total of $24 million to modernize Jefferson in fiscal years 2019 and 2020. The school at 801 7th St. SW had almost 300 students in the 2013-2014 school year.

Eliot-Hine would receive $34.1 million for renovations in fiscal 2019 and 2020 under the mayor’s plan. Nearly 300 students attended the school at 1830 Constitution Ave. NE in the 2013-2014 school year.

“Both Eliot-Hine MS and Jefferson Academy MS are positioned to become thriving school communities that can serve students from Ward 6 and across the city,” Weedon said. “However, they will fail to achieve their promise without needed capital investments.”

As for Watkins, Bowser requested a total of $30.9 million to renovate the school and its recreation center in fiscal 2016 and 2017. The school at 420 12th St. SE had 545 students in the 2013-2014 school year.

The District plans to make repairs to the school’s heating system and windows this year and begin renovations in 2016.

Last month, Watkins parents called on Bowser to provide more than $27 million for upgrades. Last night, D.C. Department of General Services representatives met with parents to discuss a new gym, window sunshades and other proposed changes to the school.

The mayor’s budget plan for Watkins is a “huge step in the right direction,” said Kevin White, a parent member of the Watkins Modernization School Improvement Team.

“We are happy,” he said.

Jefferson and Eliot-Hine building photos via Google Maps. Eliot-Hine bathroom photo via Twitter/Heather Schoell