• D.C. Releases Stevens School Development Summaries [Eagle Academy Public Charter School, Dorothy I. Height Community Academy Public Charter Schools, Appletree Institute are mentioned]
• D.C. Seeks to Speed Up Preschool Improvements
• Target Giving D.C. Schools Millions for Literacy
D.C. Releases Stevens School Development Summaries [Eagle Academy Public Charter School, Dorothy I. Height Community Academy Public Charter Schools, Appletree Institute are mentioned]
The Washington Business Journal
By Michael Neibauer
April 25, 2012
The four teams of developers on the District's short list to redevelop the Stevens Elementary School on the West End have all proposed office buildings of varying heights. No hotel, no residential. Just office and minimal retail.
The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development on Wednesday released summaries prepared by each team of their responses to the Stevens request for expressions of interest.
This is the second solicitation in three years to redevelop the historic West End school. In 2009, Equity Residential was chosen to transform the institution into an apartment complex. But the community went ballistic, and the process was junked.
The District's latest strategy, suggested by the community, will maintain Stevens as a school, while opening the grounds to redevelopment. D.C. leaders met with the four development teams and four short-listed educational teams — Eagle Academy Public Charter School, Dorothy I. Height Community Academy Public Charter Schools, Appletree Institute, GEMS America and the IvyMount School — on Monday. Development teams will partner with educational teams and submit final solicitations by the end of May.
Developers that submitted responses to the RFEI but are not on the short list include EastBanc Inc. and Capstone Development LLC.
To the development proposals:
Donohoe Cos. proposed a 125,000-square-foot office building designed by Shalom Baranes Architects , plus 5,000 square feet of new retail. The project would include community Wi-Fi in the Stevens courtyards, commemoration of Stevens history, street and landscape improvements.
"This isn’t our first time thinking about Stevens," the Donohoe team wrote in its summary. "We proposed a program for the site three years ago. In that proposal, we warned forprofit use of historic Stevens would create controversy, and we counseled against it. We also warned that apartments would not be greeted warmly by a neighborhood that has seen GWU continue to expand."
Akridge-Argos also has proposed a Class A office building with "vibrant ground floor retail." The team's description does not include square footage, but it does pose a "unique opportunity to establish a college scholarship fund in the name of Thaddeus Stevens" for area residents.
Lincoln Property Co. and Mosaic Urban Partners proposed a 10-story, 118,000-square-foot Class A commercial office building, with a minimum LEED Gold certification.
"There is strong market demand for additional office space in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood and we believe an office building is the best product type to integrate with the surrounding community," the team wrote in its summary.
MRP Realty/CSG Urban Partners has executed an exclusive rights agreement with Congressional Bank to consolidate a small retail building at the corner of 21st and K streets into the Stevens project. The team has the "unique opportunity to redevelop the Development Parcel to a height of 130 feet or a 12-story office building," according to the proposal. MRP also is interested in possibly consolidating the Stevens parcel with the Humane Society of the U.S. building at 21st and L.
"We have created a unique redevelopment plan that incorporates the past glorious architecture with a modern office building design befitting and benefiting this exceptional downtown community," the summary states.
D.C. Seeks to Speed Up Preschool Improvements
The Washington Examiner
By Lisa Gartner
April 25, 2012
The District is trying to accelerate its progress in early childhood education, speeding up the time frame in which all preschool and prekindergarten teachers need to have bachelor's degrees, and setting other ambitious goals concerning the city's littlest learners.
On Thursday, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray plans to announce a new initiative called Raise D.C. as an umbrella for these new targets and recently announced goals of D.C. Public Schools.
All D.C. early childhood teachers must earn a bachelor's degree and all assistant teachers must earn an associate's degree in early childhood education or a related field by 2017, according to the Pre-K Enhancement and Expansion Amendment Act of 2008.
But on Tuesday, the mayor said he wants to meet that benchmark by 2014. Additionally, the mayor and school leaders want at least 50 percent of early childhood programs in their top rating tier by 2014. Currently, 32 percent of centers are at the "gold" level, along with 15 percent of family child care programs.
"That's pretty rigorous," Gray said of the goal of 50 percent, but added, "I don't know why we didn't go further."
D.C. Public Schools recently announced its own set of goals for 2015, most notably raising the number of students who demonstrate proficiency on standardizing reading and math exams to 70 percent from its current state at 43 percent.
For all of the city's school woes, the preschool programs are something of a success story. Applications for the preschool, prekindergarten and out-of-boundary lottery rose nearly 10 percent this year to a record 7,299, with some programs swimming in prospective students:
In Capitol Hill, Peabody Elementary's preschool program received 563 applications.
Earlier this month, a study by the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University named the District the nation's leader in access to quality preschool and prekindergarten seats. The District spends $11,665 on each of these students, more than any state but New Jersey -- which outspent the District by $1.
But work remains to be done, Gray acknowledged.
Local nonprofit DC Appleseed found that, as of 2008, at least 1,200 lead teachers did not have a bachelor's degree, and more than 1,000 assistant teachers failed to attain an associate's degree or higher.
The mayor plans to announce a partnership of government agencies, philanthropists, businesses and nonprofit organizations Thursday to help the city reach these new goals, which include ensuring 90 percent of children will receive vision and hearing screenings in a timely manner and at least 75 percent of expecting mothers receive timely prenatal care.
The city also hopes that, by 2014, at least 90 percent of families with young children will have access to doctors.
Target Giving D.C. Schools Millions for Literacy
The Washington Examiner
By Lisa Gartner
April 25, 2012
D.C. Public Schools will receive up to $4.5 million from Target over the next three years to boost literacy programs at six elementary schools, the school system announced Wednesday. Depending on the schools' individual needs, Target plans to shell out up to $1.5 million each year to hire literacy consultants to help teachers, improve formative assessments, engage families and purchase new books and technologies. Of the chosen elementaries -- Amidon-Bowen, Bancroft, Davis, Garrison, Orr and Simon -- four are among the 40 lowest performing DCPS campuses. These six schools have also received library renovations from Target.