- Hospitality High opens doors on its new building [Hospitality High PCS and Maya Angelou PCS mentioned]
- D.C. Council proposals would increase students’ access to free transit
Hospitality High opens doors on its new building [Hospitality High PCS and Maya Angelou PCS mentioned]
The Washington Business Journal
By Rebecca Cooper
June 5, 2013
D.C.'s Hospitality High School celebrated on Wednesday the grand opening of the first school building that's all its own. The school purchased the former Maya Angelou Public Charter School building at 1851 Ninth St. NW last summer, and students will begin classes there this fall. Hospitality High is a collaboration of the Hotel Association of Metropolitan Washington and other industry groups. Donations from the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, Hilton Worldwide Inc. and the hotel association helped renovate the building to serve the hospitality school's needs.
The high school's massive culinary kitchen, which isn't quite done yet, will be named for Hilton Worldwide, and the ballroom space will be named for the Marriott Foundation, which donated $500,000. The roof deck, which next year may be home to a garden where students can learn to grow foods, is named for Emily Durso, one of the school's founders.
"There is a direct relationship between education and our success in life," saidRichard Marriott, chair of the foundation. "There is a limitless amount of opportunity in the hospitality industry for graduates of Hospitality High School."
Hospitality High School was formed in 1998 in conjunction with the opening of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to train students in the District for hospitality jobs. There are currently 26,000 people working in the hospitality sector in the District, according to the hotel association, and many more jobs will become available when the Washington Marriott Marquis, the convention center hotel, opens in 2014.
The opportunities for Hospitality High are "absolutely huge," said hotel association President Solomon Keene during the grand opening. "They will continue to grow as the school comes into its own building."
The Washington Post
By Emma Brown
June 5, 2013
All District students would be able to ride Metro buses for free under legislation proposed Tuesday in the D.C. Council. The measure is meant to ensure that transportation expenses aren’t keeping kids from attending class, said council member Muriel Bowser (D-Ward 4), who introduced the measure with colleagues Anita Bonds (D-At Large) and Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3).
Chronic truancy is a widespread problem in the District. At four high schools last year, more than 40 percent of students missed a month or more of class. “We know that a lot of children aren’t making it to school because they have to pay,” Bowser said. “Even though we don’t have a school bus system, I think that you should be able to get to school for free.”
The measure would apply to students in traditional, charter and private schools who ride buses on regular school days. Currently, students are eligible for subsidized fare cards that allow unlimited travel on public transit for $30 a month. The proposed legislation would continue that subsidized access for Metrorail. It would also maintain free student access to Circulator buses.
Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large) has also proposed to increase access to free public transit as part of a major education package he unveiled Tuesday. Catania’s bill would offer free transit only to students who qualify for free and reduced-price lunch, a common measure of poverty. For those students, Metro buses and rail trips would be free.
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