FOCUS DC News Wire 3/3/2015

Friends of Choice in Urban Schools (FOCUS) is now the DC Charter School Alliance!

Please visit www.dccharters.org to learn about our new organization and to see the latest news and information related to DC charter schools.

The FOCUS DC website is online to see historic information, but is not actively updated.

NEWS

For D.C. charter schools, a new potential facility in Ward 7 [Bridges PCS, Briya PCS, Monument Academy PCS, and Community College Prep Academy PCS mentioned]
The Washington Post
By Michael Alison Chandler 
March 3, 2015

The District is requesting offers from charter schools to lease a vacant school building in Ward 7 as part of a larger development.

The vision for the former Fletcher Johnson school is to become an adult education hub and neighborhood development.

“The Fletcher Johnson campus has sat vacant for far too long, and my administration is committed to transforming this campus to create greater educational and economic opportunities for the Ward 7 community and the District as a whole,” Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said in a statement.

The school on 4650 Benning Rd. SE closed nearly a decade ago, and the city has struggled to determine what to do with the cavernous building since.

An earlier request for offers last September for the school did not ultimately lead to a lease.

This time, the city is offering the building and 15 acres of surrounding land and asking developers and charter operators to work together to create a larger proposal.

The development could include affordable housing or retail space along with educational facilities.

“I don’t have a template in my mind. I want to provide a bigger canvas,” said Jennifer Niles, deputy mayor for education who will oversee the selection process along with the deputy mayor for planning and economic development. “I think it could be a great opportunity to make change for Ward 7,” she said.

Bowser first announced the plan Friday, along with changes to the school boundaries.

Charter schools often struggle to find adequate facilities and push the city to release unused facilities.

In December, four charter school operators were selected to lease space in two other surplus D.C. public school buildings.

The Mamie D. Lee School in Northeast Washington was awarded jointly to Bridges and Briya public charter schools, who plan to offer programs for infants through adults.

The Gibbs School, also in Northeast, was awarded to the Charter School Incubator Initiative and will house Monument Academy for children in foster care and Community College Preparatory Academy, for adults pursuing a high school equivalency degree.

An immigrant student invited a Supreme Court justice to dinner. She took him up on it. [Carlos Rosario International PCS mentioned]
The Washington Post
By Emily Heil 
March 2, 2015

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor dined with friends at Meridian Pint in Columbia Heights on Friday night. The power table sampled a menu of Latin-influenced dishes. But what’s even sweeter than the dessert of red-wine poached pear is the back story of how the meal came about.

Sotomayor, the Bronx, N.Y.-raised daughter of Puerto Rican immigrants, visited the Carlos Rosario International Public Charter School last year, a school in Northeast Washington serving the city’s adult immigrant community. There, she had lunch with several top students, including Francisco Ferrufino, a native of El Salvador who was doing culinary training at the school. Over lunch, Ferrufino offered a bold invitation to the visiting justice: He would love to cook for her someday.

Ferrufino followed up on the offer, writing to Sotomayor to thank her for her visit. “It was such an honor to meet you, hear your story, and share mine,” he wrote. “I am always aware of the opportunity I have and to know of all that can be accomplished is truly inspiring.”  Again, he invited her to dine at Meridian Pint, where he had been promoted to executive chef.

Sotomayor accepted, and on Friday night, she brought along three friends, including Mexican opera star Carla Dirlikov, to sample his wares. The justice arrived and delivered a pre-dinner hug to the chef. Ferrufino whipped up a special menu for the VIPs that included a mini nacho as an amuse buche, followed by seared scallops and steak with chimichurri.

Lesson learned? It never hurts to ask.

 

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