News

The 2019-20 school year will mark the 12th enrollment increase in a row for DC’s traditional public and public charter schools. This year, the city’s schools are expected to add 2,800 students to classes from pre-kindergarten to grade 12. …
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A few years before Stormiyah Denson-Jackson took her own life in her dormitory at SEED Public Charter School, Scott Pearson told the leader of FOCUS, a charter lobbying group, to ignore the mandates of the South Capitol Street Memorial…
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Mayor Muriel Bowser announced last week that the District’s 2018-19 Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) results showed that our schools improved students’ English language arts (ELA) and mathematics…
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I grew up in Anacostia, the heartbeat of Southeast. Every day of my childhood, I lived the life my students now live.  Over the past year, we experienced incredible heartbreak with the loss of Gerald Watson and other students who have…
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Many DC students returning to school on Monday will find new classrooms, new programming space and new greenery on campuses across the District, thanks to $450 million worth of modernization projects completed over the summer. The…
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Around the city, you always hear parents talk about the lack of access to high-quality middle schools. By that, they usually mean middle schools with a rigorous curriculum, high test scores and reports of engaged, passionate…
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Some Americans hold the misconception that monolingualism is equated with patriotism. Some see speaking Spanish, Arabic, Amharic or Vietnamese at their local grocery store as “offensive” or even “dangerous.” This sentiment is not shared…
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A few weeks after the DC Council voted, with enthusiastic guidance from Chairman Phil Mendelson, to disapprove the DC Public Education Master Facilities Plan 2018, Mayor Muriel Bowser sent a letter indicating her “disappointment” with the…
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The daisy is a delightful flower that opens each morning — the origin of its name, derived from an Old English term meaning “day’s eye.” So it’s only appropriate that Gloria Torrento Del Cid is known to everyone around her by a twist on…
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A new collaboration between Unity Health Care and Sibley Memorial Hospital is bringing much-needed cancer care closer to residents in wards 7 and 8 — a response to calls from community members, health educators, and advocates for more…
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It’s early morning, and Jose Santos peers at the computer monitor in his basement office at the Columbia Heights Educational Campus on 16th Street NW. On the screen, a blue-and-green diagram corresponds to the water pumps, boilers and air…
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The high cost of a self-cleaning public restroom at a Virginia Metrorail station recently garnered headlines as an example of wasteful spending, but its removal earlier this year need not disrupt the District’s own plans to pilot two…
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Four months after the first challenger entered the Ward 2 DC Council race with hopes of unseating embattled incumbent Jack Evans, the contest now features five hopefuls jockeying for votes in the Democratic primary come next June. In…
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DC residents and visitors are one step closer to a pedestrian-friendly walk from Navy Yard and Capitol Hill to historic Anacostia and Fairlawn without cars whizzing alongside them — via Washington’s first elevated public space, a park that…
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The District’s Certified Business Enterprise program aims to boost “small and local” DC-based firms seeking government contracts, ensuring local dollars can flow to companies typically led by minorities or women. But Southeast DC…
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Everyone knows Lassie, the heroic collie from novels, movies and TV who repeatedly saves her human from near-death experiences. But in DC, there’s a real-life canine hero, whose companion rescued her from a shelter and trained her to…
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The health concerns pervasive in wards 7 and 8 vary greatly — from food deserts to access to specialty medical services and urgent care. But a collaboration between Sibley Memorial Hospital and the DC government is providing guidance and…
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A proposed pedestrian and bike bridge that would link the U.S. National Arboretum and Kenilworth Park North, slated to be completed by 2022, is generating excitement among those who welcome a more convenient connection over the Anacostia…
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A vocal anti-police brutality activist is the second declared candidate for next year’s race for the Ward 7 seat on the DC Council, while another neighborhood leader is actively exploring a run for the position currently held by former…
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A forum last week on health equity in DC brought a unified call for a full-service hospital east of the Anacostia River able to offer specialty services such as neurology, kidney care, and HIV screening and treatment. More than 30…
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