DC Public School 2012-2013 Year Extended

School will be extended to make up for class days cancelled because of weather.

The DC Public School 2012-2013 year has been extended to Friday, June 21, to make up for three days of cancelled classes thanks to bad weather in October and March. “Our obligation is for our students to have at least 180 days of instruction. We take an abundance of caution before we cancel the school day, but this year because of the weather, we had to cancel three days,” said DCPS Chancellor Kaya Henderson in a statement. “To meet that obligation, we are extending a previously scheduled half day, extending the school year by a half-day and converting a parent-teacher conference day into an instructional day.” Instead of Thursday, June 20, being a half day and the last day of school, it will be a full day. The last day of school will be …

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Georgetown Teacher Among Honorees at Kennedy Center Event

The third annual Standing Ovation for DC Teachers is 6:30 p.m. Monday at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

DC Public School teachers will stand in the spotlight Monday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts at the third annual Standing Ovation for DC Teachers. The award winners include one from Georgetown's very own Hardy Middle School. According to the event notice: "DC Public Education Fund brings together the DC community to celebrate and reward Highly Effective educators in DC Public Schools. The show features an awards presentation to eight Excellence Award winners." Sarah Bax, an 8th grade mathematics teacher at Hardy Middle School, will be among the Excellence Award winners and was also the recipient of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Excellence in Leadership Award David Pinder, …

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Got the Christmas Spirit? Enter Our Deck the House Contest Today

Share your photos of your house decked out for the holidays, and enter to win $100,000 for DC Public Schools.

Evans: 'We Need to Close Lots of Schools'

D.C. Public Schools announced a list of 20 schools that could close at the end of the school year.

Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans supports D.C. Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson's  move to consolidate and reorganize the District's public schools. Henderson proposed the closure of 20 D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) in six wards, Tuesday. "We need to close schools. We need to close lots of schools," said Evans in an interview with Patch. Get daily and breaking news alerts by signing up for our newsletter. Two of the 20 schools are in Ward 2. Garrison Elementary would be closed and children would be moved to either Seaton Elementary School (Ward 2) or Marie Reed Elementary School (Ward 1). Francis Stevens Education Campus currently serves children K-8, the would also be reassigned to Seaton, Marie Reed and for older children, to Hardy Middle …

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Francis Stevens, Garrison Could Close in 2013

Though two Ward 2 schools could close under new policy, final decision will come only after public input, DC Public School Chancellor Kaya Henderson says.

Two Ward 2 Schools were among the 20 schools D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) administrators announced could close as part of a school consolidation and cost-savings effort. Francis Stevens Education Campus and Garrison Elementary School were named on the list of schools, which spanned six wards, that could close their doors at the end of this school year, at the earliest. Get daily and breaking news alerts by signing up for our newsletter. “To achieve our goals of a great school for every single student, we have to use all of our resources well – every dollar, every building, and every minute of instructional time. As our schools are currently organized, we can’t achieve our goals,” DC Public School Chancellor Kaya Henderson said in a press …

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D.C. Public Schools, Georgetown University Open Wednesday

DCPS is inspecting all public schools for readiness after Hurricane Sandy.

D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) and administrative offices and all Georgetown University campuses will be open Oct. 31. Crews are inspecting public school buildings, some of which reported minor leaking, flooding and downed trees. Others are facing power outages. "The vast majority of DCPS schools have reported they are ready to open with little or no damage from Hurricane Sandy," according to an email from DCPS. Students and staff are advised to report to school tomorrow unless their school is specifically cited as closed. "In the event that a particular school is not able to open tomorrow, we will announce that closing to the media and on our website, Facebook and Twitter," according to DCPS. Hyde-Addison Principal Dana Nerenberg sent a …

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POLL: Librarians, Art and Music Teachers for Every School

Ward 2 Councilman wants D.C. schools to rethink how they spend money. Do you agree?

Nearly 60 D.C. Public Schools started the school year without a librarian. Many others do not have arts and music programs. Georgetown's schools pool resources into the Fillmore Arts Center to offer arts and music education at the elementary level. But Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans thinks there should be such resources at every public school in the District. In a newsletter Friday, Evans said he would introduce legislation, requiring that each school have a full time librarian, art teacher and music teacher. Evans opined: "It is hard for me to believe that we continue to invest nearly $2 billion a year into our public schools (yes, that's "billion"), with the highest per-pupil funding formula in the nation, and yet have the worst …

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Hardy Principal Heads into New School Year with Confidence

'Rocky period' of Georgetown's middle school is a thing of the past for Mary Stefanus.

Mary Stefanus started the 2011-2012 school year as the new principal at Hardy Middle School, which had three principals come and go between 2010 and 2011. As she begins her second year leading the Georgetown middle school, Stefanus transitions from providing stability to becoming an advocate for the school, its teachers, students and staff. "I walked into a school that has an experienced staff, is strong instructionally and just went through a rocky period of time. I think it’s that simple," Stefanus said. When she started the school year she felt that her role was to provide stability and then to move the school forward. "My goal was really to develop relationships with people, to get to know the staff and to really kind of stabilize...…

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Hyde-Addison Sneak Preview Tonight

Parents and students are invited to stop by classrooms and meet teachers.

Before kids head back to school Monday, Hyde-Addison Elementary wants to give students a chance to meet their new teachers and check out their classrooms. This evening is the Hyde-Addison sneak preview event from 4 to 5:30 p.m. "This is an informal opportunity for families to say hello to teachers and staff and peek in the classroom before the first day of school," wrote Principal Dana Nerenberg in an email to parents.  Because of ongoing construction activities, attendees are advised to use the main door to Hyde from O Street and to access Addison from P Street. The playground will not be accessible.

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DCPS Beautification Day Needs Volunteers

Stoddert Elementary still has room for volunteers; there will be no event at Hyde-Addison this year.

Next Saturday is D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) Beautification Day and at least one local school still needs volunteers. The annual event held on Aug. 25 this year—the weekend before school starts —is a community-wide effort to clean up schools and make sure they look their best before students return for another year of learning. This year Hyde-Addison will not be participating in the clean-up because of work being done on the campus. Stoddert Elementary could still use a few volunteers, though, according to the DCPS website. Sign up online and stop by Stoddert (4001 Calvert St. NW) between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. "Bring your family and help weed the garden, lays some wood chips, rake leaves, wash windows and help Stoddert get ready for school. …

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