New Private School Opening This Fall

A new private school will open its doors this fall on South Capitol Street.  According to the press release, Waterfront Academy is a dual immersion (Spanish and English) faith-based Montessori school with emphasis on charity and stewardship.  The school will be located at 1225 South Capitol Street, next door to the BARJ center and catty corner to Nationals Park.  Waterfront Academy is currently accepting applications for both Primary (ages 2.5-6) and Lower Elementary (ages 6-9) students.  Applications can be submitted online and are due by July 31.  Tuition for the 2013-14 school year is as follows:

Primary                                                 $12,000

Lower Elementary                                  $14,000

After School (until 6pm)                          $300/month

Part-time Tues/Thurs (ages 2.5-4)            $4,800

Part-time Mon/Wed/Fri (ages 2.5-4)         $7,200

A Couple Quick Items: Business Opportunity Fair, KIPP Info Session

 

- Clark Construction is now looking for Certified Business Enterprises (CBEs) to be a part of Phase I of The Wharf. There will be a business opportunity fair on Monday, April 15 from 1 - 3pm at Arena Stage. At the event, participants will have the opportunity to hear about current plans for Phase I of The Wharf; learn about how a CBE can be a part of subcontracting opportunities; meet and network with representatives from the Clark team; and explore how a DC-based business can become certified. RSVP is required.

Rendering courtesy of Hoffman Madison Waterfront

- There will be an information session this evening about KIPP DC's proposal to build a new charter high school on the site of Randall Recreation Center at South Capitol and I streets. Check out the South by West article that appears in this month's Hill Rag about the proposal. Tonight's information session will be held at Jenny's Asian Fusion (1000 Water Street) at 6pm. Dinner will be provided by KIPP DC. 

Rendering courtesy of Studios Architecture

A Couple Quick Items: Differing Views on KIPP Proposal, Fatal Shooting

- A couple of editorials in The Washington Post have been written recently on KIPP DC's proposal to build a new charter high school on the site of Randall Recreation Center at South Capitol and I streets. First up is one called District Officials Oddly Unwelcoming to a KIPP Charter High School, authored by the Post's editorial board (disclosure: the Chairman & Chief Executive of the WaPo is on the board of trustees of KIPP DC). The other editorial called No Need to Rush Decision on Randall Park was written by Felicia Couts, President of Capitol Park IV Condominium Association board, which is located next door to Randall.

- In what appears to be the result of a domestic dispute, there was a fatal shooting in a residential building at the 1200 block of 4th Street, one block south of the Waterfront metro according to The Washington Post.

AppleTree Exploring Bid to Buy Southeastern U. Building

A couple agenda items at last night's ANC 6D meeting dealt with Southeastern University, which closed its doors in August 2009. The first item was a resolution by Commissioner Sobelsohn to remove -SEU from the name of the Waterfront-SEU Metro station. The SEU campus and name was purchased by the GS Graduate School earlier this year. GS Graduate School has been mum on their plans for the building at 6th & I Street, but it appears that the school building may now be on the market. As a result, the ANC voted 3-0-1 to remove SEU from the Metro station name.

The second SEU-related item was that Jack McCarthy from AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School mentioned that the school is exploring the option of expanding its presence in Southwest by bidding on the SEU building. Currently, AppleTree does activities at Amidon-Bowen Elementary and Riverside Baptist Church locally, but does not have sufficient space to do all its programming. AppleTree also has a campus in Columbia Heights and Hill East. Cost estimates for renovating the SEU building for use by AppleTree is approximately $150/SF with about a third of the cost needed to upgrade building systems. Under the proposal offered by McCarthy, no floors would be added to the building, but some of the parking lot would be covered with playground equipment. AppleTree hopes to formally place their bid by mid-December and depending on the selection process, if the school is selected by GS Graduate School, McCarthy hopes to have some classrooms available by August 2011 when the new school year begins. After some discussion by the Commissioners and positive audience comments about the SEU building remaining a school under this proposal, the ANC voted 5-0-1 to support AppleTree's bid.

Amidon-Bowen Elementary Participating in "Safe Routes to School" Program

Amidon-Bowen Elementary School, located at the corner of 4th & I Street, is one of 13 schools from across the city that will benefit from Ward 6 Council member Tommy Wells' new DC Safe Routes to School program, according to this press release from the council member's office. DC received $5 million in federal dollars for all 13 schools. From the press release: "Each winning school will form a safe routes team composed of parents, teachers, principals, health and safety specialists and community members. The teams will develop and implement a safe routes plan which will include diverse elements such as bicycle and pedestrian safety training for students; infrastructure improvements (such as signs, signals, crosswalks, sidewalks, and traffic calming measures); enhanced MPD enforcement of traffic rules; and education and outreach activities targeted toward students and families." I'm assuming the reopening of 4th Street through the old Waterside Mall will be incorporated into plans for increasing safety near Amidon-Bowen Elementary. The DC Safe Routes to School program is an off-shoot of the Safe Routes to School State Network Implementation Project, where the District and nine states, including Virginia, will identify and provide technical assistance to locals schools within their communities.