Short Notice on Plan to Close Schools Angers Council

For example, the proposal calls for two new Montessori programs in wards 5 and 6 and a gifted and talented program in Ward 1 at Garnet-Patterson Middle School.

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To pay for the programs, Rhee said, the school system must pare down its excess space, which stands at about 302 square feet per student, about twice the national average. The proposal calls for decreasing the 15 million square feet of space in the system to 12.8 million.

"Currently, we are not affording our students quality programs they deserve," Rhee said. "We must provide initiatives and school programs that not only serve kids well but also appeal to parents. With this initiative, we believe, we've laid out a plan that will achieve the highest level of academic performance for students. In order to do this, we must move toward a more effective use of our resources."

But parents and students who might be affected by the closures focused yesterday on what the changes would mean for them.

Jill Weiler, who advocates for parents at Bruce-Monroe Elementary as a member of the community group Telling Stories Project, said parents at the Ward 1 school were shocked that the mayor apparently reneged on an agreement not to close the school. She said the mayor spoke to parents this summer.

"He said it's a new day in D.C. We have a partnership; we make decisions together. . . . It was such a celebratory night," she said.

Now, Weiler said, parents "feel terribly disappointed, discouraged and betrayed."

At Brookland Elementary in Ward 5, sixth-grader David Massie, 11, lamented the possible closing of his school.

"The classes aren't out of control and unruly," said David, an honor roll student who placed third in the citywide science fair. "Students respect the teachers."

Former superintendent Clifford B. Janey proposed closing 19 schools last year under a staggered schedule through 2019. Nine schools overlap with Rhee's plan: Bowen Elementary, Bunker Hill Elementary, Gage-Eckington Elementary, Hine Middle School, Mamie D. Lee School, Sharpe Health School, Shaw Middle School, Slowe Elementary and Stevens Elementary.

Community meetings will be held in December and January in the wards with schools that might close. Rhee said she will make a final recommendation to the mayor on the closings in January.

Staff writers V. Dion Haynes and Nikita Stewart and news researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.