DCPS sent out an email update on Roosevelt High School and MacFarland Middle School, what they've accomplished so far and the names of their new Roosevelt Community Cabinet.

Dear Roosevelt Senior High School community:

At the community meeting on June 18th, DC Public Schools (DCPS) and the Department of General Services (DGS) committed to looking into improvements to the MacFarland building to ensure it will provide a warm and welcoming learning environment for Roosevelt Senior High School students as they await the completion of their new state-of-the-art facility. Together, we conducted a walk-through of MacFarland with several community members to identify specific concerns, and we are happy to announce that we have been able to address those concerns with the following improvements:

Rodent abatement: Several breaches to the exterior have been sealed along the front and back entrances to prevent rats from entering the building. Biweekly remediation for rodent control and elimination will begin this week.

Deep cleaning: All roof drains, window wells, corridor floors, doors, and frames have been cleaned. All bathrooms have been cleaned, painted and new accessories have been installed.
General building repairs: Damaged toilet and sinks have been repaired or replaced. The kitchen and cafeteria has been cleaned and several items repaired.
Restored athletic spaces: The school’s gymnasium locker room has been cleaned. The weight room has been cleaned and painted and rubber flooring and new weights have been installed. New athletic lockers and benches will be installed by August 1st.
Heating and cooling system repairs: All AC units throughout the site have been cleaned, repaired and/or replaced. A new HVAC system has been installed in the auditorium. We plan to replace controllers on the radiators throughout building by mid-July.

We also received many inquiries about the access to the athletics spaces in the new Roosevelt facility during the 2015-16 school year. While the new facility’s construction schedule will not allow for use during fall sports, we are working hard to make the spaces available for winter and spring sports.

In an effort to facilitate regular communication, the School Improvement Team (SIT) will reconvene in September and meet monthly so that we can provide regular updates on MacFarland improvements and new facility construction progress in anticipation of a Fall 2016 opening. Members of the SIT team can expect to hear more information about this next month.
We are also in the midst of planning a robust global studies program that will include global electives, partnerships with local international organizations, a dual language track, and expanded world language offerings for our Roosevelt neighborhood students. In an effort to partner with the community on this planning effort, we have established a Roosevelt Community Cabinet of 20 parents, staff members, alumni, and community members. Members were selected by our School Planning and Community Engagement teams through an application process and are charged with attending monthly Cabinet meetings to advise DCPS as academic and extracurricular programming decisions are made.

We are excited to announce the following members of the inaugural Roosevelt Community Cabinet:

Alfonso Chester Clary, Jr. – Roosevelt HS Parent
Bernadine Okoro – Roosevelt HS Teacher
Carla Ferris – Powell ES Parent
Dina Dajani – Community Member
Dr. Shirley Jackson – Community Member
Eleanor Davis – Community Member
Ellyon Bell – Powell ES Parent
Greg Smith – Roosevelt HS Alumnus
Jennifer Leonard – Community Member
Joseph Martin – Community Member
Julian Hipkins, III – Community Member
Lillian Glymph- Hancock – Roosevelt HS Parent
Lisa Jackson – West EC Parent
Maria Garcia – Truesdell EC Parent
Miniabiyi Ford – Roosevelt HS Staff Member
Patricia Steele – Community Member
Roland Emerson Roebuck – Community Member
Stefan Huh – Bruce Monroe ES Parent
Triena Rogers – Roosevelt HS Alumna
Zach Teutsch – ANC 4C05

To learn more about our Community Cabinet members and learn about what is being discussed at Cabinet meetings, you can visit our DCPS School Planning website. These members will serve as community representatives in the program planning process, and we appreciate their commitment and enthusiasm to partnering in the effort to re-envision Roosevelt Senior High School.

We are committed to supporting Roosevelt and plan to publish communications like this one, updating the community on new information. You can also find regular updates on the DGS website as well as the DCPS web address above. Thank you for your commitment, and we look forward to continuing to partner with you to ensure Roosevelt is the best neighborhood school it can be.

Sincerely,
DC Public Schools
Department of General Services