MacFarland Middle School at 4400 Iowa Ave NW

by Cesse Ip

MacFarland Middle School serves 6th, 7th and 8th graders with an enrollment of 628, according to DCPS. Seven DCPS Elementary Schools feed into MacFarland, according to DCPS last year’s published feeder patterns: Barnard, Bruce Monroe, Dorothy Height, Powell, Raymond, Truesdell and John Lewis (formerly West), and the entire school feeds into Roosevelt High School.

This year MacFarland Middle School welcomed a new principal, Lucas Cooke. Cooke spent the last five years as principal of Hardy Middle School and is excited to now lead Petworth’s neighborhood middle school. Cooke is a Petworth resident and a parent of children in a MacFarland feeder school. Petworth News had the opportunity to walk around the school and talk to the new principal candidly about his goals and challenges he faces as he steps into his new role.

Cooke’s overarching goal as the new principal at MacFarland is to increase communication directly with the school population as well as with the greater Petworth area. He wants the school to be accessible and welcoming to families and that the neighborhood feels like it's “their school.” For the student population, he wants those pre-teens and teenagers to feel like they are supported, challenged, and know that there are people in the school who know and care about them.

Principal Lucas Cooke and some of the MacFarland staff

During his tenure at MacFarland, Cooke says he wants to ensure that each student is academically challenged, on grade level for every subject, and ready for high school. This will be a big challenge for MacFarland (as well as across the District) as 2022 PARCC scores recently released showed scores that dropped to their lowest levels in the last five years. Scores show that over half of the student body at MacFarland last year scored below grade level.

According to the analysis done by the Washington Post, Black and Hispanic children tested considerably behind their White peers. The MacFarland student body has 45% English-language learners, 41% At-Risk learners, 64% Hispanic population and a 34% Black population, similar economic and demographic statistics as its feeder schools.

Despite the low-test scores, Cooke’s goal is to have neighborhood families see MacFarland as a great option for their children. He wants the community to know the accurate narrative of the school, neither inflated or deflated.

Cooke has only been at MacFarland for a few months, and he already sees a lot of strengths at the school. First, he sees the student body population as a strength of the school. There are kids that speak multiple languages, and many of the Latinx students, plus students who are not native Spanish speakers, are able to take courses in Spanish. There are students from cultures all over the world, and he wants to ensure that every student voice is listened to and advocated for.

Perhaps the most important strength of the school that Cooke has identified is the hard-working and committed staff of MacFarland. He knows that they care deeply for the students and are excited to help them reach the goals that are set for them. The staff as a whole he says has a “palpable energy and excitement” about working with the students.

MacFarland staff at a recent Holiday Mart

During our walk through the school, another obvious strength was the facility. Its recent renovation was completed in 2018 and the auditorium, library and natural light of the building are a great bonus. Cooke also said the way the school is laid out is great for well-structured and orderly transition.

In addition to the diverse student body and new facility, Cooke sees another strength in parent and community engagement. He saw a huge turnout for Back-to-School night and is hoping to increase community involvement going forward. At Hardy Middle, he saw parents coming to their open houses with children only in 1st grade, and he has plans to increase community engagement during his time at MacFarland.

The renovated Library at MacFarland Middle School

If you want to get more involved with MacFarland, you can sign up for their public newsletter by emailing uchenna.offor@k12.dc.gov. They hope to have more open houses and events throughout the school year where they can open the doors to the community.