Education

**10/20/2022 Update: On 10/12, I publicly expressed support for a request that DC Government explore the option of DCPS occupying the former Whittle School/Intelsat campus. Whether for primary or secondary, it would be wise for the District to consider the opportunity to occupy this massive, mostly empty building that is already suitable for a school. With easy red line access, this school location, could service a population wider than ward 3, aiding with the educational needs of the entire district. By bringing daily students, educators and staff, this could aid in the economic vibrancy of the struggling Van Ness retail corridor, this could be excellent for Van Ness and the District as a whole.**

ANC 3Fo5 is home to UDC, Howard Law and the Edmond Burke School and thus students are a big part of Van Ness and ANC 3F05. I intend to carry on the current commissioner's regular meetings with Howard and intend to extend the same to UDC and Burke to ensure the students' and universities' perspectives are being heard.

I am not presently a parent and I do not have a background in education, other than my own and I am of more value on issues such as housing/urbanization, real estate, development/public space issues, where I have a professional background. There will be others in the ANC and the community who have first hand experiences as parents and educators who I will rely on to help me better understand the nuances.

While admittedly not fully knowledgable, I am a supporter of good public education. I had the opportunity to go to a good public school system and I am disturbed by the fact that this is still not the reality for all in a country where we are all supposed to be equal. There is still work to be done to level the playing field of educational system quality across all wards and I will support efforts to do that as well as ensuring that our schools’ infrastructure is up to standards, such as supporting efforts to ensure that classrooms have working AC at all times they are in use, and ensure that students aren’t being exposed to harmful chemicals such as lead or asbestos while they are at school.