100 signatures reached
To: Mayor Bowser & DCPS
Keep Glover Park & Stoddert Together
KEEP STODDERT AND GLOVER PARK TOGETHER! PLEASE JOIN YOUR NEIGHBORS IN OPPOSING THE DCPS PLAN TO RE-ASSIGN STODDERT FAMILIES TO FOXHALL.
DCPS is planning to divide Glover Park and re-assign families within Stoddert's boundaries to the new Foxhall School (1550 Foxhall Road, NW).
Mayor Bowser's plan would re-assign families within Stoddert's boundaries to the new Foxhall School, even though Foxhall is not accessible or walkable from Glover Park, or any portion of Stoddert's current boundaries. If Stoddert families were re-assigned to Foxhall, the average distance for Stoddert families to their assigned school would change from 0.4 miles to 1.2 miles.
Moreover, there is no direct way for Stoddert families to reach the Foxhall School, either on foot or by vehicle. Re-assigning Stoddert families to the proposed Foxhall School would increase congestion. And it would also run counter to the Mayor’s goal of encouraging families to walk to school.
Please ask Mayor Bowser and DCPS to keep Stoddert and the Glover Park communities together.
Join your neighbors and sign this petition to keep Glover Park and Stoddert together.
Why is this important?
Why We Support Keeping Stoddert and Glover Park Together?
First, the Foxhall School is not walkable from any part of the current Stoddert boundaries. Re-assigning students to the new Foxhall School from even the closest point of Stoddert’s current boundaries would, at a minimum double, if not triple, the distance for families to their assigned school. Presently, the vast majority (at least 70%) of Stoddert families walk to school.
Re-assigning Stoddert students to the new Foxhall School does not make sense, particularly given the Deputy Mayor for Education’s emphasis on walkability.
Re-assigning Stoddert students to Foxhall would also be contrary to the Mayor’s “Safe Routes to School Program,” which aims to increase safety, reduce fuel consumption, and encourage families to walk to school.
DCPS has stated that Stoddert’s renovation is projected to meet the needs of the community for the next five years; therefore, there is no urgent need to redraw Stoddert’s boundaries, particularly since they have already been redrawn within the last ten years.
Additionally, because of the natural geographic borders to the south and west of Stoddert’s current boundaries (Whitehaven and Glover Archbold Park) there is no direct way to reach the Foxhall School, either on foot or by vehicle. There are only two routes around the parks; the public transit options are limited and insufficient, and forcing families into personal vehicles during rush hour along the only two streets that run from Stoddert’s boundaries to the new proposed Foxhall School would greatly increase congestion.
There are several blocks in Burleith—situated between the Stoddert community and Foxhall—that are assigned to Hyde Addison. Re-assigning Stoddert students from the southern portion of Stoddert's current boundaries to the new Foxhall School would require those students to leapfrog over neighborhoods zoned to Hyde Addison. And it would isolate those students from their neighbors, potentially to the north and south. This does not make sense.
We ask for the community's support in opposing the DCPS plan to re-assign families within Stoddert's current boundaries to the new Foxhall School. Please sign the petition and make your voice heard!