The Crestwood Citizens Association (CCA) held its January 15, 2008 meeting for members at the home of Alan & Susan Houseman from 7:00 PM to 8:45 PM. A quorum of the board and a number of members were present.

Utility Service Hearing

On February 7 & 9, 2008 the city council will sponsor a city utility service hearing at the Office of the Peoples Council.
• Thursday, February 7 – 10:00 AM – Council Chamber
• Saturday, February 9 – 11:00 AM – Room 412
Complaints and concerns may be expressed about service outages as well as increasing utility costs without proper approval.

It is recommended that concerns be sent in writing prior to the meeting by those who plan to testify:

Councilmember Mary Cheh
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004

abenjamin@dccouncil.us

Phone service has been erratic because a “trunk” wire rusted out due to exposure to rain and other moisture. It was reported that there are widespread phone problems with the Verizon infrastructure.

Crime

The most recent crime “stat sheet” was distributed; however, our new DC Commander Linda Brown did not attend tonight’s meeting.

New CCA Member Update

CCA welcomed Danielle Reyes as a new member.

Change in By-Laws

An amendment to the CCA by-laws was proposed and unanimously passed to give all members (including members from adjacent blocks) the right to vote and participate fully in CCA’s benefits.

Cradle to Crutches

CCA discussed a cradle to crutches initiative so that residents may “age in place” rather than leave the Crestwood when personal needs increase. CCA will consider establishing a support system to keep seniors in their homes by identifying who needs help and what their needs are. The system would also identify neighbors who are willing and able to assist by providing help with shopping, transport to and from doctor visits, meals, and other personal services.

Ionna Senior Services, a senior assistance organization was mentioned as a model program. Also, the pastor of Grace Church offered assistance to the Crestwood neighborhood last year.

Joint Meeting of Crestwood and the Neighborhood League

CCA and the League have agreed to hold a joint meet and greet in the spring.

Pepco

Neighborhood coordinator from the mayor’s office at DDOT public works, Ayana Rockett has arranged to have Pepco attend the next CCA meeting to discuss electrical service to Crestwood. Ms. Rockett can be reached at 202-340-8555.

Members are encouraged to call and report to Pepco each time an electrical outage occurs even if the outage is resolved quickly. Simply call 877-PEPCO and dial zero for the operator, then ask for the dispatcher. This way Pepco will have a record of the outages suffered in the neighborhood.

Schools

Most of the meeting was dedicated to discussing education for CCA children. A list of the 30 schools to which the residents are sending their children was distributed. The Powell School’s reputation for providing a high quality education is less than stellar. It is difficult to place children into another school through the “out of boundary lottery” because there are not enough spaces in preferred schools. One parent recommended calling the principal at the preferred school and asking that a particular child be accepted for enrollment. There are about ten preferred schools but space appears to be unavailable on a consistent basis. However, if parents wait until September, a space may open up because a lottery winner has dropped out.

The most difficult schools to get into are pre-school and kindergarten. Beginning in the second grade it is easier to get into the preferred schools through the lottery process.

One parent suggested that a group of dedicated parents get together and “take over the school”. The idea is to organize the parents, determine which teachers should be allowed to teach which courses, and to take an assertive stand against administrators and educators who make decisions that may not be in the best interest of a quality education.

This group of parents should speak with the superintendent of schools and find out what the school is entitled to such as computers, library, lab equipment, and other teaching aids and make sure the school receives the entitlements.

The parents should invite the school board and administrators to their homes to discuss the needs of the school and work to satisfy those needs. Parent can ensure that the school operates as it should and that the students do their homework. Further, the parents can raise money for the school to supplement school aids.

The members discussed establishing a group – Friends of Powell School. The suggestion was to hold weekly meetings to strategize. Also, neighbors, even those without children in the school, should attend the PTA meetings to help ensure our children receive a quality education. The group would be an advocate for the school to bring the school’s standards up.

Many parents in DC send their children to private schools, if some of these parents would consider making donations to a public school by funding specific areas such as arts, science, or music, then Powell could become a model and magnet school in ten years. In addition to Powell, perhaps a group could be formed to support West / Deal School.

ers discussed how charter schools have drained off better students – charter schools are businesses – even though they are publicly funded. Charter schools don’t receive capital budgets but most do hold fund raising activities throughout the year for this purpose. Some charter schools are year round which helps out working parents.

Parents should visit the schools to see what is happening, by staying informed, parents will be better able to assist the school in improving the education standards.

Other ideas discussed were to seek grants from foundations to make capital improvements such as building a gymnasium.

The National Zoo’s summer school program was discussed, it was recommended that parents book their children in January in order to ensure placement.

Upcoming Events

The annual Easter egg hunt will be held the week before Easter. The kids team is asking for ideas for entertaining the kids.

Last year’s July 4th kid’s parade was a success and a parade will be held again on July 4th, 2008.

Other

The city is conducting a “history project” and members are encouraged to volunteer stories, photos, and related items to this project.

CCA established a new committee – The CCA History Committee.

Next Meeting

The meeting of CCA is Tuesday, March 18, 2008.