Serving Burleith, Foxhall, Georgetown, Georgetown Reservoir & Glover Park
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Vol. XXV, No. 18
The Georgetown Current
Lower grades struggle on PARCC
c h ristmas carols
■ Schools: About a quarter
of D.C. students ‘proficient’
By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
Only a quarter of D.C.’s elementary and middle school students scored proficient on the first iteration of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers exam in the spring, according to
results released Monday by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education. In the District’s public and public charter schools, 25 percent of the test-takers earned a proficient score of 4 or 5 on the PARCC English exam, and 24 percent scored proficient in math — in line with the disappointing high school exam results released earlier this fall. Roughly a quarter of D.C. students scored 3, defined as “approaching”
expectations on both exams; the scores of 4 and 5 are described as “meeting” and “exceeding” expectations, respectively. D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson, in a statement, called the results “sobering.” Henderson and other city officials, including Mayor Muriel Bowser, atlarge D.C. Council member David Grosso, deputy mayor for education Jennifer Niles and charter schools See Scores/Page 5
Roof deck plans shuttered amid dispute By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
Brian Kapur/The Current
The Georgetown Visitation Madrigals performed at the 12th annual tree-lighting ceremony at the Fairmont Washington, D.C. Georgetown on Tuesday. The yearly event at the West End hotel served up complimentary hot chocolate and cookies to attendees. The ceremony also helped to kick off the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots Program.
A local hotel owner has abruptly placed plans for two controversial roof decks on hold, surrendering building permits for the projects just days before scheduled appeals by neighbors. The Glover Park Hotel (the new name of the Savoy Suites, located at 2505 Wisconsin Ave. NW) and The Carlyle at 1731 New Hampshire Ave. NW are both new members of the Kimpton boutique hotel line, and each is undergoing a host of renovations. The properties are located in otherwise residential areas, which precludes any increase in commercial activity without special zoning approval. At issue with both hotels is whether a roof deck counts as expanded commercial activity. The District’s zoning administrator says no — that a new use of existing roof space isn’t an expansion of the hotel’s commerSee Hotels/Page 14
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
The company that owns the Glover Park Hotel, formerly known as the Savoy Suites, has faced neighborhood challenges to a proposed roof deck.
Negotiations on modifying restaurant limits face hurdle
Art instructor at Walls wins systemwide honor By KELSEY KNORP
■ Georgetown: ANC delays
Current Correspondent
High school teacher James Cunningham hit the $10,000 jackpot on Tuesday when D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Kaya Henderson and a handful of other administrators paid a surprise visit to announce he’d been named the school system’s 2015 Teacher of the Year. The School Without Walls High School instructor has taught various forms of art in the D.C. Public Schools system for 32 years, and he completed his own high school education at Eastern High. He began teaching at School Without Walls in 2008 after a long stint at Anacostia High. Cunningham has also taught at Dunbar High and teaches university courses at various institutions as well.
NEWS
action on BID’s proposal
By MARK LIEBERMAN Kelsey Knorp/The Current
James Cunningham, a 32-year veteran of D.C. Public Schools, won the system’s annual award yesterday.
In an interview after the ambush, Cunningham named among his mentors former D.C. Public Schools arts supervisor Georgia Jessup and Bowie State professor Simmie Knox. “I use my classroom the same way she did,” he said of Jessup. “She would set up her easel, and she was painting toward the [class]. And contemporaries See Teacher/Page 10
SPOR TS
Debate swirls over redevelopment of vacant Superfresh — Page 3
Sidwell topples Eastern in thriller for DCSAA title — Page 11
Current Staff Writer
Negotiations stalled this week surrounding the expiring moratorium on liquor licenses for restaurants in Georgetown. The advisory neighborhood commission opted not to vote on an informally agreed-upon proposal, instead calling for the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to extend the moratorium as is by 60 days
HOLIDAYS
Varied light displays brighten the season across Northwest — Page 16
instead of allowing it to expire in February. Commissioners said they hoped the extra time would allow the parties to reach a consensus. Representatives of the neighborhood commission, Georgetown Business Improvement District and local citizens association have been negotiating a proposed end to the 27-year moratorium’s cap on liquor licenses for restaurants in hopes of spurring more establishments to open in the neighborhood. The moratorium currently prevents new restaurants, taverns and nightclubs from securing liquor licenses and See Licenses/Page 12
INDEX Calendar/18 Classifieds/26 District Digest/2 Exhibits/19 In Your Neighborhood/6 Opinion/8
Police Report/4 Real Estate/13 School Dispatches/23 Service Directory/24 Sports/11 Week Ahead/3
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