Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967
Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Vol. XLVIII, No. 48
The Northwest Current
Lower grades struggle on PARCC
all the trimmings
■ 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
Debate swirls over site’s redevelopment By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
Brian Kapur/The Current
Cathedral Commons hosted its first community Holiday Tree lighting on Saturday in front of Giant Food. The event included live performances, free photos with Santa, food and more.
The prospective developers of the former Spring Valley Superfresh site are adjusting their plans after hearing mixed reactions from residents at a recent community meeting. Valor Development is planning a mixed-use project with two buildings, six and seven stories tall, according to an early version of its design concept shared at the Nov. 12 meeting of the Tenleytown/American University Park advisory neighborhood commission. The development would include approximately 250 housing units, a full-size supermarket, other commercial uses, a new street and open plaza, and an underground parking garage at the corner of 48th and Yuma streets NW. Most apartments would be two- or three-bedroom units, likely a mix of condos and rentals, and there would See Superfresh/Page 14
Brian Kapur/The Current
Valor Development is planning a large mixed-use project on the site of the long-shuttered Superfresh at 48th and Yuma streets NW.
Agency has high hopes for Van Ness commercial area
Art instructor at Walls wins systemwide honor By KELSEY KNORP
■ Business: Action Strategy
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
suggests beautification, events 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
Agreement on new moratorium hits snag in Georgetown — Page 3
Sidwell topples Eastern in thriller for DCSAA title — Page 11
Current Staff Writer
More than 30,000 cars pass through Van Ness every day, but few of them stop to take advantage of what the area has to offer. Neighborhood leaders, in concert with the D.C. Office of Planning, want to change that. Goals of the long-term project, outlined in the Office of Planning’s Commercial District Action Strategy
HOLIDAYS
Varied light displays brighten the season across Northwest — Page 16
document, include expanding retail and business options along Connecticut Avenue NW, integrating the neighborhood’s cultural diversity into events and other programming, and beautifying landscapes to emphasize green space and sustainability. Through Dec. 14, residents can submit feedback to the Office of Planning on the ideas presented in the document. The city’s strategy builds on the efforts of a grass-roots visioning committee that sprouted a couple of years ago from the local advisory See Van Ness/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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