Creative Minds International Public Charter School Planning Move to Old Soldiers’ Home
Yesterday, February 9th, Congresswoman Norton’s Office announced that she was a featured speaking at the lease signing ceremony at the Armed Forces Retirement Home with Creative Minds International Public Charter School (CMI). CMI is currently located at 3224 16th Street, NW. Beginning in the 2015-2016 school year, CMI will move to the AFRH’s Sherman Building.
Explore posts in the same categories: Armed Forces Retirement Home, SchoolsNorton to Commemorate Opening of Creative Minds International Public Charter School at Armed Forces Retirement Home, Today
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today will speak at the lease signing ceremony marking a partnership between the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH), a federal institution, and Creative Minds International Public Charter School (CMI) at the Armed Forces Retirement Home Sherman Building South (140 Rock Creek Church Rd. NW) at 2:00 p.m. Norton will be joined by CMI Founder/Head of School Dr. Golnar Abedin, D.C. Public Charter School Board Executive Director Scott Pearson, AFRH Chief Operating Officer Steven McManus, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense-Military Community and Family Policy Rosemary Williams, and a host of parents and friends.
Sherman Building.
In December, Norton met with AFHR and requested that AFRH submit its notification of the lease to Congress, as required by law, by the start of January so that CMI could sign the lease this month and open in time for the start of the school year. Norton helped secure $15 million for D.C. Public Charter Schools in the fiscal year 2015 appropriations bill.
“The partnership between CMI and AFRH is not only innovative but increasingly necessary in a city where land is scarce and the unoccupied space is often on federal land,” Norton said. “We appreciate how hard CMI and AFRH have worked together so that hundreds of students will have the opportunity to learn and grow in an excellent charter school surrounded by green space.”
“The Creative Minds International Public Charter School community is enthusiastic about our upcoming move this August to the historic Sherman Building, on the beautiful grounds of the AFRH campus,” Abedin said. “We look forward to growing a long-term partnership with AFRH, and are grateful for this wonderful opportunity.”
“This new space will be a big improvement to the learning environment of the 250 students that will attend Creative Minds this fall,” Pearson said. “It is particularly exciting that they will be in a facility close to where so many of our nation’s retired veterans live.”
“We are very pleased that Creative Minds International Public Charter School will be opening in the fall of 2015,” McManus said. “This will be a wonderful partnership for many years to come, and this partnership will assist AFRH in continuing to grow ties with the Washington, D.C. community.”
The school will lease 32,000 sq. ft. of space for 16 classrooms at AFRH in its North Sherman and Annex buildings. Beginning this fall, 250 CMI students will attend classes at the AFRH campus.
Tags: AFRH, Charter Schools
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February 10, 2015 at 9:32 am
This is not good. Charter schools are not held accountable enough; they undermine attention that should be focused on DCPS. They take real estate in what I consider a predatory manner, once again without scrutiny. No, I am not a parent or DCPS employee. What’s your opinion Kent?
February 13, 2015 at 3:51 pm
I am torn between saying “hurray!” because these old buildings will now be occupied (so sad to see them empty and falling apart). And screaming “No!” because of the added brain drain on local DCPS schools. And who wouldn’t love to see their children gamboling daily in the grasses of the Soldier’s Home? There are several other empty buildings so more charters could potentially follow.
Maybe opening up the home to the public could help a bit. As Kent has often pointed out, our school and park were designed during a period when the Soldier’s Home was publicly accessible, so there was less of a demand for open green space (and the park and school playground are small, potentially as a result).