In 2010, during Michelle Rhee’s tenure as DCPS school chancellor, the District government promised the parents, students and staff of Bruce Monroe Elementary School as well as the surrounding community that if they tore the building down they would rebuild the school on the same spot. Long story short, the building is down but the new one hasn’t been built. All those Bruce Monroe stakeholders are still wondering what’s up? After all, when you say you’re gonna do a thing, integrity demands that you make your best effort.
Despite the ethical challenges facing our elected officials, parents continue to attend and testify at public hearings regarding the school. The latest hearing in which Bruce Monroe was mentioned was in March of 2011. Although Grassroots Media Project radio producer Rachel Estabrook put this audio segment together way back then, I’m just now getting around to posting it. (My apologies. )
To join the campaign to rebuild Bruce Monroe contact Daniel del Pielago at (202) 234-9119 ext. 104 or Daniel@empowerdc.org.
In the above audio segment, you will hear a number of parents testify about their continued frustrations over unfulfilled promises and problems with Parkview Elementary, the school their children are now attending. One of those parents is Sequnely Gray, Empower DC’s childcare organizer. She is all too familiar with the Bruce Monroe saga seeing as how three of her children attended Bruce Monroe before it was demolished. I asked her to chronicle a brief history of the organizing efforts of the Parents and Friends of Bruce Monroe. Her response, which I think is an inspiring example of community leadeship in the face of a city hall that , follows:
For the past ten years the friends, teachers, parents and staff of Bruce Monroe have fought continuously to insure that our children receive a quality education as well as a beautiful, safe and healthy environment for them to succeed in. In 2008, we were informed by the Washington Post that Bruce Monroe elementary school would be closed for good.
At that moment parents, staff and teachers rallied together with the help of Teaching for Change to advocate for our children’s school. We advocated for closed classrooms and new windows. The parents, staff and community members got together and reached out to some businesses in our community. As a result of our efforts, we received a generous donation of $1 million dollars from Target to build a 21st century, state of the art library and the whole east side of the school remodeled, including new walls and new windows.
Several months later we meet with Ward 1 councilmember Jim Graham, Mayor Adrian Fenty, and newly appointed DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. They each stated that we didn’t need to beg and plead for a new facility for our children because this is what they should have and the only way to get it was to relocate to Parkview Elementary School on Warder Street NW. They promised that a new Bruce Monroe Elementary School would be built by the fall of 2011 under a public/private partnership. The parents were excited to find out that the school would not be closed. We rallied once again, knocking on doors and passing out flyers to make sure the community knew that [even though the old Bruce Monroe would be demolished a new state-of-the-art Bruce Monroe was still going to be built and opened] was still going to be opened.
For the 2008/2009 school year, we relocated to Parkview Elementary on Warder Street NW. The conditions of that building were very poor; poorer than they were at Bruce Monroe. In the summer of 2009, the parents, community members and the staff formed a SIT team to work in partnership with DCPS to develop plans for the rebuild of Bruce Monroe. We meet 2 or 3 times but after that we heard nothing from the city officials. We tried to contact and schedule meetings with Mayor Fenty and Michelle Rhee but we got no response.
While trying to figure out who to talk to next about the rebuild of the school, we decided that we needed help advocating for this property that had been stolen from us and to inform the community of what DC Government was doing behind our backs. With the help of Ms. Dyana Forester, we were connected with Empower DC.
Empower DC held trainings and facilitated meetings with the parents, staff and community members to build leadership and to help us become better advocates for positive change in our community and a safe and healthy environment for our children. Empower DC helped parents prepare testimonies to testify before the city council and helped us schedule a meeting with our councilmember Jim Graham.
At several of those meeting, Mr. Graham was rude and disrespectful to his constituents. He would make gestures as if he were tired of us asking him to support the rebuild of Bruce Monroe. Councilmember Graham has personally disrespected me–a constituent, A DCPS parent and a DC resident that voted for him. In one meeting, I stated that we were tired of being given the run-around and asked him if there was one person that we could work with on a continuing basis. Councilmember Graham cut me off in the middle of my question and stated, “you can’t ask me that question. You haven’t met your meeting quota yet because you work for Empower DC.” (Incidentally, I was not a staff member of Empower DC at the time.) Graham continued to be disrespectful. He could never commit to supporting the rebuild of Bruce Monroe. He kept interrupting the parents and staff that were trying to voice their opinions. Graham never gave us a straight answer about who the contact person was, the budget or if we even had money in the budget for the rebuild of Bruce Monroe.
The rest of the parents, community members along with Dyana Forester and Empower DC expressed to Councilmember Graham that I was a long time parent at Bruce Monroe and that had I testified several times before him and the rest of the council members regarding the same issue we were meeting about now.
This was the second time Mr. Graham had disrespected me. The previous time was at the unveiling of the mural dedicated to the remembrance of Bruce Monroe. The parents, community members and staff were not invited to have input in the creation of the mural nor where our children apart of creating the mural. Councilmember Graham arrived at the ceremony and came over to the group of parents from Bruce Monroe to greet them. As I reached out to shake his hand and ask him a few question, he proceeded to walk away and say, “I’m busy. I’m already late. I don’t have time for this,” and walked away. All of this happened in front of my three children.
After the ceremony, we all walked down to veiw the mural. As we looked at the mural, I tried to explain to my boys how the mural was related to our community and the school but I couldn’t. Because we didn’t have an opportunity for input, the mural didn’t’ reflect the community. While explaining this to my boys, Councilmember Graham rudely interrupted me and asked my boys if they wanted to take a picture with him. My 9-year-old (at the time), Keon Houston, held his head up as high as he could, looked him in the eye with no fear and said” No Sir, we want our school back.” His 2 younger brothers, LaMarr Houston, Jr and Renard Gray, who were five and seven at the time, said “Yeah, Rebuild Bruce Monroe!” At that moment, I was so very proud of my children and I realized how much of a positive influence Empower DC had had on them. Not just the adult advocates but the children as well became leader amongst their peers.
The parents, staff, community members and students of Bruce Monroe at Parkview Elementary have worked very hard and sacrificed many days and weekends to ensure that the community is informed about the things that the city officials are doing to its constituency. There is supposed to be $20.3 million dollars secured in the Master Facilities Plan for the modernization of Bruce Monroe at Parkview. At the end of the 2011/2012 school year, we will receive $5.5 million dollars for the first phase of modernization starting after the last day of school. The first phase consists of remodeling classrooms and fresh paint but the problems with the Parkview building are not just cosmetic. The building is almost 100 years old and it functions that way. There is a great need for a new plumbing system, an electrical upgrade as well as proper ventilation and heating systems. We also have a continued rodent infestation problem that has not yet been resolved. So, you see, even though we are receiving $5.5 million for a phase1 modernization, we are still in a fight to make sure that what we get is quality sustainable.
Since the election of our new mayor Gray, we have been in contact with the proper officials regarding these issues and we are scheduled to meet once again with our Councilmember Jim Graham and the Deputy Mayor for Education Anthony DeGuzman to complete the details and planning of our phase 1 modernization.
It has been a long, hard and continuing struggle but with the support of Empower DC and the community we know this can happen and that we can make a change. To those facing similar problems in theirs communities, take action, raise your voice and become a member of EMPOWER DC.
Sincerely,
Sequnely Gray (Parent Leader @ Bruce Monroe @ Parkview)
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