Safety, Traffic, Parking and Schools -January 20th at 7 p.m.

Dear Edgewood Community,

As you may know, there have been many traffic-related issues that have disturbed our community since the beginning of this school year. We recently met to discuss how we can all work as a community to solve these problems.

Inspired Teaching School is deeply troubled by these issues, and has directly intervened in a number of ways. The following is a list of tactics, each attempted many times since August 2015:

·         

      Announcements and discussions on the school listserve

·         Weekly reminders in the Head of School Newsletter and Principal Newsletters

·         A lengthy lecture regarding traffic DOs and DONTs at Back to School Night

·         Calls to police station to request a presence in the mornings

·         Requests/petitions for a crossing guard

·         More staff and parent volunteers working to support the morning drop-off process

·         Placement of orange traffic cones to direct traffic flow

·         A parent-led initiative for a Traffic Calming Application to the city for our street

·         Increased coordination with Lee Montessori regarding their families

·         The school issued “tickets” to offenders

Collectively, we believe that all stakeholders must have an opportunity to be heard, and the various District agencies that may be able to help must be able to see a unified request for resources and support. That is why we have agreed to a joint meeting to further discuss potential resolutions, to take place on Wednesday, January 20, 2016 (7pm) – hosted at Inspired Teaching School. We are working to ensure the participation of many District agencies, including: MPD, WMATA, PCSB, DDOT, the Mayor’s office, Councilman McDuffie’s office, and more.

We are inviting all neighbors, school families, and community members to attend this meeting and help us work toward a solution. The school and the community have very similar interests as far as traffic flow and safe neighborhood conditions are concerned, and we look forward to collaboratively problem-solving this issue with the public and the government agencies who may find ways to support us.

Thank you so much for your patience and your support as we attempt to make our neighborhood safer and less congested for the benefit of everyone. Please know that we have been aware of the traffic issues, and have been working tirelessly to address them. We care about our community, and we are committed to making it better. Hope to see you on January 20^th at 7pm!

Best,

Sally Hobaugh, ANC 5E10

Inspired Teaching School Staff

P.S. The school has opened an avenue for public feedback regarding neighborhood concerns. All correspondence can be directed to community@inspiredteachingschool.org, or (202)248-6825