Forest Hills Connection | News and Life in Our DC Neighborhood

Covering Forest Hills, Van Ness, North Cleveland Park and Wakefield

School updates: A new school year begins, a new UDC library opens, and we remember a longtime public schools advocate

Back-to-school season is now under way. UDC students started classes on August 21st. DC Public Schools students (except for pre-K) return today. And most private primary and secondary schools welcome students after Labor Day.

What’s new at UDC: At the August 8th UDC Community-Campus Task Force meeting, officials revealed 2,699 students are enrolled for the fall semester at the community college, Van Ness campus, and the David A. Clarke School of Law. Construction is under way at a second biomedical engineering lab. (We’ve written about the program here and here.) The UDC Student Center will be one of DC’s early voting locations. And the university’s new library, on the B level of Buildings 38 and 39 (the Student Center’s closest neighbors), will have a room for the community’s use.

UDC will hold a public dedication for the library, which has opened to students, on a date to be announced. But the library’s delightful X account has been giving us sneak peeks.

Where the UDC Library stacks once stood. (photo from Gilbane Building’s DC Archives construction updates website)

Clearing out UDC’s Building 41: The UDC library moved because its previous home, Building 41, is being dismantled from the inside-out to make way for the District’s new archives.

The DC government’s contractor has launched a website for monthly updates on the archives project. Per the August update:

The construction team has mobilized onsite and interior abatement and demolition has commenced. Abatement and interior demolition will take place during normal working hours and will conclude after approximately 10 weeks. Temporary fencing is currently being installed around the perimeter of the building and along the divide in the garage to limit access to the active construction site for the general public. There are roughly 15 workers onsite each day.

The FAQ section on the site will be filled in as people submit their questions.

Remembering Mary Levy: For five decades, we saw her apply her data analysis skills to fierce advocacy for equitable public schools funding across the District. Upon her death on July 31st, The Washington Post called her a DC school budget guru. Ward 3 Council member Matt Frumin called her a hero.

The District lost a hero with the passing of Mary Levy. She devoted decades to advocacy on behalf of our children and families. From her presence at the creation of Parents United, to her longstanding role as the Dean of DCPS school budgets, she made a giant difference. She was tireless with encyclopedic knowledge. Even as she battled illness, she remained on the front lines of advocacy for our kids to the end. It is said that “figures don’t lie, but sometimes people don’t figure.” Mary figured and illuminated the financial picture for us all. I had the honor to work with Mary for many years. She was always warm, always incisive, and always available, except when she was determined to prepare supper for her beloved Ed.

And we leave you with… the Jackson-Reed High School survival guide: The dos and don’ts list from two rising juniors includes getting the required PE classes out of the way early, taking the school’s printmaking class to blow off steam, and find your school spirit at sporting events, the theater program, or other activities you might enjoy.

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