Change in Kiss & Ride and Traffic Pattern at Jefferson Houston School

FROM THE NEIGHBORHOOD LISTSERVE: 

There is a change in the hours of the Kiss & Ride parking in front of Jefferson-Houston (North side of Cameron St from West St to the Durant Center) for this coming school year.  

In addition to 7:30-8:30 am, there will be afternoon Kiss & Ride hours from 2:30-4:15.  

The reason for this change is that, for safety reasons and site constraints, only busses will be allowed through the site during drop-off and pick-up.  Personal cars will not be allowed to drop off or pick up students behind the school. This restriction will increase the number of parent drop-offs and pick-ups on Cameron St.  Afternoon Kiss & Ride hours will help minimize the double-parking on Cameron St in the afternoon.

In addition to the new Kiss & Ride hours, Jefferson Houston staff will be directing traffic to minimize back-ups on Cameron St.

All Hands on Deck at Jefferson Houston School

from neighborhood listserv:

Dear Friends and Neighbors:

Jefferson-Houston is a school on the move. We have seen great progress since the Superintendent's Transformation was put into place in Summer 2011.

• Principal Rice-Harris has come on board with a new school leadership team and many new staff.
• We have added 90 minutes to the school day and started a new reading program.
• We have hired an outside partner, American Institutes for Research, to review and enhance our math instruction.
• Most important, we have created an environment of personalized attention for each student. And we are starting to see the benefits.

Even with our most energetic and focused efforts, some students are not where they need to be academically. To give our students the extra help they need to move forward, we are creating “All Hands on Deck,” a coordinated call to our community to support them.

We need you, our community members, to help our students in three areas:

1. weekend academic support and contact for students
2. mentors

3. homework helpers and tutors

AND, we need the following specific help right now:

1. Saturday morning tutors to help students in grades 3-6 with math and reading, 9:00 am to noon
2. Before-school tutors to read and do homework with our students, 7:30-8:00 am weekdays

We would love for you to be part of “All Hands on Deck” at Jefferson-Houston! Please let us know what skills and energy you can volunteer for our students.

Mark Eisenhour, our principal on assignment at Jefferson-Houston, and Helen Morris, a JH parent and volunteer coordinator, will be our points of contact for the “All Hands on Deck” effort. Please contact Mark at: meisenho@acps.k12.va.us or Helen at: 703-739-1379 or zozilla1@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

Mort Sherman, Superintendent of Schools

Rosalyn Rice-Harris, Principal, Jefferson-Houston

Mark Eisenhour, Principal on Assignment, Jefferson-Houston

Kelly Dresen, President, Jefferson-Houston PTA

Helen Morris, Coordinator, All Hands on Deck

Jefferson Houston Community Mtg 9/18

FROM THE UPPER KING ST. NEIGHBORHOOD ASSN. 

SAVE THE DATE: CITY TO SPONSOR JEFFERSON-HOUSTON COMMUNITY MEETING ON SEPT. 18On Tuesday, Sept. 18, the City of Alexandria will host a community meeting on the Jefferson-Houston School of the future. The meeting will occur at 6 p.m. in the Durant Center conference room, 1605 Cameron St. For more information, contact Principal on Assignment Mark Eisenhourat 703-965-3418.