Jelleff Field

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The following is a statement from DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Director Delano Hunter on Jelleff Field and the Maret School Agreement:

“We are constantly working to improve our fields and facilities to meet the growing demands from District residents. We are proud to move forward investments that minimize costs to District tax payers and help Washington, DC remain the #1 parks system in the country.  We will continue working with the community to ensure all residents enjoy these renovations for years to come."

Background:

• Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) has reached an extended agreement with the Maret School to invest nearly $1 million in private funds to support the renovation of Jelleff Recreation Center in Ward 2.  
• Maret will invest $700,000 to replace the artificial turf on the field, which has reached the end of its lifespan, as well as repair the surrounding fencing. Maret will continue to provide maintenance of the field and Maret will also support the renovation of the Jelleff Recreation Center up to $250,000.
• The DPR agreement extends a 10 year partnership for another 9 years with Maret, which previously invested $2.4 million for improvements to the field, pool and facilities at Jelleff.
• District students and residents will have priority access to the field 80 hours per week, while Maret will retain access to the field for approximately 15 hours per week in the fall and spring seasons.
• DPR is working with DC Public Schools (DCPS) to meet increasing athletic field needs in the vicinity of the Jelleff Recreation Center.
• For more information and updates on the District’s $7 million Jelleff Recreation Center renovation project click here.
• Mayor Bowser and the District government have committed $339 million for DPR capital investments over the next 6 years to ensure DC’s parks and recreation facilities remain #1 in the country and continue to be the place “Where Fun Happens.

Download Statement

September 3, 2019

As the principal of Bancroft Elementary, a DCPS Title 1 school in the Columbia Heights-Mt. Pleasant communities, I have witnessed firsthand for seven years Maret’s unwavering and unconditional commitment as they give of their resources and time to provide my students with free, enriching learning experiences and activities. For 20 years, through Horizons Greater Washington, Maret has been investing into the futures of children from under-resourced circumstances all throughout the District of Columbia. Horizons at Maret has served hundreds of Title 1 students from Bancroft and other public schools, where they receive rich academic instruction in literacy and STEM-based disciplines, while attending yearlong weekend programming and a six-week summer camp on their campus.

In light of the recent attention Maret has received for securing use of a DPR-run facility at Jelleff, it is hard to imagine arguments aimed at pitting public and private school children against each other, when for over two decades Maret School has demonstrated their commitment to over a thousand DC public school students. Evidenced by its mission of being an inclusive organization, I, a Latino parent, DC resident, and male educator of color, found it necessary to have my own child apply and become a vested member of their school community.

In addition to the lifelong memories that Bancroft students develop through Horizons, the impact on their lives would fill the pages of countless biographies. Children not only come back from this program celebrating the fun they had as elementary and middle school students, telling stories about learning how to swim, ride a bike, or build a rocket, they return in high school as camp counselors en route to successful college experiences. Writing and reading about them would be satisfying enough; however, nothing compares to the in-person testimonies of former Bancroft students at annual banquets as each one credits their success to an experience they had at a Maret-hosted program.

Maret is also having an immediate impact on Bancroft’s astounding success in standardized testing outcomes. Since its inception five years ago, PARCC testing in DC has become the measure and rating system for determining a public school's ranking, of which five stars is the gold standard. Bancroft Elementary is one of only two Title 1 public schools in the District to receive a four-star rating or higher, and after this year’s double-digit increases in both reading and math, it looks to become a five-star school, not only as the result of students’ proficiency scores, but by nearly eliminating the achievement gap among its socio-economically disadvantaged subgroups, which represents 100% of the students’ demographics that attend the Horizons program at Maret. It would be short-sighted to think that this partnership did not have a direct impact on these results.

These are but a few highlights of ways that Maret impacts communities outside of its immediate area, an example of its selfless commitment to all children in DC, not just its own. Furthermore, none of this is possible without Maret opening its doors to other organizations and investing in the renovation and upkeep of city-run facilities so that thousands of its residents can enjoy quality outdoor experiences.

Arthur Mola, Principal
Bancroft Elementary School

Washington Post Letters to the Editor
September 9, 2019

Which kids should get to use the Jelleff field in D.C.?

Growing up in Columbia Heights when resources were much more limited, I attended public school (Thaddeus Stevens) and private school (Maret). I am dismayed now watching some people needlessly pit kids in these two systems against each other in a dispute over the playing field at Jelleff Recreation Center in Georgetown.

While at Stevens, I benefited from after-school enrichment through the Higher Achievement program; at Maret, I received significant financial aid, including a Paul Berry Scholarship. I might not have gone on to attend college and law school if it were not for such generous, harmonized public and private support.

Maret helps kids like me. For 20 years, it has hosted the six-week Horizons enrichment program on their campus, which I have volunteered with; 130 public school students benefited just this summer. Maret also makes its gyms available to community organizations such as D.C. Stoddert Soccer. Moreover, I believe there wouldn’t be an athletic field at Jelleff today if Maret hadn’t stepped forward to invest in partnership with the District.

We can all do better by finding ways to work together, setting a positive example for our children on how to deal with limited resources.  

David Opong-Wadee, Washington

Washington Post Letters to the Editor
September 13, 2019

Any investment in a D.C. field is a win for youths

My experience with visiting the field at Jelleff Recreation Center has been different from the one noted by Elizabeth H. Miller in her Sept. 8 Local Opinions essay, “D.C. is playing for the wrong team.” Jelleff is in near-constant use by youths of all ages, sizes and colors. Even before one game has finished, the next teams are warming up on the sidelines, eager to get onto the field.

What made this possible was the construction of an artificial turf field designed to accommodate multiple youth sports. The $2.5 million cost of these improvements was paid by Maret School in exchange for its ability to use the field for several hours each day for an initial term and an option to extend the term if conditions were met. Maret has agreed to resurface the artificial turf, which has become worn down by extensive use.

The essay set up an us-them conflict between private and public schools, using the Wilson High School baseball team as one example. However, Wilson’s baseball teams play a significant part of their games against private school teams. These players come from families with a wide range of incomes, and many live outside Ward 3. There is no us-them dynamic.

The District should invest in more all-weather multipurpose fields, using public dollars when possible and tapping into private resources in creative ways to expand the availability and use of limited fields. Partnerships such as the one at Jelleff add playable hours to make the pie bigger and create more options, not fewer, for youth sports.

Glenn Williamson, Washington