| Hillcrest Newsletter | ||
Meetings are held the first Saturday of the month, 10 a.m. -
12:00 noon Speaker: Kevin P. Chavous, Ward 7 Councilmember Kevin P. Chavous is serving his third term as the Ward Seven representative on the District of Columbia City Council where he continues to be a forceful advocate for public education and public school reform. As Chair of the City Council's Committee on Education, Libraries and Recreation, Mr. Chavous has been at the forefront of promoting change within the District Public School system and his efforts have led to nearly 400 million new dollars for public education. As a leading national advocate for school choice, Mr. Chavous has helped to shepherd the Charter School movement into the Nation's Capital. Under his education chair leadership, Charter Schools in the District have grown from zero schools to nearly 40 schools and 11,000 students in five short years. That number represents 18 percent of the overall public school population in the District of Columbia, the highest percentage of charter schools in the country. His efforts on behalf of the Charter Schools, earned him the prestigious MAC award in 2000. In addition, Mr. Chavous recently introduced unprecedented legislation to lower the compulsory attendance law in the District from age 5 to age 3. This legislation is the first step to paving the way for universal pre-kindergarten, and in allowing the school system to take better responsibility for all 3 and 4 year olds in the District. In order to secure a blueprint for the legislation's implementation, Mr. Chavous appointed the Commission on Primary Education Reform to report on the best ways for the District to transition to universal pre-kindergarten. Mr. Chavous has been instrumental in facilitating partnerships to ensure equitable economic development in residential neighborhoods throughout the District of Columbia. He has sponsored a number of innovative community programs such as job fairs, community-wide forums on public safety, parental involvement in the D.C. Public Schools and the popular and historic Minnesota Avenue Day - a celebration of neighborhoods resulting in a record-setting attendance of 15,000 citizens. His creative approach to neighborhood economic development has been lauded by the Washington Post as "on of the more thoughtful approaches on economic development by a D.C. official since the beginning of home rule." Kevin P. Chavous was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. A graduate of the Howard University School of Law, where he was the graduating class president, Mr. Chavous also earned his undergraduate degree from Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where he was an NCAA District All-American in basketball. He is a member of various civic associations in the Ward Seven Community in which he lives. He has also organized and participated in a number of charitable activities, including providing free legal counsel to a variety of civic groups. Mr. Chavous and his wife, Beverly Bass Chavous, have two sons, Kevin and Eric. The Chavous family are members of St. Timothy's Episcopal Church in Southeast Washington. Back to top Highlights of October Meeting Not available Message from the President Dear Neighbors: It's very important that you look after your own house and family, but it's also important to look out for your neighbor. That's the reason we have the Hillcrest Community Civic Association - to look out for each other as neighbors. However, our "broader" family include all of the District of Columbia - that's why we get together each year in a "Citizen's Summit". Here's our chance to dialog with our "broader" family across the city and air our concerns and determine the issues that we jointly need to settle. This year's opportunity is on November 1 (changed to Nov. 15) at the Washington Convention Center from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. - won't you join us that day with your "larger family"? Pastor Senger, President HCCA Back to top Real Challenges, Real Choices. Saturday November 15, 2003 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Washington Convention Center Exhibit Hall A, 801 Mount Vernon Place, NW Back to top Branch Ave Traffic Meeting - Nov. 3 Branch Ave Traffic Meeting - Nov. 3 The follow-up meeting with representatives of the DC Department of Transportation on the Hillcrest-Branch Ave traffic calming study will be Monday, Nov. 3, 6:30pm at the Lutheran Church of the Holy Comforter, 3319 Alabama Ave SE. Ward 7 DDOT planner Ronald Mitchell has sent the preliminary report from the consultant, which is now on the web in 2 different formats, for your convenience. Visit www.hillcrestdc.com/announce.htm to obtain a copy. If you have trouble retrieving the report, but you have email, contact me (kathychamberlain@starpower.net) and I will email as an attachment. If you do not have email and would like a copy, call the ANC 7B office at 584-3400 to arrange to pick up a copy. --Kathy Chamberlain Chairperson, ANC 7B Back to top Rush hour DO NOT ENTER signs Rush hour DO NOT ENTER signs where installed in the Hillcrest community to discourage commuter traffic through neighborhood streets, which was a significant problem. Due to concerns raised by some residents regarding being inconvenienced, the issue will be discussed during the November 8th HCCA monthly meeting. Background: The HCCA Board of Director voted to reaffirm the need for rush hour DO NOT ENTER signs as currently installed without exception during the Oct 4th Board meeting. The Board decided to bring this issue before the entire HCCA membership during the Oct 4th meeting and it was decided by a majority vote to announce in the HCCA newsletter that the issue will be up for discussion at the Nov 8th meeting. --Vince Spaulding, 1st Vice President HCCA Back to top Congratulations Miles S. steele, III has been elected to the office of President for the Federation of Friends of the Library. Back to top A POEM CALLED 727-1000 When you see something out of place, And there is an Abandoned Car parked in your space, When Boarded Homes are broken into, And you want Operation Crackdown to sue, When trash is in bulk, And you need DPW to send a truck, And trash is all over the land, Because neighbors are in need of SuperCans, 727-1000 is the number to call, Whether you think the issues are great or small, Because the more you report the nuisance issue, The more your neighbors will assist you! --Yvonne Smith Community Outreach Coordinator Fourth District Substation Metropolitan Police Department Washington, DC 20010 Back to top Pot Luck Christmas Luncheon Now that you have enjoyed a wholesome summer, and now that you have begun to settle down, why not join the Hillcrest Community Civic Association Holiday "Pot Luck" luncheon on December 6 at noon, right after the regular HCCA meeting... As we meet and greet, we will enjoy "Good Food, Good Fun and Good Conversation". Let's get together and make this annual affair and enjoyable festivity. Committee Members Chairperson: Dorothy Anthony Publicity: Alyce Foster and Willard Poteat Decoration: Nancy Harris and Thelma Martin Entertainment: Miles S. Steele, III Cuisine Coordinator: Faye Lyles Back to top Get Notified through Email If you have email and would like to be reminded of events in our neighborhood, send your email address to Kathy Chamberlain at kechamber@erols.com. Of course you can always check the Community Events Calendar. All Hillcrest Community Civic Association events are on the calendar. |
