December 10, 1999
Mayor Williams Applauds Groundbreaking Of First New Public School in 20 Years
(Washington, DC) Mayor Anthony A. Williams joined by Superintendent Arlene Ackerman and developer R. William Hard, broke ground today for the first new public school in the District in 20 years. Mayor Williams recognized this groundbreaking of the James F. Oyster Bilingual Elementary School as a renewed commitment in the investment to our children and youth.
"Today we have reaffirmed our commitment to our youth and are realizing the dream of providing first class bilingual education to our students." said the Mayor. "We are also here to celebrate and congratulate a determined, tenacious community that has come together to support our children."
The Oyster public/private development partnership represents a series of agreements between the District, the developer, LCOR, Inc., and 21st Century School Fund.
"Through the hard work and determination of the many partners in this project, a great educational program that had no facilities to support it will now get the opportunity it so richly deserves," said the Mayor.
The District has sold a portion of the existing Oyster site in exchange for the design, construction and furnishing of a new Oyster School. The District has also agreed to dedicate property taxes from the 211-unit apartment building that will be built in conjunction with the school, to repay bonds for the construction of the new school. The District government issued $11 million in tax-exempt revenue bonds.
"Much praise and credit to the principal, Paquita Holland, and the many adults in our community who have worked long and hard for this projects," said Superintendent Ackerman. "But this labor of love is about children and promise. Because of major increases in capital funding, other neighborhoods across the city will have new school facilities that will offer the same modern technology and a rich educational environment as the new Oyster school."
The 21st Century School Fund is a nonprofit organization, funded by the Ford Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation and started by Oyster parent, Mary Filardo. A major focus of this organization has been to facilitate the creation of the Oyster public/private development partnership. The 21st Century worked with D.C. Public Schools to initiate the project and get a grant to do a feasibility study.
"The new Oyster School project demonstrates the capability of the DC community to revitalize its schools and communities when they work together," said Mary Filardo. "Our role was to bring private sector expertise to the school system so they would have the best representation in the areas of construction, finance and real estate."
The event was attended by more than 200 representatives of the school community, neighborhood residents and merchants, the City Council, Board of Education, the control board, the city administration, the consultants who worked on behalf of the school system, and the developers, architects, and financing organizations. Past, present and future students of the Oyster school were also in attendance.
Expected completion for the school will be in the Spring of 2001.
