Facing parents’ backlash over the decision to use an elementary school’s field for trailers that would hold students whose school building was getting renovated, D.C. Public Schools is considering another option that wouldn’t involve using the space.
During a virtual community meeting Monday night, the school system said it’s reviewing another option that would cancel plans to add trailers at J.C. Nalle Elementary School in Southeast entirely. But city leaders are warning that choice would come with consequences, including a yearlong delay for projects at Nalle and Drew Elementary schools.
The meeting came about three months after parents and community members expressed frustration that a “swing space” would be established on one of the fields at J.C. Nalle Elementary. Swing spaces are made up of trailers used to host classes while there’s ongoing construction. The field, parents have said, is used for soccer, flag football and other outdoor events.
“We received feedback that the Nalle community was not happy and expressed concern about losing access to green space during the life span of the swing space trailers, and that the loss of the field will also possibly directly impact the Marshall Heights community,” said Oniyebiye Gaston, director of facilities planning and design for DCPS.
A community survey collecting feedback on both options the city is considering will be open until Friday, a DCPS spokeswoman said. D.C. Public Schools will ultimately make the final decision.
Under the original plan, the “swing space” would be installed on the field at Nalle Elementary, and would remain there for several years, with different schools using the trailers while their campuses undergo renovations. Students at Drew Elementary would use the swing space for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 school years, and Nalle would use the modular campus for the 2027-28 and 2028-29 school years.
Then, the modular campus would be removed, and D.C. Public Schools would renovate the field.
If that plan is selected, the city would work to create green and play spaces near the modular campus. It could include picnic tables, benches and a blacktop update that involves adding turf, Gaston said.
As part of the newest proposal, plans for the trailers would be canceled at Nalle, and students at Nalle and Drew Elementary schools would use different swing spaces. However, that would result in a delay for the projects at the two schools, Gaston said.
The two options came after Gaston said the city reviewed its existing trailers and swing spaces and other alternatives.
“In short, a lot of these spaces, they were currently slated to support other modernizations, or they were just simply too far away from both Drew and Nalle, and it did not follow the process that DCPS uses when identifying swing spaces,” she said.
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