Volunteers needed for free tax preparation

Tax season will soon be here and volunteers are needed to help low- and moderate-income DC residents benefit from tax credits and at the same time avoid paying to have their local and federal taxes prepared.   Two opportunities have already presented themselves if you are interested in volunteering:

• The DC EITC Campaign is recruiting hundreds of volunteers for the upcoming tax season:   Volunteer positions include tax preparers, savings promoters and language interpreters.   Contact Adam Perry -- aperry (at) caab (dot) org -- for more information.
• Greater DC Cares, IRS and Howard University Partnership for tax prep:   These organizations have teamed up to help prepare taxes for low income residents of Petworth, Park View and the Pleasant Plains.   Volunteers will receive training from professional accountants who are dedicating their skills to help during their busiest time of year.   Shifts are Tuesday, Thursday evening and Fridays during the day starting in mid-January.   For more information email Sherman Taylor at sjtaylor (dot) 10 (at) gmail (dot) com.

What the DCPS satisfaction survey can tell us about school safety in Ward 1

It should come as no surprise that where you go to school can color how you think about things.   This is the case when it comes to school safety.

Nearly 20,000 parents, students, faculty, and staff participated in a SY 2008-2009 DCPS/Westat school satisfaction survey whose purpose was to identify areas of improvement and to use as an accountability and progress measure.   Areas asked about included safety, family and community engagement, leadership, and teaching and learning.   The report compares findings from the SY 2007-2008 survey.

Violence is unfortunately an issue for too many of DC's youth.   How young people think about school safety, then, is important.   A comparison of the citywide and Ward 1 secondary school findings is shown in the table below.   The good news is that students in three of the four secondary schools in Ward 1 feel safe in their schools.   The not-so-good news is these same Banneker, Columbia Heights Ed and Shaw students do not feel as safe out of school as they do in school, particularly when compared with their peers across the city.   Of course, the Cardozo results are not a surprise.   We owe it to all students to improve safety in and around schools, particularly those who are most threatened.

What we -- school stakeholders, elected and appointed officials, advocates, students -- do with this survey information and real life experience is the question.   There are very real public policy and practice challenges associated with "fixing" this problem.   Some in the community advocate for law and order kinds of solutions while others seek solutions that are less punitive and more in the rehabilitative and supportive realms.   No matter which solutions are chosen, the public should use the survey results as DCPS plans to:   to assess progress and identify areas of improvement.

DCPS is reporting the results in a variety of ways.   Users can find citywide reports as well as summaries for elementary and secondary schools.   DCPS is also reporting results by school:

• Bancroft Elementary
• Benjamin Banneker
• Bruce Monroe Elementary
• Cardozo
• Cleveland Elementary
• Columbia Heights Education Campus
• H.D. Cooke Elementary
• Fillmore Arts Center in Raymond Elementary
• Reed LC
• Shaw Middle
• Tubman Elementary

Free legal advice clinic/asesoría legal gratis - January 9

The next free legal advice clinic sponsored by the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program is being held on Saturday, January 9, 2010 from 10:00 am - Noon.   Bread for the City is hosting the clinic -- at two locations:

• 1525 7th Street, NW (Green Line to Shaw/Howard University)
• 1640 Good Hope Road, SE (Green Line to Anacostia, Bus B2 or W6)

Details about the clinics are in the fliers, below, in English and Spanish.

Free Legal Clinic Jan 2010 English

ASESORÍALEGALJan2010

Help save the Anacostia and save yourself a nickel

Remember, starting January 1, 2010, District businesses selling food or alcohol must charge 5 cents for every disposable paper or plastic carry-out bag.

Five cents here and there adds up; save these nickels by bringing with your own bags.   The District government along with Safeway and CVS are giving away reusable shopping bags as part of the "Skip the Bag, Save the River" campaign.   To learn more about the new bag law, and DDOE's efforts to clean up the Anacostia River, visit the Skip the Bag, Save the River Web site.

Pedestrian and other improvements coming soon to Mt. Pleasant

Good news from Mount Pleasant Main Street:   MPMS has been awarded $243,000 to make much-needed improvements in public space in Mt. Pleasant.   Pedestrian, bicycle and landscaping amenity improvements in Lamont Park and along Mount Pleasant Street, NW will be made.   People can expect to see lighting, benches, a crosswalk, trees, signage and share-the-road arrows for cyclists.

The improvements are based on previous studies involving community input from residents, businesses, and neighborhood organizations.   But there is still plenty of opportunity for residents, businesses, and others to weigh in as the scope and details of the work are finalized.   Construction will take place in 2010.

The funding comes from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and more information about the grant is online -- visit DDOT's Transportation Enhancement Projects.

For more information about MPMS -- a volunteer-driven neighborhood non-profit, founded in 1991 that works with businesses, residents, government, and other community organizations to promote sensible economic development, enhance the quality-of-life of community residents, and foster a dynamic and pleasant commercial corridor -- visit their Web site.

Mentoring Works2 holiday party postponed

Due to forecast of snow this weekend, Mentoring Works2, Inc. has rescheduled its 2nd Annual Christmas Banquet.   Rather than celebrating on December 19, the fete will take place on January 16, 2010 from 7:00 - 11:00 pm at the Thurgood Marshall Building, 1816 12th Street, NW.

Make Saturdays spectacular at Park View Rec

This just in from Greater DC Cares:

A team of talented young people have put together an exciting set of programs under the guidance of the manager of the Park View Recreation Center to start on Saturday, January 9, 2010.   You can help turn the recreation center into a beacon of light in a neighborhood that is undergoing rapid changes.   To get involved, email Katie Delaney, katsdelaney [AT] gmail [DOT] com.