Principal Cartland @the TNA Meeting

The Principal of Wheatley School (he was the principal of Webb, but Webb is now moving to Wheatley) attended the Trinidad Neighborhood Association meeting tonight. Wheatley, originally constructed in 1903, has ow been completely renovated and expanded into a state of the art facility. Principal Scott Cartland was on hand (along with one of his rising 4th graders who dropped by) to discuss his past year at Webb, and what we can expect to see at Wheatley. The new school will be PS-8th grade, and will probably have around 400 students in the beginning. He plans to continue the heavy emphasis on literacy, and developing a love of reading. While at Webb he oversaw a program that put about 300-400 books into each classroom to supplement the 8,000 books available in the school library. The new facilities include a massive gym, and new library with WiFi, and Promethean Smart Boards in the classrooms. It will also have a fully functioning kitchen so that food can be cooked on site, rather than just reheated after freezing. Middle School students will have their own lockers. He invites everyone to come out for school beautification day on August 22nd. Though the facilities are all brand new, the school needs help unpacking and setting up its late arriving furniture.

I'm personally very excited for this new move because I've seen how much Webb is falling apart. I was also very excited to meet Mr. Cartland. He is a product of DC public schools himself, and I'd heard only good things about his work at Webb. He did not fall short when I met him in person. I believe that he and his students will blossom in their new Neal Street facilities.

Cartland recently won a Distinguished Educational Leadership Award from the Washington Post. Here's a shot of him dressed up for Halloween at his previous school in NW.