DCPS School Planning

In spring 2025, members of the CWG engaged their communities on five programming areas: academic offerings, athletics, arts, career and technical education (CTE), and world languages. Check out that engagement here, and read about the draft report that the CWG members contributed to here. This engagement continues to be heavily considered by DCPS leadership to inform programmatic direction. While the founding principal will ultimately make many programming decisions, feedback collected so far has enabled DCPS to ensure the community’s priorities remain possible for the principal to implement.

 The School Planning team is excited to share several programming updates that were directly informed by community input. The table below outlines key elements of a programmatic direction for the new middle school that was approved by DCPS senior leadership.

The School Planning team appreciates the continued partnership of the CWG and looks forward to a school year full of community engagement opportunities. If you have any questions about the new middle school or are interested in partnering, please reach out to us at dcps.planning@k12.dc.gov.

On May 13, 2026, DC Public Schools (DCPS) hosted the Design Development Presentation for the New Middle School on Euclid St Community Working Group (CWG). (To read past posts about the new middle school opening in 2028, click on New DCPS Middle School – Euclid St under Categories).

During the meeting, the architecture and design team demonstrated how feedback collected by CWG members from their communities influenced floor plans and design layouts. Learn more about the work of CWG members to collect feedback in a previous post. Feedback that shaped the design development included establishing a second entrance and maintaining building security, adding separation to gendered restrooms, adding permanent shading for outdoor learning, and ensuring building-wide accessibility. CWG members gave their final thoughts on the renderings, color palette, and classroom usage. This was our final CWG meeting of School Year 2025-2026. Over the summer, the DCPS Facilities Planning and Design team will work to finalize the construction documents and will host a community meeting about construction logistics in August.  For more information about the modernization, visit the modernizations page of the DCPS website. The DCPS School Planning team will prepare engagement strategies for the upcoming school year. Feel free to reach out to dcps.planning@k12.dc.gov for further questions or comments

You can view the meeting recording here and the presentation in English here. The presentation in Spanish is here, Amharic is here and Chinese is here. You can find materials from all meetings of the CWG for the New Middle School on Euclid St here.

On April 8, 2026, DC Public Schools (DCPS) hosted a presentation on language learning options for the New Middle School on Euclid St Community Working Group (CWG). (To read past posts about the new middle school opening in 2028, click on New DCPS Middle School – Euclid St under Categories). 

Director of Language Learning, Kate Burkett, outlined the various ways DCPS offers Dual Language and World Language courses at the middle school level. After the presentation, CWG members welcomed staff from Cardozo EC, Deal MS, and MacFarland MS who shared details about how their schools approach language learning. CWG members asked questions about earning high school credit in middle school, language options, and Advanced Placement (AP) language exams.  

You can view the meeting recording here and the presentation in English here. The presentation in Spanish is here, Amharic is here, and Chinese is here. The next meeting of the New Middle School on Euclid St CWG is scheduled for May 13^th, 2026. 

You can find materials from all meetings of the CWG for the New Middle School on Euclid St here. 

On March 4, 2026, DC Public Schools (DCPS) hosted a presentation on special education for the New Middle School on Euclid St Community Working Group (CWG). (To read past posts about the new middle school opening in 2028, click on New DCPS Middle School – Euclid St under Categories). 

During the meeting, DCPS’ Division of Specialized Instruction (DSI) led a presentation on the range of services available to students, including self-contained classrooms. DSI explained that the new middle school will offer Behavior and Education Supports (BES) and Specific Learning Supports (SLS) classrooms. To learn more about these classrooms, review the meeting materials linked below or review the DCPS Special Education Family Guide. After the presentation, CWG members asked questions about special education and had an open discussion about building community across schools. 

You can view the meeting recording here and the presentation in English here. The presentation in Spanish is here, Amharic is here, and Chinese is here. The next meeting of the New Middle School on Euclid St CWG is scheduled for April 8^th, 2026.  

You can find materials from all meetings of the CWG for the New Middle School on Euclid St here.  

On January 21, 2026, DC Public Schools (DCPS) hosted the Schematic Design Feedback meeting for the New Middle School on Euclid St Community Working Group (CWG). (To read past posts about the new middle school opening in 2028, click on New DCPS Middle School – Euclid St under Categories). 

During the meeting, the group had an open discussion about the schematic designs presented on January 7. Members of the CWG voiced opinions on storage capacity, interior colors, and ensuring school safety.  

You can view the meeting recording here. The schematic designs presentation the group provided feedback on is linked in a previous blog post. The next meeting of the New Middle School on Euclid St CWG is scheduled for March 4, 2026. 

Since the January 7 meeting to review schematic designs, members of the New Middle School on Euclid St Community Working Group (CWG) have created opportunities for their communities to inform the modernization of the new school, including surveys, meetings, and focus groups, (To read past posts about the new middle school opening in 2028, click on New DCPS Middle School – Euclid St under Categories).

Feedback from these communities will be shared at the schematic design feedback meeting later this month. Below are just a few examples of feedback activities led by CWG members!

• Tubman reviewed the schematic designs with dozens of parents at a PTO meeting. They also displayed poster-size copies of the design renderings and conducted jar voting.
• Garrison hosted a parent meeting to review designs that attracted more than 50 attendees and conducted an online survey. They also created space in their lobby for parents and students to make comments via post-its on poster-size copies of the design renderings.
• The Ward 1 and 2 ed council shared the designs with their community and discussed feedback at a council meeting.

On January 7, 2026, DC Public Schools (DCPS) hosted the Schematic Design Presentation meeting for the New Middle School on Euclid St Community Working Group (CWG). (To read past posts about the new middle school opening in 2028, click on New DCPS Middle School – Euclid St under Categories).

During the meeting, the architecture and design team working on the modernization presented a draft design for the interior of the building and asked the group to consider options for interior colors, use of space, and “adjacencies” (or the intentional layout of certain rooms near each other). Over the next two weeks, CWG members will gather community feedback to bring back for group discussion at the next meeting, which is scheduled for January 21, 2026.

You can view the meeting recording here and the presentation in English here, in Spanish here, in Chinese here, and in Amharic here.

On November 12, 2025, DC Public Schools (DCPS) hosted the November meeting of the New Middle School on Euclid St Community Working Group (CWG). (To read past posts about the new middle school opening in 2028, click on New DCPS Middle School – Euclid St under Categories).

During the meeting, the group gave feedback on school identity and brand. The conversation focused on the following four questions:

• What feels important when it comes to school colors?
• What feels important when it comes to a mascot?
• Public Signals of Support: What promotional items might resonate in your communities?
• Events: What activities could draw out your community?

For more information, view the meeting recording. You can find materials from all public meetings in this folder. The CWG will meet next in January 2026 to discuss the Schematic Design of the building.

On September 10, 2025, DC Public Schools (DCPS) hosted the September meeting of the New Middle School on Euclid St Community Working Group (CWG). (To read past posts about the new middle school opening in 2028, click on New DCPS Middle School – Euclid St under Categories). 

During the meeting, the group had an open discussion about the building concept designs presented at the last meeting. Much of the discussion was about how each concept repurposed the building’s existing courtyards. Members gave feedback on how to prioritize maximizing natural light and maximizing space for academics and storage.  

For more information, view the meeting recording and the presentation in English, in Spanish, in Chinese, and in Amharic. You can find materials from all public meetings in this folder. The CWG will meet next in November 2025.