I recently cut the ribbon on a $62 million renovation at the Academies at Anacostia, the school where I am privileged to serve as the principal. Perhaps the change that parents and students will notice first is the newly renovated and refurbished main building, which the city had let fall into a state of disrepair over seven decades.

The main building joins the three-story annex and gymnasium, also fully modernized last year. The old, neglected building that I first entered when I became principal sent exactly the wrong message to students. Now our gleaming, pristine, modern facility lets them know we mean it when we say we care about them and want them to succeed.

Recommended Stories

Parents work to ensure future of neighborhood school

Former principal of D.C. school investigated for cheating resigns

Harvard, D.C. team up for cash reward program for students