I would instead propose merging Macfarland & Shaw with a nearby undersubscribed elementary school to create two K-8 schools. Research has shown the effectiveness of this sort of grade configuration. I am a former DCPS student currently living in Boston and watching along as Boston Public Schools is using the K-8 model to strengthen the sense of community within schools and their surrounding neighborhoods.

I understand this 6-12 grade configuration mitigates the 9th grade transition. However, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Dr. Martin West, has found that the 6th grade transition is actually the most dangerous for student achievement and other interpersonal factors (you can read his research here: http://educationnext.org/the-middle-school-plunge/). I feel it would be in the students best interest to instead merge Macfarland with a nearby school like Barnard ES or Powell ES (unfortunately I'm unsure of the capacities of these buildings) or another undersubscribed elementary school in the immediate area or Ward 4. Similarly, instead merge Shaw/Garnet-Patterson with Cleveland ES or Marie Reed ES, or another undersubscribed elementary school in the immediate area or Ward 1.