As parents, staff, and community members of Thurgood Marshall Elementary School (TMES), we are determined to ensure that students of TMES receive the best quality of education. According to the DCPS Master Facilities Plan, TMES is not scheduled to receive school modernization until the year 2014. However, given the current condition of the school, we are doing a huge disservice to our students by waiting another three years to receive the upgrades that our school desperately needs. In fact, during the 2006 and 2007 assessment of the school building, there was just 1 out of the 10 areas assessed that was rated “Good.” Also, 4 out of the 10 areas assessed which included ADA compliance, electrical, interior finish and technology were rated “Unsatisfactory,” which is the lowest rating given. An additional 3 out of the 10 areas assessed which included conveying systems, exterior finish and roof were rated “Poor.” In some sections of the building, in particular, the area where the head start students frequent, the roof leaks whenever there is rainfall, leaving puddles of water on ramps and other walkways. Furthermore, our students are unable to access certain areas of the building because they are unsafe. Given these facts, we need TMES to begin modernization in 2012. As you may know, the Ft. Lincoln neighborhood is experiencing major revitalization and we cannot allow the school to dilapidate while the neighborhood undergoes this wonderful change. In 2010, the original 209 townhouses in the Dakota Crossing subdivision were completely sold. Another 615 condos and townhouses are scheduled to be completed by 2013, along with a thriving shopping center to be erected shortly thereafter. TMES will need to be able to safely and adequately accommodate the families that move into these homes. If DCPS and TMES intend to provide a world-class education for its students, modernization cannot wait until 2014 to begin; it must start in 2012. We, the petitioners call for the DCPS and the District of Columbia Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization to provide the residents of Fort Lincoln a public school that meets our needs, and provide school facilities that offer an adequate amount of light, space, heat, and air, which foster the learning process, and move Thurgood Marshall Elementary School up on the school modernization list to 2012.