May 23

Stoddert Expansion Underway

Updated: May 23

The DC Public Schools system (DCPS) has begun the active construction phase of the Stoddert Elementary School expansion, which has been in the planning phase for a few years now. The last expansion in 2009, which added 47,000 square feet, resulted in the school being near capacity almost as soon as the project was finished in 2011 due to the exploding student population in Glover Park at the time. Another factor in that population growth was the renewed popularity of this highly rated public elementary school, combined with the ever-rising cost of private school. For the past dozen years, school officials have been managing the overcapacity with classroom trailers in the parking lot and various creative solutions to conduct the school days with the resources and space they had. Interestingly, and maybe unexpectedly, the student population at Stoddert has leveled off since Covid lockdowns.

The 16,000 square foot expansion will be rolled out in two phases: 1) 10 new classrooms on the east side of the school by the start of the school year in August 2025, and 2) a sleek new floating cafeteria and kitchen, new administrative offices and meeting rooms by August 2026. The general contractor, Chiaramonte Construction Company based in DC, has done various DC school renovations and expansions such as Woodson High, Eastern High, the Whittier Campus and UDC. The architect is Shinberg Levinas. The project will cost taxpayers $26.6 million (updated from the original $16 million) and the entire budget has been approved in the DC Capital Improvement Plan allocated over the three years.

Chiaramonte has laid out stakes in the Stoddert Elementary ballfield, where a fence will go up soon, which will cut off the Stoddert garden and a good portion of the field (see illustration). The Glover Park Softball league (and maybe a handful of NW Washington Little League players) should have a sweet homerun fence to aim for pretty soon. Maybe not as impressive as the green monster of Fenway though. The cut-through from Davis Place, past the amphitheater and garden, will be closed for the entire construction period so pedestrians will need to walk the long way around the block. Luckily, the construction plan includes saving the Stoddert garden as it is, plus it should not impact the Stoddert heritage tree – the white oak which is the largest and likely the oldest tree in the neighborhood (see article). The pre-K playground will be eliminated, but DCPS and the contractors are working on a plan for an age-appropriate playground area.

The plan includes a two-story addition on the east side of the school, between the garden and the gym, and this will eliminate the amphitheater. The wing will house five classrooms each on the first and second floor. The existing cafeteria in the middle of the school will be converted to six administrative offices, two small meeting rooms and one large gathering room called the Discovery Commons (see illustration). The piece-de-resistance will be the grand new 6800 square foot cafeteria/kitchen wing completely separated from the existing building and floating over the existing parking lot. The design is subject to change, but you can see the floor plan and rendering in the illustrations.