Laurel Neighborhood News

by Kathleen Rolinson and John Frando

Laurel Summer Solstice Celebration

Mark your calendars now for the Fête de la Musique, Laurel Summer Solstice Music Festival, on Saturday, June 24, from 3 to 7 p.m. Food and free musical entertainment will celebrate the Laurel District's rich bounty of local musicians, playing all types of music. Start your musical tour of the Laurel at the Laurel Lounge, 3932 MacArthur Blvd., to pick up a map of directions to the various venues. For more information, visit www.LaurelVillage.org.

Laurel Elementary School Principal Retires

Principal Cheryl Garrett is retiring after 10 years at Laurel Elementary School. A school district official made the announcement during a May 2 meeting at the school, in which he sought input from parents, teachers, and the community on the hiring of a new principal. Given all the tasks and responsibilities of a school principal, and the high expectations of parents, students, and teachers to build a high-performing neighborhood school, the new principal will need to "recognize and build upon what is presently good about the school, to lift the school to the next level," said Phalina Armstrong, the After School Program Director.

On May 12 neighborhood parents organized a public education summit at Maxwell Park Elementary School, which has a new principal. Guest speakers and parent advocates Candace Kim of Glenview Elementary and Nicole Aruda of Peralta Elementary discussed "Growing a School." Lisa Cartolano, event cosponsor and chair of the Maxwell Park NCPC Neighborhood Action Team on Education, spoke about why she became involved with her neighborhood school, even before her toddler was ready for kindergarten.

As summit organizers told the attending parents, including some from the Laurel Elementary School area, "Get involved. If you want a neighborhood school that fits your idea of what a school should be, don't wait for others to do it."

If you are a Laurel parent with young children currently considering elementary school options, a neighborhood parent group is forming. Contact Stella at stellalamb2000\@yahoo.com.

35th Avenue & MacArthur Boulevard Update

On May 8 the Laurel District Association (Laurel merchants) and Councilmember Jean Quan hosted a community meeting with Banta & Associates, architects and developers of the new project, a nine-unit market-rate development with eight town homes, a condominium, and ground-floor retail. The project is scheduled to break ground within the next six months. Other examples of Banta & Associates work can be seen at www.bantadesign.com.

Jean Quan stated that this meeting is the first of three to discuss new developments planned for the Laurel. Future meetings will cover the proposed senior housing development on High Street and MacArthur and a smaller project on MacArthur Blvd.

Traffic Light Request for 35th Avenue and Wisconsin Street

Residents of the Laurel district have reached the breaking point when it comes to traffic speed and safety on 35th Avenue. Fast-moving cars and high volumes of traffic make pedestrian crossing unsafe and create problems every day for drivers turning onto 35th Avenue. Volunteers will be going door to door for signatures on the request. Or to sign the electronic request, send an e-mail to slowdown35th\@yahoo.com, and the link will be mailed to you.

John can be reached at jfrando\@gmail.com and Kathleen at krolinson\@gmail.com.