Agreement will enable Washington, D.C., charter school to move to Walter Reed campus

Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Army have reached an agreement that will enable a charter school to move to a site at the Walter Reed Medical Center Campus by the 2017 school year.

The District of Columbia International School (DCI), a charter school which will have students in grades six to 12, plans to move to Delano Hall on the Walter Reed campus. Until the campus is ready, the school is housed at a temporary site.

Officials with the city and the army have finalized an agreement to transfer 66.27 acres of the Walter Reed campus to the city. As part of the agreement, Washington, D.C., must offer portions of the property to nonprofits and groups offering public benefits.

The agreement allows access to the property for construction to begin in time for the 2017 school year.

“DCI faculty, students and parents are so pleased that our partners in the Mayor's office and the U.S. Army have worked so energetically to ensure a bright and positive future for our school and our students,” says the school's executive director, Mary Shaffner. “We are looking forward to continued momentum so we can meet our construction start deadline of October.”

The school was created to offer a grade 6-12 campus for students at several K-5 language immersion charter schools.

In 2015-16 DCI had about 400 students in grades 6 to 8. By 2019-20, it hopes to have between 1,000 and 1,400 students in grades six to 12.