Dear Community:

Last week a female Ballou student was sprayed with mace and stabbed several times inside the school. Two students were arrested.

Joyce Scott, an ACC board member, has a granddaughter who is a freshman at Ballou and was recently assaulted at the school. Since the beginning of the school year, several students have been arrested for violence-related incidents. The newly elected Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) president J. Arthur E. Brooks IV has requested ACC's assistance in organizing an emergency meeting about the school's safety to be held next Wednesday, November 19th, 6:00 p.m.

There are approximately 1500 students at Ballou and the last PTSA meeting attracted 10 parents. Therefore, there is a glaring and dramatic need to increase parental involvement at the school. For the past four years ACC has been involved with Ballou. In 2004, after a student was killed inside the school, ACC raised nearly $7,000 and opened a bank account to help revitalize the dormant PTSA. Also, ACC is the non-profit fiduciary agent for the Ballou Marching Band and the PTSA. I have been the PTSA treasurer for the past four years. If you have even the remotest connection with Ballou, please spread the word about the meeting. We must help turn things around at that troubled school and it will take the involvement of all the villagers.

Thanks,

Philip Pannell

ACC Executive Director

(202) 889-4900