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The Student Newspaper of Jackson-Reed High School

The Beacon

The Student Newspaper of Jackson-Reed High School

The Beacon

The Student Newspaper of Jackson-Reed High School

The Beacon

Gil Leifman

Gil Leifman, News Editor

  • 2023-24: Assistant News Editor
All content by Gil Leifman

Dispensary to open in Tenleytown

Gil Leifman and Arden Luckett November 25, 2024

A medical cannabis dispensary is set to open on Wisconsin Avenue by December 1. The shop will take the place of the National Diving Center Scuba store at 4932 Wisconsin Avenue. This will be the first licensed...

BROKEN IN - On Halloween night, the portable trailers were broken into. These doors were left unlocked.

Portables breached on Halloween

Isadora Groves and Gil Leifman November 25, 2024

On Halloween night, two unidentified costumed individuals broke into Jackson-Reed’s portable trailers. They left after a few minutes of tampering with school property, and nothing of significant value...

SAFETY CONCERNS - Students go through security at the JR main entrance. The beginning of SY24-25 had multiple security incidents.

Security threats alarm community

Edith Corrigan Conaty and Gil Leifman October 15, 2024

Jackson-Reed has faced several security incidents since the beginning of the school year, including the confiscation of a handgun from a student’s backpack, an outside threat of violence, and a general...

After lawsuit, Christian athletes chapter returns to JR

Rohini Kieffer and Gil Leifman October 15, 2024

The Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a 70-year-old international religious group that was barred from Jackson-Reed in 2022 following accusations of LGBTQ+ discrimination, has returned to the school after...

Non-extracurriculars to make the most of DC

Gil Leifman, News Editor October 15, 2024

While extracurriculars are a great way to spend your time (and fill up the activities on the common app), sometimes you need something fun to do sans commitment. Next time you have no work (not you, juniors),...

UNITED FRONT - Jackson-Reed teachers pose in their WTU shirts.

Washington Teachers’ Union to vote on five-year contract

Dani Wallace and Gil Leifman October 15, 2024

After operating under an expired contract for a year, the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) reached a tentative agreement for a five-year contract with DCPS. “We had to go through the whole contract...

Student’s handgun confiscated at security during school hours

Edith Corrigan Conaty and Gil Leifman September 21, 2024

On Wednesday, September 18 in the afternoon, a Jackson-Reed student’s handgun was confiscated by security and did not make it into the building. The gun was in the student’s bag as they tried to enter...

Honors precalculus eliminated from DCPS curriculum

Honors precalculus eliminated from DCPS curriculum

Edith Corrigan Conaty and Gil Leifman June 11, 2024

This spring, DCPS announced their decision to eliminate the honors precalculus course. This has left individual high schools with the decision to offer either on-level or AP Precalculus (APPC) — a new...

FILM SHOWING - The ASU screens 5 Broken Cameras during lunch

ASU shows Palestine film after court settlement

Isadora Groves, Devan Mehta, and Gil Leifman June 11, 2024

After months of controversy, the Arab Student Union and the Jackson-Reed administration reached an agreement in federal court last month allowing the student group to screen a documentary about Palestine...

Green New Deal for school resolution passed by DC

Gil Leifman, News Editor May 3, 2024

On January 17, the DC State Board of Education (SBOE) unanimously passed a Green New Deal for Schools (GND4S) resolution written by students from the School Without Walls. While the passage of the resolution...

CULTURE NIGHT - Sophomore Yasmine Foty delivers the opening remarks at the ASU’s Palestinian Culture Night. Foty’s speech introduced the singing, dancing, and poetry readings that took place that evening.

Arab Student Union hosts Palestinian culture night

Gil Leifman and Greta Bradley-Meal May 3, 2024

On Thursday, April 25, the Arab Student Union (ASU) hosted a Palestinian Culture Night that was originally planned for January, but was postponed by administration. Students, teachers, and community members...

Inmigrantes en Nueva York: La respuesta de Adams

Inmigrantes en Nueva York: La respuesta de Adams

Arden Luckett and Gil Leifman February 13, 2024

El año pasado, más de cien mil inmigrantes de Latino America mudaron ciudades grandes en los Estados Unidos, principalmente Nueva York,en autobuses de ciudades fronterizas. Esta gran afluencia de inmigrantes...

Fight between Dunbar and JR students incites police response

Gil Leifman, Henley Kaminskas, and Javier Thompson November 1, 2023

On October 13, a large altercation occurred in Tenleytown between students of Dunbar High School and Jackson-Reed, inciting a heavy police response. This event happened after the Jackson-Reed vs. Dunbar...

STUFFY STAIRWELLS - Along with overcrowded hallways, students had to deal with crowded classrooms. According to administration, much of the overcrowding has been resolved.

School addresses overcrowded classes; problems linger for students and staff

Simon Holland, Isadora Groves, and Gil Leifman October 11, 2023

The beginning of the 2023-24 school year presented teachers and students with challenges from overcrowded classrooms, some containing over 60 students. Despite the issue being resolved in the following...

Late work policies vary among classes

Maddie Nusbaum and Gil Leifman March 10, 2023

DCPS’s late work and retake grading policies have shifted in recent years, creating discrepancies among individual teachers’ grading systems. These inconsistencies are especially obvious at the end...

New Biomedical Sciences Academy point system arises concern among students

Gil Leifman, News Editor January 30, 2023

The Biomedical pathway of the SciMaTech academy has a new set of requirements in order to graduate with honors, leaving seniors stressed and struggling to fulfill them. Starting last year, Jackson-Reed...

XQ initiative to make change

Gil Leifman, News Editor October 5, 2022

DCPS recently partnered with the organization XQ, an initiative that aims to redesign and rethink high school. Over the course of the next few years, it will likely be implemented in Jackson-Reed, and...

SciMaTech designs new environmental science pathway

SciMaTech designs new environmental science pathway

Gil Leifman, News Editor May 26, 2022

SciMaTech is looking to completely redesign the structure of the environmental science track. However, growth of the pathway is limited by a lack of classroom space, teacher availability, and scheduling.  The...

School during Omicron is a stressor for many

School during Omicron is a stressor for many

Gil Leifman, News Editor February 17, 2022

A couple of days before winter break, the usually bustling hallways of Wilson had a mere handful of students wandering through them. From December 5-12, reported COVID cases had spiked from four to 54,...

DCPS evaluation system frustrates teachers

Gil Leifman and Maya Roskes December 17, 2021

With impending teacher evaluations, Wilson staff members have expressed mixed opinions regarding “IMPACT: the DCPS Evaluation and Feedback System for School Based Personnel.” Evaluations are conducted...

Access to virtual learning expands with new legislation

Gil Leifman, News Editor November 6, 2021

The DC Council passed new legislation expanding virtual learning on October 5, in conflict with Mayor Muriel Bowser’s stance that all DCPS students should attend in-person school.  Before the legislation,...

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