Of third through eighth graders, 31% of students met English grade level expectations in the 2021-2022 school year, a decline from 37% during the 2018-2019 school year, according to the D.C. Policy Center
A just-released report by the D.C. Policy Center says that while enrollment has rebounded post-pandemic, there has been an uptick in students dealing with mental health issues.
It is still early — the number of students who end up attending each of D.C.’s schools will fluctuate until at least October — but interest in the lottery this year could signal that enrollment next year will be on par with this year’s figures, said Chelsea Coffin, director of the Education Policy Initiative at the D.C. Policy Center, a think tank.
For every 100 ninth-graders in D.C., 37 students will graduate high school but not enroll in postsecondary school. Only eight out of 100 will graduate college within six years of leaving high school, D.C. Policy Center reported.
During the 2021-2022 school year, Eastern High School had 766 students, the majority of whom were Black. Among all of the District public school feeder patterns, the one leading to Eastern most closely represents the District’s racial demographics, according to a report the D.C. Policy Center released earlier this year.
The high school graduation rate in Washington, D.C., is climbing. However, student school performance seems to be falling dramatically. While more and more seniors graduate high school, test scores are down and absenteeism is up.
The American Counseling Association estimates that 40% of Black male teenagers suffer from persistent sadness and feelings of hopelessness, with nearly one out of four seriously considering suicide. On the education front, the D.C. Policy Center found two years ago that 14 percent of high school graduates who enter college could expect to obtain their degree within six years.
Washington schools reported a sharp decline in school attendance for the 2021-22 school year, with nearly half of students missing at least 10% of the entire school year, according to the D.C. Policy Center. Roughly 42% of students were labeled as “truant.”
But amid the applause and happy tears, officials acknowledged more must be done — to not only send more children to college but also make sure they graduate. A recent report from the D.C. Policy Center, a local think tank, found that for every 100 ninth-graders in D.C., just eight will graduate college within six years of leaving high school.
The numbers are stark in a March 2023 report by the D.C. Policy Center, a nonpartisan research organization. Almost half the students in the district – 48 percent – were absent for 10 percent or more of the 2021-22 school year. Seven years of academic progress were erased in math: only 19 percent of third through eighth graders met grade-level expectations in the subject in 2021-22, down from 31 percent before the pandemic.
The report said that students with disabilities experienced high levels of absenteeism. They also had the lowest learning outcomes during the 2021-2022 school year, as seen in their scores on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career, also known as PARCC. Researchers attributed that, in part, to staffing vacancies that prevented students from receiving speech and language services and, in some cases, relegated them to a general education classroom without support.
On March 21, 2023, the D.C. Policy Center’s upcoming work on a D.C. school boundaries study was reported by HillRag: The public has a chance to opine on changes, Kihn added. There will be three rounds of District-wide townhalls, an Advisory Committee, engagement with school-specific communities, a boundary study website for information…
The report found that current attendance patterns in most cases do not reflect the city’s overall racial diversity, and that some schools are significantly overcrowded while others have trouble filling their seats. Still, the possible changes to boundaries are only likely to impact a relatively small number of schools and kids.
On March 15, 2023, the D.C. Policy Center’s report, State of D.C. Schools 21-22, was cited by Axios: D.C. public school students still haven’t fully recovered from the pandemic despite returning to the classroom. Driving the news: A report out today from the D.C. Policy Center says students are still struggling with the residual impacts of…
On March 15, 2023, the D.C. Policy Center’s report, State of D.C. Schools 21-22, was cited by the Washington Post: In the year that D.C. schools fully reopened after being forced to shutter campuses because of the pandemic, math and reading proficiency plummeted, more high school students reported feeling sad or hopeless, and…
On March 15, 2023, the D.C. Policy Center’s report, State of D.C. Schools 2021-22, was cited by The DC Line: A report out today delves into the many changes for DC schools since the start of the pandemic. Meanwhile, nine members of the DC Council are introducing a bill that seeks to…
On February 21, 2023, the D.C. Policy Center’s report, The role of school boundaries in the District of Columbia, was cited by The Washington Informer: In January, the D.C. Policy Center released a report showing that most District students — nearly three out of four — opt to leave their neighborhood to attend either…
“Within the Jackson-Reed feeder pattern, families tend to have the resources to either choose where they live and therefore choose their by-right school or choose to attend a private school,” said Chelsea Coffin, the Director of the Education Policy Initiative at DC Policy Center and one of the report’s authors.
Public school enrollment in our region has dipped since 2019, especially in suburban school districts.The declines might be caused by decreased demand for public schools during the pandemic and lower birth rates, per the D.C. Policy Center.
“Our main funding model is that money follows students,” Sayin said. If a school loses students — but not enough in a single grade to eliminate a classroom teacher, for example — DCPS would have to figure out how to provide that school with the lost per-pupil funding.
It’s called high-impact tutoring — at least 90 minutes of tutoring per week, divided across a few sessions before, during or after the school day, including immediate tutor feedback. Many sessions include three or fewer students, according to a D.C. Policy Center report.
Between the lines: Before the pandemic, 28% of D.C. households lacked access to broadband internet or a home computer, according to the D.C. Policy Center. This disparity was further highlighted by the rise in remote work and virtual learning during the pandemic.
On November 16, 2022, the D.C. Policy Center’s report, Declining births and lower demand: Charting the future of public school enrollment in D.C., was cited by the Washington Informer: The DC Policy Center released a study earlier this year that highlighted declining pre-school and elementary school enrollment in the pre-pandemic years. This had especially…
The figure represents an increase of almost 3 percent from last school year, or about 2,600 more students, according to preliminary data from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE). Before the pandemic, public school enrollment had been growing by an average of about 1,600 students every school year since the 2007-2008 academic year, according to the D.C. Policy Center, a local research group. That progress stalled during the public health crisis.
A July report by the D.C. Policy Center predicted enrollment in D.C.’s public schools could drop by 6,000 students — the equivalent of 16 average-sized schools — over the next five years, driven by falling birth rates and lower demand for living in the District due to the pandemic. “An enrollment decline of this magnitude would have significant implications for D.C.’s public schools.”
On October 4, 2022, D.C. Policy Center analysis on Metro’s Kids Ride Free program was cited by Greater Greater Washington: Take the Kids Ride Free program, for which every District student from age 5–21 is eligible. Distribution of SmarTrip cards for Kids Ride Free is poor, estimated at 38% last year by DC…
While a 2018 study found that giving at-risk students a higher priority would improve outcomes for just 8.2% of at-risk participants, a 2020 study by DC Policy Center was much more promising. They looked specifically at charter schools with long waitlists that had just 15% of at-risk students enrolled (city-wide, 45% of students are at-risk). At these schools, given the preference siblings get in the lottery, it was hard for at-risk students to snag a coveted spot.
Research by the DC Policy Center found that in 2021 almost 80% of people lived within half a mile of a homicide (which are on the rise in DC) occurring that year. Black residents, however, are 19 percentage points more likely than their white peers to live within that radius.
According to the D.C. Fiscal Policy Institute, early childhood educators, who are predominantly Black and brown, earn a median annual income of approximately $31,950 — barely above minimum wage and not on par with public school teachers. The median teacher pay in D.C. is just over $81,000, says the D.C. Policy Center.
At-risk kids are also less likely to get into their lottery choices. A major reason is that the lottery gives preference to siblings, according to research by the D.C. Policy Center, which tends to maintain school demographics rather than disrupt them.
Chelsea Coffin joined the D.C. Policy Center in 2017 as the Director of the Education Policy Initiative, which seeks to use new data and information to improve outcomes for District students— especially, those that are underprivileged. The AFRO connected with Coffin to learn more about tackling the achievement gap and the importance of diversity in the classroom. The conversation below has been edited for length and clarity.
On August 3, 2022, the D.C. Policy Center’s Chart of the week, Ongoing substitute teacher shortages affect schools’ ability to function, was cited by the Washington Informer: D.C. Public Schools may face a huge shortage of substitute teachers in the upcoming academic year, which could have an impact on classrooms and school…
Meanwhile, with three weeks to go until school starts back up, DC Public Schools is facing a serious shortage of substitute teachers. The number of subs has dropped by 50 percent in the past two years, according to a new D.C. Policy Center report. A lot teachers say they’re quitting because of low pay, lack of benefits, and COVID concerns.
According to a recent analysis from local research group D.C. Policy Center, the number of substitutes on the DCPS payroll has gone down from 987 at the start of 2020 to 501 in the first quarter of 2022. It’s not known exactly how many substitutes there are going into the upcoming school year, as D.C.’s public employee salary database has yet to update with the most recent quarter’s data.
A report by the DC Policy Center shows enrollment growth stalled in D.C. schools during the pandemic and if the trend continues, an enrollment that currently stands at 87,000 could decline to 81,000 by 2026.
Enrollment in D.C.’s traditional public and charter schools is expected to drop over the next five years, a disappointing turn for a city that had celebrated more than a decade of growth in its public schools. The current enrollment stagnation and anticipated decrease in the coming years — according to a study released Wednesday by the local research group D.C. Policy Center — was propelled by declining birthrates and adults leaving the city or pulling their children out of public schools during the pandemic.
School enrollment numbers in D.C. are projected to decline, the latest shift after years of growth in its public and charter schools.
D.C.’s high school graduation rate was on the decline for years, D.C. Policy Center’s Education Policy Initiative director Chelsea Coffin tells Axios. But it increased during the pandemic as some graduation requirements were relaxed or waived. What to watch: Coffin says the decrease in D.C. births will impact public school enrollment in the future, especially for younger students.
The D.C. Policy Center, a local research group, crunched the numbers and determined that expanding the eligibility for at-risk funds could cost the city anywhere between $20 and $33 million each year. Analysts figured that many children who would fall under these new categories already qualify for at-risk funding because their families qualify for food stamps.
D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson announced he has appointed former Mayor Anthony Williams as chairman of the D.C. Tax Revision Commission, as well as five other members… the appointees to the commission are Rahsaan G. Bernard, president of Building Bridges Across the River; Erica Williams, executive director of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute; Yesim Taylor, executive director of the DC Policy Center…
A 2020 study conducted by the D.C. Policy Center found that prioritizing at-risk students had the potential to improve their chance “to match at a school they have ranked and to increase socioeconomic diversity, especially at a subset of schools that serve low percentages of students who are at-risk.” The study said sibling preference preserved schools’ preexisting demographics by making it harder for students without siblings at a school to get in.
Most students who left their schools at the end of last year did not transfer to another campus within the city but moved out of the District entirely, according to city officials. It is hard to pinpoint exactly how many of those departures are because of the pandemic. Chelsea Coffin, who directs education research at the D.C. Policy Center, said birth rates in the District have declined since 2016, a possible indicator that fewer students can be expected to enroll in school.
Earlier this year, the D.C. Policy Center collected data showing that isolation and increased economic hardship during the pandemic further primed young people for socioemotional challenges. In anticipation of months of unresolved trauma spilling into the classroom, Yaa-Anna participated in workshops about trauma-informed instruction.
“Parents who move their children from D.C. public schools to surrounding jurisdictions cite school quality and housing affordability as major contributing factors to leaving — but what makes a quality school varies widely by household, a new report out today by the D.C. Policy Center found.
On October 13, 2021, the D.C. Policy Center’s report, Exit & voice: Perceptions of the District’s public schools among stayers and Leavers, was cited by Axios D.C.: Parents who move their children from D.C. public schools to surrounding jurisdictions cite school quality and housing affordability as major contributing factors to leaving —…
Parents who move their children from D.C. public schools to surrounding jurisdictions cite school quality and housing affordability as major contributing factors to leaving — but what makes a quality school varies widely by household, a new report out today by the D.C. Policy Center found.
On September 18, 2021, the D.C. Policy Center Education Policy Initiative Director Chelsea Coffin was cited by WTOP: During a public hearing in July 2020, before the law was passed, Chelsea Coffin, the director of the Education Initiative of D.C. Policy Center, testified before the city council on the report the center published on…
On September 17, 2021, the D.C. Policy Center’s report, At-risk priority in D.C.’s common lottery: Potential implications for access and diversity, was cited by DCist: In an analysis published last year, the D.C. Policy Center determined that a new at-risk preference would likely accomplish those goals. “Implementing a priority for at-risk applicants…
On September 8, 2021, D.C. Policy Center’s article, Challenges outside of school for D.C.’s students and families during the pandemic, was cited by the Washington Informer: A report published by the D.C. Policy Center in March found that District children who stayed home during the pandemic experienced social isolation, anxiety and depression. As adults…
On November 18, 2020, the D.C. Policy Center’s report, At-risk application patterns in D.C.’s common lottery, was cited by The DC Line: Families of at-risk students are less likely to participate in the school lottery and submit applications prior to the deadline, a new report from the D.C. Policy Center found. Even so, author Chelsea Coffin says, there…
On November 3, 2020, the D.C. Policy Center’s article, COVID-era health care workforce capacity in Washington, D.C., was cited by The DC Line: A new report from the D.C. Policy Center examines the District’s COIVD-era health care workforce, including the geographic distribution of physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and other health providers in the District. In…
On October 10, 2018, Rachel M. Cohen at Washington City Paper wrote about Chelsea Coffin’s report “How D.C.’s Young Families May Shape Public School Enrollment.” The D.C. Auditor projects school enrollment to grow by 12,000 to 17,000 students in the next 10 years, with the bulk of that growth occurring in the…