Anoosha Imran

Education Policy Initiative Fellow
D.C. Policy Center

Prior to joining the D.C. Policy Center, Anoosha worked with the Policy Lab at A Better Chicago, where she contributed to a team effort focused on addressing chronic absenteeism in Chicago Public High Schools. She led data analysis to identify the neighborhoods most affected and helped develop a geographic framework for targeted policy interventions.

Anoosha’s broader career has centered on expanding educational access for underserved communities. She previously supported the Office of Students with Disabilities at Chicago Public Schools and has worked on donor-funded initiatives in Pakistan aimed at addressing systemic barriers to education.

Originally from Karachi, Pakistan, Anoosha holds a Bachelor of Social Science and Liberal Arts from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Pakistan, and a Master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy.

Written By Anoosha Imran

Chart of the week: Projecting future births and young children in D.C.

This post was updated on February 5, 2026. A change was made to reflect that there was an average decrease in annual births of 279, not 244 as previously stated. D.C.’s overall population has been increasing in recent years, mostly due to international migration. However, trends for the youngest residents tell a…

December 17, 2025 | Anoosha Imran

Chart of the week: Exploring Safety Perceptions in D.C. Schools: Insights from the 2025 DC SAYS Survey

The 2025 DC Survey About Your School (DC SAYS), conducted by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), provides a comprehensive look at school climate[1] across the District of Columbia. For the first time, the survey gathered perspectives from students (grades 3–12 and adult learners), school-based staff, and families to…

November 14, 2025 | Anoosha Imran

Chart of the week: Schools in Wards 1 and 4 have larger increases in chronic absenteeism as of midyear reporting 

Since returning to in school learning after the pandemic, D.C. has made a commitment to reduce chronic absence (or the percentage of students missing at least 10 percent of the school year) from a high of 48 percent in school year 2021-22 to 24 percent in school year 2027-28. This week’s chart examines…

October 3, 2025 | Anoosha Imran