Julie Rubin - D.C. Policy Center

Julie Rubin is a Senior Education Analyst at the D.C. Policy Center’s Education Policy Initiative. In this role, she conducts research and data analysis on topics such as the boundary review process, measuring early career outcomes for high school alumni, and enrollment shifts after the pandemic.

Julie brings a rich background to her research, including time spent as an AmeriCorps VISTA member, at the American Federation of Teachers, and in the Executive Office of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Prior to joining the D.C. Policy Center in September 2021, Julie served as a research assistant at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Julie holds a BA in Public Policy Studies from Vanderbilt University, and Master of Public Policy from the University of Michigan.

You can reach Julie at julie@dcpolicycenter.org.

Written By Julie Rubin

Articles | D.C. Voices | Education | Education Policy

D.C. Voices: Highlights from the release of State of D.C. Schools, 2021-22

In school year 2021-22, all students returned to in-person learning for the first time in almost two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began in spring 2020. The D.C. Policy Center’s State of D.C. Schools, 2021-22 report examines the transition back to in-person learning, measuring outcomes for the first time since the start…

April 13, 2023 | Julie Rubin

Testimony | Education | Education Policy

D.C. collects minimal data on how students do once they’ve graduated. More data could help improve early career outcomes.

In the last budget cycle, OSSE invested in postsecondary supports including the reimagining high schools work-based learning investments, the college rising project, and the DC Futures Tuition Assistance Project. It is critical to measure the impact of these programs, as well as our school system as a whole to see how students…

March 1, 2023 | Julie Rubin

Articles | D.C. Voices | Education | Student experience

D.C. Voices: Supporting students with disabilities

While virtual learning during school year 2020-21 presented challenges to all students, students with disabilities experienced significant impacts to their instruction because of obstacles with service delivery or difficulties identifying students who need additional interventions in the virtual format.[i] Students with disabilities were among those prioritized for an early return to physical…

December 15, 2022 | Julie Rubin

Chart of the week | Education

Chart of the week: D.C.’s decline in learning outcomes on the national assessment is similar to declines in other large cities

After years of improvement in D.C., NAEP standardized test scores released in October 2022 show that students’ performance declined across math and English for school year 2022 when compared to 2019. Nationwide and in D.C., the pandemic had a greater negative impact on math than reading.

October 28, 2022 | Julie Rubin

Articles | D.C. Voices | Education

D.C. Voices: High-impact tutoring and strong student-tutor relationships

As high-impact tutoring (HIT) continues to scale in school year 2022-23, it is important to take stock of provider, tutor, and teacher experiences and challenges during the first year of HIT. We asked tutoring providers, tutors, and teachers involved with HIT to tell us about the day-to-day realities of HIT in D.C. last year. What changes are being implemented during this school year, and where do they see the program going forward?

October 18, 2022 | Julie Rubin

Articles | Education | Enrollment

D.C.’s changing public school enrollment: Trends by ward

How do and enrollment trends differ across different areas of D.C.? While the number of births decreased across all wards, some wards have seen larger declines than others. These declines have varying levels of significance for enrollment trends as the relationship between the number of births and where students live and where they enroll in school varies across the city. While we can look to births and cohort retention ratios to project future public school enrollment by grade, it is very challenging to do so by ward.

July 28, 2022 | Julie Rubin

Articles | Education | Enrollment

D.C.’s changing public school enrollment: Trends by race and grade band

in recent years, the share of students who are Black enrolled in D.C.’s public schools has declined across all grade bands – due in part to fewer births to mothers who are Black and weaker preferences for pre-kindergarten during the pandemic.

July 21, 2022 | Julie Rubin

Chart of the week | Education | Enrollment

Chart of the week: Pandemic enrollment in postsecondary institutions has been more stable in D.C. than across the country

Nationally, enrollment across public and private/not-for-profit postsecondary institutions (including undergraduate, graduate, two-year, and four-year programs) declined by 3.6 percent from Fall 2019 to Fall 2020. D.C.’s enrollment likewise declined, but to a lesser extent.

May 27, 2022 | Julie Rubin

Articles | D.C. Voices | Education | Student experience

D.C. Voices: D.C. schools ramped up mental health resources during the pandemic. How well do these services address student needs?

While schools invested in supports like hiring additional staff and providing social-emotional integration trainings during the 2020-21 school year, many students and families reported challenges when trying to access mental health resources. In this latest installment in our D.C. Voices series, we hear directly from students, researchers, and administrators to learn more about the barriers students may face when accessing services and how available mental health services currently meet needs.

April 20, 2022 | Julie Rubin

Articles | D.C. Voices | Education | Workforce

D.C. Voices: Using information on early career outcomes

Survey data suggest that students with access during high school to career supports such as connections to employers, exposure to careers, and professional counseling tend to earn wages 20 percent higher than their peers—and such access could have lasting impacts. In this latest installment in our D.C. Voices series, we hear directly from students and counselors about the implications better early career outcomes data could have as students make their postsecondary education and career choices.

December 15, 2021 | Julie Rubin