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publications | Education, Schools, Student experience

State of D.C. Schools, 2024-25: Report preview

March 06, 2026
  • Chelsea Coffin
  • Hannah Mason

In school year 2024-25, D.C.’s public schools showed clear signs of system strength and stabilization, beyond pandemic recovery. Enrollment grew, educator retention increased, and students posted their largest gains in learning outcomes since before the pandemic.

However, challenges remained. Chronic absenteeism stayed elevated, college and career readiness were mixed, and new federal and economic shifts occurred – ranging from increased immigration enforcement to funding uncertainty to labor market softness – introduced new pressures for schools and families. This year’s State of D.C. Schools puts these trends in the context of community perspectives.

State of D.C. Schools is an annual systemwide overview of public education in the District of Columbia. In preparation for the release of the complete report, the authors have compiled a summary of key results. View the summary below or the PDF version in English or en español.

Register here to attend the report release event on March 11h.

Authors

Chelsea Coffin

Deputy Director
D.C. Policy Center

Chelsea Coffin is the Deputy Director of the D.C. Policy Center, leading the Education Policy Initiative. She joined the D.C. Policy Center in September 2017. Her research focuses on how schools connect to broader dynamics in the District of Columbia. She has authored reports on diversity in D.C.’s schools, the D.C. schools with the best improvement for at-risk students, and the transition after high school in D.C. Chelsea has also conducted planning analysis at the D.C. Public Charter School Board, carried out research at the World Bank, and taught English in a secondary school with the Peace Corps in Mozambique. She currently serves on the boards of Higher Achievement, Maya Angelou Public Charter Schools/See Forever Foundation, and District Bridges.

Chelsea holds a Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College and a Master of Arts from Johns Hopkins University (SAIS) in International Economics and Development.

You can reach Chelsea at chelsea@dcpolicycenter.org.

Hannah Mason

Senior Education Research Analyst
D.C. Policy Center

Hannah Mason served as Senior Education Research Analyst at the D.C. Policy Center from 2023 to 2026. 

Prior to joining the Policy Center in 2023, Hannah served as an Emergent Bilingual Coordinator and Instructional Coach in Nashville, Tennessee. She was most proud of her abilities to build community amongst her students, drive language acquisition success, and advocate tirelessly for equity in and outside of the classroom for her students. In addition, she began her teaching career in Houston, Texas.

Hannah is originally from Dublin, Georgia. She holds a Bachelor’s in religion and teaching English to speakers of other languages from The University of Georgia. Hannah graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Master’s in Public Policy concentrating in K-12 Education Policy.

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