DC Ed Fund | Q2 Quarterly Newsletter
ABOUT DC Public Education Fund
The DC Public Education Fund shares DC Public Schools’ vision that every student feels loved, challenged, and prepared to thrive in life and reach their full potential. The DC Public Education Fund catalyzes innovation and drives sustainability by connecting private investment to DCPS’ most innovative solutions for students.
Dear Friends and Supporters,
The DC Ed Fund has been hard at work so far this winter: we hosted our annual Standing Ovation for DC Public Schools in January and officially welcomed the launch of DCPS’ Strategic Plan at the top of the year. As spring approaches, we are eager to share the progress of our exciting grant programs in partnership with DC Public Schools (DCPS). While DCPS has made steady improvements in the last two years, we know that there is still more work needed to be done to ensure DCPS becomes the top urban school district in the nation.?
I’m sure you’ve read the news : DC schools are facing tighter fiscal years ahead, compounded by the end of ESSER funds and local tax revenue implications. We are beyond grateful for Mayor Bowser’s budget proposal, which seeks to shield DCPS from more dramatic cuts. However, we believe at this time in our student’s academic recovery, we need to be doubling down on resources for our students - especially those furthest from opportunity.?
This is where we come in at the DC Ed Fund. Now, more than ever, we need private philanthropy to help continue the progress we’ve seen in the last three years, as DCPS leadership has invested in programs to ensure our students succeed academically, feel connected to schools, and are prepared for what’s next in their lives. DCPS has carefully piloted several bold initiatives over the last two years, such as expanding high-impact tutoring, implementing 6th Grade Academies, and expanding our whole child model to more than 42 schools.?
This is the inflection point for districts such as DCPS. The pilots in place are gaining traction and showing promising results.?
We at the DC Ed Fund are excited to connect donors and private philanthropy to our district’s next bold, game-changing programs. To learn more about DCPS’ Strategic Plan, click here . As always, we’da love to hear from you with questions, comments, or opportunities to connect by emailing us at [email protected] .?
Jim Kline Executive Director & President
WHAT WERE READING...
DC Policy Center released 2022-2023 State of DC Schools Report
Extending the Runway: A National Analysis of Middle School Career Exploration?
Cardozo High School’s focus on financial literacy and entrepreneurship
The Urgent Call for More Resources to Support Post-COVID Recovery
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Program Highlight: DCPS Becoming Whole Child Model
In its pilot year, DCPS Becoming is already moving the needle for the student experience in school. Regular coaching, intentional focus areas for schools, and district professional development investments have resulted in the highest ever percentage of students reporting feeling loved at school and critical reduction in the most serious behavior infractions. Specifically, DCPS pilot schools reported a 19% decrease this year in behavioral infractions. This pilot program has touched over 41 district schools, with more on the horizon. With a growing concern around safety in the district, DCPS is investing critical resources in supporting the whole child - in and out of the school day.
Program Highlight: DC Reading Clinic Expansion
In March 2023, a program evaluation found that the DC Reading Clinic (DCRC) significantly boosted student achievement. DCRC classrooms showed higher growth, particularly for Kindergarten and 2nd-grade students, benefiting Black students in DC schools. The organization, focusing on data-driven methods, is expanding successful programs to address post-pandemic needs in upper elementary grades. DCPS plans to extend the DCRC model to provide targeted training on structured literacy for middle school ELA teachers, interventionists, and special educators, using evidence-based materials.
Program Highlight: DC + XQ
领英推荐
On February 6th, 45 students from all six DC+XQ schools convened for the first-ever Student Design Day to combat chronic absenteeism in DCPS. Through collaborative efforts and deep empathy work, students unearthed root causes and crafted innovative solutions. From carpool programs to morning interventions, their proposals were presented to the Chancellor and schools will begin piloting their initiatives over the next few months.
Program Highlight: DCPS Persists
DCPS Persists has supported 2,650 students since the Class of 2020, offering coaching and non-coaching assistance. A notable aspect is the provision of emergency microgrants for essentials like groceries, rent, and books. This year, Persists granted $222,950 in microgrants, with over half of the recipients crediting the funds for continuing their education next term.
?“The microgrants helped me and my mom most importantly in the fall semester…my twin sister will be heading off to college fall 2024. We both have hidden disabilities and coming from a single parent low-income household. Every cent is accounted for.”
Donor Spotlight: Accelerate
Through a grant provided to the Ed Fund in 2023 by Accelerate, DCPS has been able to support kindergarten high-impact tutoring with the use of paraprofessionals at 40+ schools throughout the district. Already, DCPS is seeing promising results from this high-impact tutoring work. ?
Standing Ovation
Standing Ovation 2024 was a success: We are thrilled to announce the outstanding success of the 2024 Standing Ovation for DC Public Schools awards ceremony held at the National Building Museum on January 31, 2024. Congrats to all of the winners, including 20 exceptional educators, school staff, school leaders, and central services employees, along with two schools that received the prestigious School Excellence Award. Over $65k in monetary funds will be awarded in a small gesture of recognizing these excellent leaders. We also inaugurated The M. Shanita Burney Family Engagement Award, which was given to Turner Elementary and sponsored by our committed partner, the Flamboyan Foundation. Thank you to Mayor Muriel Bowser and our esteemed city officials, including Board of Education members and City Council representatives, who joined us in celebrating these winners a night to remember. To learn more about Standing Ovation and explore past awardees, visit: https://dcedfund.org/awards/
DCPS Strategic Plan
DCPS Strategic Plan has officially launched: On Jan 17, DCPS launched the Strat Plan at MLK Library with members of the DC Education Community. Shout out to EdForward DC for helping support this event -and the plan creation itself. DCPS designed Capital Commitment 2023-2028 through a multi-phase design process that brought together members of the community to plan for the district’s next five years. The strategic planning process allowed for community members including Mayor Bowser, city leadership, educators, families, partners, students, and alumni. Learn more about DCPS'?Capital Commitment: 2023-2028 DCPS Strategic Plan!
Ed Fund and DCPS at SXSW
DC Ed Fund’s Emily Nixon presented at SxSW Edu on a panel around authentic storytelling.?
Emily was joined by Sonya Solloway from DCPS, Ballou Principal William Haith, and James Favata from LAI Video to discuss how DCPS embraced documentary storytelling to update stakeholders throughout its unprecedented redesign process at Anacostia High School.? Read more here .?
Doubling Down on Math Achievement at DCPS
It was Pi Day on 3.14 - a great time to celebrate DCPS’ Plans for Math Achievement: DCPS has identified math achievement as a core component of the next 5-year strategic plan, including these bold commitments for the future:
DCPS is committing to bold innovations around teacher professional development, curricular alignment, and academic interventions to ensure students feel loved, challenged, and prepared in math classes from the early years to advanced high school coursework. As a city, DC is prioritizing math academic outcomes as we continue to focus on academic recovery from the pandemic. Read more about the opportunity in this report prepared by EmpowerK12’s team.