District of Columbia Public Schools News

DCPS Enrollment Projections Project

The 21st Century School Fund and Urban Institute under a contract with the Brookings Institution (the Study Team) provided enrollment analysis and grade-level projections for DCPS schools for the 2009-10 school year. DCPS, using process and a model developed by the study team projected a slowing of the enrollment decline in DCPS from 8.2% to 2.5%. The methodology used in the projections and recommendations for annual enrollment planning, analysis and projections are described in a May 1, 2009 memo to DCPS.

Concerns with the Plan to Set Aside $27.5 Million of the DC Public School FY 2010 Budget, from the DC Fiscal Policy Institute

Facilities for Inclusive Schools

The second discussion of facilities for special education inclusion in D.C. public schools was hosted by the 21st Century School Fund and the Arc of DC on May 18th. Conversation among parents, DCPS and District government administrators, advocates and activists, covered how implementation of the Master Facilities Plan's phased approach to building renovation may affect planning for inclusion, and how expertise in the DC Office of Disability Rights might be utilized.

DCPS' vision for the eventual shift of almost all special needs students from specialized schools and classrooms into neighborhood schools and general education classrooms will require planning for facilities adaptations, some substantial but some minor and easily reached. It will also require focused professional development, support and training as well as outreach and education for parents and school communities.

Discussion notes are available. Please contact Nancy Huvendick at nhuvendick@21csf.org if you want to be notified of future meetings.

How Are DCPS Local Schools Funded?

An analysis of the general education resources provided to DCPS local schools for the current year (FY 2009), by Mary Levy, Director of the Public Education Reform Project of the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, resulted in six principal findings:

Transparency is largely absent: funding for most schools does not follow the new staffing model or any other.
Total funding for local schools has increased by inflation + 11% per pupil over last year.
There are enormous seemingly random discrepancies among schools in per student funding.
On average, low-income schools have greater per student funding than higher-income schools, but some individual low-income schools are far below the average.
Neighborhood high schools, all of which are in NCLB restructuring, have much lower per student funding than magnet schools with selective admissions.
Generally, the smaller the school, the better the funding and the smaller the student/staff ratios.

Read Mary's complete analysis and appendices spreadsheet.

21st Century School Fund News & Information

Public Shares Concerns About Master Facilities Plan to City Council

On March 26th the District of Columbia Committee of the Whole listened to the public testify on the Master Facilities Plan (MFP) Approval Resolution of 2009. Parents, teachers, and advocates stressed that the MFP lacked meaningful public engagement, quality of education and facility planning, and accuracy. Individual school MFPs can be found in data shop under DCPS Master Facilities Plans on our website.

Read what parents and advocates had to say under testimony in data shop.

Review Mary Filardo's Ward Analysis CIP 2009 – 2014 under 2009 Master Facilities Plan in data shop.

Building the Economy by Building for our Children's Future

Good Buildings, Better Schools: An economic stimulus opportunity with long-term benefits describes how federal spending can stimulate our struggling economy and revitalize our school buildings. Our nation's PK-12 public education infrastructure of over 6.6 billion feet of space and serving 56 million students and teachers, are far from adequate to meet educational, health, safety, and environmental needs, particularly in low income communities. The report recommends a major federal investment in school construction, which would create jobs, improve teaching and learning in our schools, advance technology for education, and provide energy savings through environmental "greening" construction.

Schools and Housing: Is Washington DC Family Friendly?

21st Century School Fund, Brookings Institution, and the Urban Institute hosted a public discussion at the Oyster Bilingual School of the findings and recommendations of their research and policy study, Quality Schools and Healthy Neighborhoods. The 18-month study, sponsored by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, examines the supply and demand of quality public schools in the District of Columbia and the relationship between public schools and neighborhood attributes, and explores how the District can become a more family-friendly city. A panel of national experts addressed how the District can become a model for the nation by focusing on the interconnections among quality schools, affordable housing, and healthy neighborhoods.

Panelist comments:

Mark Schneider, Commissioner, National Center for Education Statistics
Chris Walker, Research Director, Local Initiatives Support Coalition
James Gibson, Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Social Policy

Have a comment about the report, Oyster School presentation, or panelist comments? Go to our Quality Schools and Healthy Neighborhoods blog.

Read the Quality Schools and Healthy Neighborhoods reports here.

21CSF Awarded Grant from Prince Charitable Trust for Green School Yards

Prince Charitable Trust granted 21CSF $10,000 for a publication that will help raise the bar on what parents and the public expect from their neighborhood school yards. The purpose of the publication is to increase community awareness of the educational and environmental potential offered by greening and beautifying the over 700 acres of land in DCPS inventory�much of it asphalt or other hardscape. In addition, 21CSF will work with community based organizations to develop a policy agenda to eliminate barriers to high quality schoolyards. To become involved in this initiative, contact Nancy Huvendick at nhuvendick@21csf.org.