We are excited to announce three upcoming research briefs and one tool that will offer the DC public education community important insights for improving educational outcomes for DC students and families.
The first brief, a collaboration with the D.C. Policy Center, examines DC’s Equitable Access option. Now entering its second year, the Equitable Access option gives DC Public Schools (DCPS) and public charter schools the ability to prioritize students who are designated “at risk” in DC’s common lottery.1 Families enter the lottery when they want to enroll in prekindergarten at any public school; for grades kindergarten through 12, they may enter the lottery for DCPS schools outside of a student’s attendance boundary or feeder pattern, DCPS schools that serve the entire city, DCPS selective high schools or programs, and any of the city‘s public charter schools. Schools opt in, which either offers at-risk applicants a space before other applicants according to the school’s preference order or reserves designated seats for students who are at risk that remain open longer.
The upcoming brief summarizes the D.C. Policy Center’s research showing how the option could have a big impact on increasing access and diversity at certain schools, explores the way participating schools’ demographics changed after the first year of implementation, and offers systemwide implications.
Two upcoming briefs, written in partnership with the Deputy Mayor for Education’s Office of Education through Employment Pathways, describe the experiences of DCPS and charter school alumni after high school. The briefs use data from the 2023 Alumni Early Career Outcomes survey, administered by CityWorks DC, which asks class of 2016, 2017, and 2018 alumni of DC’s public schools (both DCPS and charters) about their careers today, how they got there, and how they are positioned for the future. The first in the series gives an overview of DC alumni’s current and future employment status: their career field (and how that compares with the DC job market); their current income, debt, financial stability, and job satisfaction; and the potential for their current job to become a career. The second examines DC alumni’s preparation for their careers: how and why they chose their pathway after high school, the supports they received in high school and how valuable they find those supports now, and which students are being offered supports and opportunities.
Our fourth upcoming release is the DC Education Data Inventory, a tool created in partnership with EmpowerK12. Its purpose is to answer the question, “What types of data do DC’s local education agencies collect?” The interactive tool will provide prospective researchers with information about data types, availability, and underlying data locations to support Collaborative projects that improve outcomes for students. The accompanying report explains our process and offers examples of how users can use the tool.
Stay connected to the Collaborative to hear about these releases, beginning in August 2024, and lots more to follow. Connect with us on LinkedIn and sign up for newsletter updates.
1 Students are designated “at risk” if they meet one of the following criteria: experience homelessness, are in the foster care system, qualify for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or are at least one year older than the expected age for their high school grade.
