Partner Spotlight D.C. Policy Center’s Building Career Assets for Lifelong Success Release
Providing a landscape of opportunities for high school age youth to connect to college and career
D.C. Policy Center’s Building Career Assets for Lifelong Success Release

Collaborative member D.C. Policy Center recently released Building Career Assets for Lifelong Success, a landscape analysis of career asset-building opportunities for high school-aged youth in Washington, D.C. This report serves as a starting point for understanding the quality, equity, and gaps in these offerings. 

Highlighting Success and Challenges

The analysis draws on insights from a questionnaire completed by program providers in the District. It reveals that while D.C. high school-aged youth have numerous access points to build career assets opportunities—such as programs, courses, and experiences designed to prepare them for the workforce—there is limited tracking of outcomes. Furthermore, D.C. high school alumni tend to underperform in the labor market. By shedding light on these issues, the D.C. Policy Center aims to catalyze efforts to create a comprehensive resource bank, improve outcome tracking to inform program design, increase access for students facing barriers, and more.

Commitment to High-Quality Research

This report aligns with the D.C. Policy Center’s broader mission to advance policies that promote a growing, vibrant, and compelling District of Columbia. Through Building Career Assets for Lifelong Success, the team seeks to improve career asset-building opportunities for D.C.’s youth, encourage further research in this area, and support the development of a comprehensive system to help students navigate available resources, expand outcomes, and enhance program design.

Looking Ahead

The report emphasizes the importance of tracking outcomes to strengthen program structures, increase accessibility, and improve career readiness for D.C. high school alumni. The D.C. Policy Center team looks forward to continuing this thread in part with DC Education Research Collaborative's exploration of the impact of secondary career development opportunities in DCPS over the next four years.

To learn more about the D.C. Policy Center’s landscape of career asset opportunities for D.C. high school age youth, visit the D.C. Policy Center’s Building Career Assets for lifelong success report.