Children across the city return to the classroom today as DC Public Schools ‘ and many public charter schools ‘ kick off the 2012-2013 school year. New routines always take a little getting used to — so, what are some of the changes we can expect to see in DCPS schools this year?
“Proving What’s Possible” Grants in Action: In June, DCPS announced that grants (from an unidentified source within the DCPS budget) would go to 59 schools, with amounts ranging from $10,000 to $490,000 to implement innovative programming this coming school year. About 85 percent of the $10.4 million went to the 40 lowest performing schools in the DCPS system.
This targeted investment is meant to help meet one of the bold goals found in the Chancellor’s five-year strategic plan — to increase proficiency rates in struggling schools by 40 percentage points by 2017. This would require a significant increase in reading and math scores over a short time period, an increase from 23 percent to 63 percent, on average.
Schools geared their “Proving What’s Possible” applications to improving academic achievement through changes such as extending the school day, using technology in novel ways, and increasing the capacity of their staff. The majority of schools are planning to either extend the school day or offer out-of-school time programs with their grant dollars, and several schools are hiring personnel or partnering with community based organizations like City Year to increase their staff capacity. The full list of grant awards can be found here; see below for a quick summary of how funds will be used:
| “Proving What’s Possible” Grants for 2012-2013 School Year |
| 59 schools received grant awards |
| 41 schools received targeted grants ($50,000 — $100,000) |
| 18 schools received major grants ($250,000 — $400,000) |
| 37 schools will incorporate technology in their programming |
| 33 schools will extend the school day or offer out-of-school time programs |
| 18 schools will offer some sort of professional development |
| 7 schools will hire full or part-time staff |
| 29 schools will focus on both math/literacy achievement |
| 15 schools will specifically focus on improving literacy |
| 2 schools will specifically focus on improving math |
| 2 schools will specifically focus on children with special needs |
Community Engaged on School Quality — Now What? Many DC residents are concerned the recommendations in the IFF (Illinois Facilities Fund) report, which recommends the closure or turnaround of 37 DCPS schools, will lead to unchecked charter expansion in a city struggling to balance two separate school systems. (See DCFPI’s take here.)The Deputy Mayor for Education is wrapping up a series of community engagement meetings to address school quality in the same wards of the city where the IFF report suggests closing schools. DCPS is expected to share news on school closures sometime in the fall.
So, what’s next? The Deputy Mayor for Education will release a summary document of the residents’ priorities in each ward where a meeting was held for the city as a whole. The question remains, how will these recommendations be taken into account by DCPS officials as they decide how many and which schools to close?
Coming Soon from DCFPI: We are working on a few products that will be released this fall, including a resource map of funding for early childhood services and a tool to help you better understand the way schools are financed in the District. Stay tuned to the District’s Dime for more information!
