Early Child & Pre-K to 12 Education

All families should have access to high-quality early care and education. Yet, DC’s Black and brown infants, toddlers, and students face deep and persistent disparities in childhood development and education outcomes. While the District is making progress towards systems-improvements in early education, more are needed to address the long-term challenges that early learning systems face. In DC’s elementary and secondary education system, persistent inadequate funding overall and poor budgeting practices of local education agencies leave schools unable to meet the needs of the students, particularly those enrolled in neighborhood schools that serve majority Black students and those from low-income communities. DC policymakers and top education officials need to work more closely with educators and families to set a multi-year, long-term vision to eliminate racial and income inequities in student experiences and outcomes.