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MyTeacherDC

MyTeacherDC

About DC Public Education

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School Year 2019 - 2020

Navigating Washington, DC's educational landscape can be very confusing. This page was designed to help you understand more about the students who attend DC public schools and public charter schools.

About the schools:

There are 94,616 total students attending all K-12 schools in DC [1].

  • There are 51,060 total DCPS students [1].
  • There are 43,556 total public charter school students [2].

There were 229 total DCPS and charter schools in SY 2018-2019 [3].

  • There are 116 traditional DC public schools [5].
  • There are 123 DC public charter schools [6].

There were 67 local education agencies (LEA) in SY 2018 - 19. These LEAs are considered independent school districts.

  • DCPS is one LEA.
  • There are 66 charter LEAs [3].

 

Share of Public School Students Enrolled in Public Charter Schools (By Percentage)

  • Approximately 47.5% of all public school students now attend a public charter school in Washington, D.C.
  • Even though about half of public school students attend a PCS, these schools are not required to report the demographic information of their teachers.

About the Students:

DCPS Students:

  • 59% of students are Black
  • 20% of students are Latinx
  • 16% of students are White
  • 5% of students are Asian/multiracial/other

Charter Students:

  • 74% of students are Black
  • 16% of students are Latinx
  • 6% of students are White
  • 4% of students are Asian/Multiracial/other

Sources:

  1. District of Columbia Public Schools. (2019). DC Public Schools Enrollment Surpasses 50,000 Students for First Time Since 2006 | dcps. [online] Available at: https://dcps.dc.gov/release/dc-public-schools-enrollment-surpasses-50000-students-first-time-2006 [Accessed 28 Oct. 2019].
  2. Stein, P. (2019). D.C. charter schools experience first enrollment drop since 1996. [online] The Washington Post. Available at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/dc-charter-schools-experience-first-enrollment-decline-since-1996/2019/10/22/95d691f6-f4da-11e9-a285-882a8e386a96_story.html [Accessed 28 Oct. 2019].
  3. District of Columbia Teacher Workforce Report. (2019, October). Retrieved from https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/DC Educator Workforce Report 10.2019.pdf.
  4. Enrollment in DC’s Public Schools Shows a Decade of Continued Growth. (2019). Retrieved from https://dcps.dc.gov/release/enrollment-dc%E2%80%99s-public-schools-shows-decade-continued-growth.
  5. DCPS at a Glance: Enrollment. (2019). Retrieved from https://dcps.dc.gov/page/dcps-glance-enrollment.
  6. DCPCSB: Student Enrollment. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.dcpcsb.org/data/evaluating-student-enrollment/student-enrollment.
  7. DCPS Fast Facts 2017-18. (2018). Retrieved from https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/DCPS-Fast-Facts-2019-20.pdf.
  8. DC's Public Charter Schools. (2019). Retrieved from https://dcpcsb.egnyte.com/dl/7ywmvFSXjH/.
  9. District of Columbia Teacher Workforce Report. (2019, October). Retrieved from https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/publication/attachments/DC Educator Workforce Report 10.2019.pdf.