Graduation

Committed to Improvement

Ten years ago, when we set out to put our public schools on a new path, the bar for improvement was modest: we celebrated simply getting all of our schools opened on time and staffed with enough teachers to fill out classrooms. Since then, we have made critical investments in our classrooms, programs, and team members. And by doing so, our commitment to public education has transformed our city.

Today, even more parents are choosing to put their kids into DC Public Schools. This Administration has added more courses, new extracurricular activities, and travel aboard opportunities at our middle schools. And we know our parents are gaining confidence because this year, we are seeing an increase in the number of students enrolled in our middle schools.

Overcoming the Challenge

After allegations surfaced about high school graduation irregularities, we promised to get to the bottom of what happened. And we did exactly that. We:

We commissioned a third party investigation;
Presented everything we learned;
Held people accountable for the wrongdoings discovered; and
And set a deliberate course forward to fix what is broken.

Much of what we've learned in the past few weeks is, indeed, startling. Under the Mayor’s leadership, she and her team have made clear that they will never push down bad news, but rather to they will articulate what they know, find ways to improve, and then put in place the people, policies, and procedures to implement change.  

We are now putting in place the training, controls and accountability to overcome this challenge. We are committed to doing everything necessary to restore the community's confidence while continuing to expand opportunities for our students. Together, we will learn from our mistakes, build on our successes and always act in the best interest of our students.

The Reports

On January 29th, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), DC’s state education agency, released the final analysis of DCPS high schools’ attendance and graduation outcomes as completed by the firm Alvarez & Marsal.

On Tuesday, January 16, OSSE released a report that included its own data analysis of attendance and graduation in all public high schools in the District, a review of the Public Charter School Board’s graduation policies and procedures, and an interim report from Alvarez & Marsal on Ballou High School.

Next Steps

DCPS is taking aggressive action to address these findings and ensure the value of the high school diploma for graduates in the class of 2018 and beyond. DCPS will ensure that every 2018 graduate feels confident walking across the stage in June with a diploma that is a passport to college or career. Starting now, DCPS will:

Conduct comprehensive transcript review: DCPS will verify that every student who walks across the graduation stage will have earned that honor by reviewing transcripts for all 2018 graduates.
Support staff and students with current policies: DCPS will ensure that schools have support systems and aligned accountability systems to follow attendance, grading, and credit recovery policies this semester.
Host Resource Fairs for students and families to access supports to be successful in school, including on attendance.

By School Year 2018-2019, DCPS will update policies on grading and credit recovery and better clarify how attendance fits into both. Updated policies will be available in May 2018 after extensive engagement with staff, students, and parents, and will include:

Comprehensive training for principals, teachers, counselors, students, and parents;
Process going forward to ensure new staff are regularly trained on policies;
A plan to audit grading practices at high schools on an on-going basis to ensure grading practices match up with grading policy; and
Implementation of a new student information system so school leaders, teachers, and families can effectively and efficiently receive and monitor student grades, attendance, and information.

Questions or Concerns

On February 5, DCPS Chancellor Antwan Wilson appointed Dr. Arthur Fields DCPS’s first-ever Chief Integrity Officer (CIO) to provide a forum for DCPS stakeholders to share concerns around school policies and address complaints related to compliance with the law.

The Office of Integrity:

serves as a one-stop shop for questions from students, families, staff, and community members;
addresses constituent concerns through internal audits, reviews, or dispute resolution; and
develops and maintains policy guidance for school policies and regulations.