D.C. officials announced on Monday that student enrollment in the District’s public school system — including at traditional public schools and charter schools — is the highest it’s been since 2007 when counting began.
Enrollment at DCPS flatlined during the coronavirus pandemic, but preliminary data from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) shows numbers ticking back up this year, with 2,638 more students signing up — a roughly 3% overall increase from last year. The uptick was largely driven by sign-ups at charter schools, which surged by 1,550 this year compared to a smaller increase of 1,169 students at public schools.
The new numbers were reported by D.C. schools back in October. OSSE said it plans to release more permanent data early next year.
“These preliminary figures are heartening and reinforce that the best place for our children is in school with their excellent educators,” said OSSE Superintendent of Education Christina Grant at a press conference. “As we continue to forge our path through recovery and into restoration, we are so grateful for our families, our educators, and for the city’s continued commitment to improving educational outcomes in all eight wards.”
The number of students attending DCPS schools has slowly crept back up since its precipitous drop in the late 2000s, when public school enrollment hit a low of 45,000 students. The coronavirus pandemic slowed that recovery with a slight dip in enrollment.
The pandemic also took an important toll on student learning at DCPS and widened an already concerning rift in student achievement between white and non-white learners. Standardized testing results released by OSSE in September showed DCPS students fell behind in both math and reading proficiency during the pandemic as schools switched to remote learning to reduce the spread of COVID-19. DCPS returned to in-person classes in fall of 2021 following more than one year of virtual learning.
A July report by the D.C. Policy Center predicted enrollment in D.C.’s public schools could drop by 6,000 students — the equivalent of 16 average-sized schools — over the next five years, driven by falling birth rates and lower demand for living in the District due to the pandemic. “An enrollment decline of this magnitude would have significant implications for D.C.’s public schools.”
Over the last 15 years, enrollment at D.C. charter schools has grown faster than at traditional public schools. D.C. public schools counted more than twice as many students as charter schools did during the 2007 – 2008 school year. Today, that enrollment gap has nearly closed.
The overall enrollment boost comes as D.C. public school teachers have been struggling with high turnover, long working hours, and what they say is a punitive evaluation system. DCPS was also recently ordered to rehire and provide backpay to a high school teacher who sued the District on the grounds he was wrongfully terminated.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced the surge in enrollment during a press conference at D.C.’s new Advanced Technical Center at Trinity Washington University, a program that prepares students to enter the workforce through accelerated high-school and college-level classes in highly sought-after fields. The program teaches classes on topics like cybersecurity and nursing to DCPS students grades 9 – 11. It launched at the beginning of this school year and plans to migrate to Northeast D.C.’s Penn Center building over the next few years.
“As we continue through the process of reimagining the high school experience, the Advanced Technical Center is a good example of how we can work together, across sectors and with our partners in the community, to create opportunities that set students up for success in school and beyond graduation,” Bowser said.
