The District of Columbia Public Charter School Board (DC PCSB) is the regulatory authority and sole authorizer of all public charter schools in Washington, D.C.[1] It provides oversight to 68 independently-run nonprofits (also referred to as local education agencies or LEAs) and 134 public charter schools which educate more than 47,000 students living in every ward of the city (48% of all DC public school students). The board is tasked with approving, monitoring, and evaluating schools, creating policies and conditions to empower educators to do their best work, and actively engaging families, schools, and communities to inform the Board's decision-making.
DC public charter schools are environments where all students, especially those in historically marginalized groups, thrive.[3] As DC's sole charter authorizer, the DC Public Charter School Board:
Approves, monitors, and evaluates schools, with an emphasis on equity and academic excellence
Creates policies and conditions to empower educators to do their best work in service of students
Actively engages families, schools, and communities to inform decision-making
Leadership
The DC Public Charter School Board is led by Dr. Michelle J. Walker-Davis, who joined as executive director in August 2020.[4]
Governance
DC PCSB is led by a seven-member volunteer Board responsible for approving new schools, conducting oversight of schools in operation, and revoking a school's charter if it fails to meet its performance goals. The board members are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the DC Council,[5] in contrast to the elected District of Columbia State Board of Education that governs the DC Public Schools system.
an image of the 5 objectives of the DC PCSB 2025-2028 Strategic Roadmap
DC PCSB developed a Strategic Roadmap which guides the organization's actions through 2028, and emphasizes a commitment to focusing on equity and the District students public charter schools serve. The Strategic Roadmap guides the organization's work in three areas:
Excellent Schools - ensuring internal decision-making responds to citywide needs and results in improved outcomes for all DC students, especially those in historically marginalized groups.
Enduring Partnerships - strengthening relationships and partnerships with families, school communities, and residents.
Effective Organization - improving internal structure, processes, and culture to allow DC PCSB to create the conditions for student success in DC.
The five objectives of our 2025-2028 Strategic Roadmap are:
Implement the ASPIRE System thereby upholding standards for academic excellence and ensuring DC students receive an excellent education that prepares them for success in life and work.
Enhance the effectiveness and holistic impact of DC PCSB's oversight practices, complementing our academic standards by ensuring schools meet high financial and organizational standards, especially governance.
Advance transparent data-informed decision-making by DC PCSB staff, LEAs, and DC families by modernizing DC PCSB's data management practices to improve data reliability and operational efficiency.
Engage a well-rounded group of relevant parties and enhance communication on the value of strong authorizing practices in meeting the needs of DC families.
Cultivate a talented and engaged workforce equipped to address the evolving challenges and opportunities in the DC education sector by implementing and operationalizing DC PCSB's talent philosophy and mission.
ASPIRE (Annual School Performance Index Report & Evaluation)) Framework
ASPIRE is DC PCSB's academic accountability system.[7] It enables us as DC's only charter authorizer to evaluate and review schools’ performance in service of their mission and students.
ASPIRE stands for Annual School Performance Index Report & Evaluation. Simply put, ASPIRE means achieving excellent schools for all students, particularly those from communities which have been historically marginalized.
ASPIRE has five main frameworks, which are separated based on the grade bands that a school serves: PK-Only, PK-8, High School, Adult, and Alternative.
In the first year of implementation, most schools will be evaluated based on their success in four main categories: School Progress, School Achievement, School Environment, and a new school-selected category, called School-Specific Performance. DC PCSB has determined various metrics for each category, including state assessments and CLASS data. PK-Only schools will be evaluated based on just three categories: School Progress and Achievement, School Environment, and School-Specific Performance.
Schools' evaluation based on these frameworks will determine their level. ASPIRE has five levels (Level 1, Exemplary; Level 2, Strong Performance; Level 3, Satisfactory Performance; Level 4, Weak Performance; Level 5, Unsatisfactory Performance), a major departure from our former three-tier system, in the Performance Management Framework (PMF).
ASPIRE Levels
DC PCSB will use these levels to make school oversight decisions. School leaders will be able to use their ASPIRE evaluation to understand their impact on students' success, and improve it. Families and communities will use this evaluation to understand how their local school serves their students.
DC public charter schools educate nearly half of DC's public school students, in grades PK through 12 and adults.
The number of students enrolled in public schools in Washington, DC during the 2023–24 school year increased slightly compared to 2020-21 enrollment, with 98,639 students enrolled in district public and public charter schools according to preliminary data released by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE).
As of the 2023–24 school year, DC public charter schools enrolled a total of 45,307 students. The bulk of students were enrolled in grades PK 3-5, totaling 23,891 students. A total of 8,942 middle school students enrolled in grades 6–8, while 7,328 students enrolled in grades 9–12. DC public charter schools continue to educate the largest population of adult learners with 7,140 students enrolled in adult education programs in school year 2023–24.
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