August 22nd is the First Day of School!
DCPS students Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade
For DCPS students K-12, school will begin on Monday, August 22nd. Parents who currently have a child in DCPS, were mailed an enrollment packet in April. It is important that parents use their enrollment packet or download enrollment forms, fill them out and turn them into their child's school as soon as possible. Parents can also obtain enrollment forms directly from their child's school. The earlier parents enroll their students, the easier it will be for DCPS to ensure schools are ready on day one-with the correct number of teachers, textbooks and supplies to best serve students.
If you would like to learn more about school options in DCPS, visit the school profiles page or find your assigned school.
The Pre-School, Pre-K and Out-Of-Boundary lottery took place on March 2nd, 2011. Parents were to accept offers and send in "Intent to Enroll" forms by May 2nd, 2011. If you did not send in your enrollment forms by the prescribed date or were not chosen in the lottery, learn about your options, here.
DCPS students in Pre-School or Pre-K
For DCPS students in Pre-School or Pre-K, August 22nd - 26th is Early Childhood Transition Week, which provides an opportunity for students and parents to meet their new teacher and become comfortable with their new learning environment. August 22nd through the 24th have been set aside for individual parent-teacher meetings for Pre-School and Pre-K families. On August 25th, children with last names beginning with A-K will attend a full day of school; on August 26th, children with last names beginning with L-Z will attend a full day of school. The first day of school for all Pre-School and Pre-K children will be on Monday, August 29th, 2011.
More information can be found, here.
DCPS After-School Programs
Parents wishing to enroll their students in an after-school program must visit their child's school between August 15th and 19th. Students will not be able to participate in after-school programs on the first day of school unless their registration was completed during the week of August 15th.
Details can be found, here.
Charters
The start date of charter schools vary between schools. DC Public Charter School Board has created a charter school directory which contains the start dates for all of the 53 charter schools they manage. The directory can be downloaded here.
DC-CAS Scores Released
The DC- Comprehensive Assessment System (DC-CAS) is the District's standardized academic test, administered to all traditional public and public charter school students in grades three through eight and in tenth grade. The test measures student proficiency in the areas of math and reading.
Preliminary DC-CAS results were released by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) on Friday, July 8th, 2011. Though the test scores for elementary reading and math stayed relatively the same-secondary reading scores showed gains and secondary math scores demonstrated even larger gains. Most impressively, DC public charter school students made gains in math and reading on both the elementary and secondary level.
DC School Reform Now wants to congratulate DCPS and DCPCS senior leaders, teachers, principals and students on all of the hard work they have done this past year, though we realize that much work remains. For those invested in improving the quality of public education in the District, we know our students still deserve better-every student deserves a high quality principal, teacher and school and we are not there yet.
Individual school-by-school data was released by OSSE on August 2nd, 2011. Find school-by-school results here. Find DCPS's analysis of test data, here.
Results of IMPACT Released
The results of IMPACT, DCPS's teacher evaluation system, were shared with DCPS employees on July 15th, 2011. Teachers received one of four ratings-Highly Effective, Effective, Minimally Effective or Ineffective based on observations and student performance scores. For teachers who received the highest rating, "Highly Effective," there is a bonus incentive of $20,000.
This year, there were 1,213 teachers total who received the "Highly Effective" rating-663 of which are Washington Teachers Union members and 550 of them non-Washington Teachers Union members. All of these teachers, who received a rating of "Highly Effective," will be publicly honored during a night at the John F. Kennedy Center at A Standing Ovation for DC Teachers.
DCPS issued separation notices to 413 employees-113 of whom received "Ineffective" ratings, 175 of whom received "Minimally Effective" ratings for the second year in a row and 104 of whom failed to meet licensure requirements. All employees who received separation notices have the option to appeal the decision, resign or retire (if eligible). Teachers who were rated the previous year as "Minimally Effective" and chose to stay at DCPS were provided with professional development. Many of these teachers improved their performance-58% of WTU teachers received a higher rating this year-either "Effective" or "Highly Effective."
These efforts demonstrate Chancellor Henderson and Mayor Gray's commitment to developing, supporting and retaining the highest quality teachers. DC School Reform Now is pleased that teachers are being recognized for their hard work and that all DCPS teachers are being held accountable for their ability to help children reach their full potential.
Schools Closings for the 2011-2012 School Year
DCPS
Shaed Education Campus has been closed due to low enrollment. Former students of Shaed Education Campus will be transitioned to Emery Education Campus in the former Langley Building at 101 T Street, NE. Click here for more information.
Charters
On March 21st, 2011 the DC Public Charter School Board accepted the request from Thea Bowman Preparatory Academy Public Charter School to relinquish their charter. Click here for more information.
On April 28th, 2011 the DC Public Charter School Board voted unanimously to revoke the charter of Nia Community Charter School for their low academic performance and failure to improve under probation. On June 2nd, DC Public Charter School Board held a community forum and enrollment fair for the students and parents of Nia. Click here for more information.
As of June 24th, 2011 School for Arts in Learning (SAIL) Charter School is closed due to a lack of financial resources to sustain their charter. On June 16th, DC Public Charter School Board held a community forum and enrollment fair for the students and parents of SAIL. Click here for more information.
Changes in DCPS's Office of Family and Community Engagement
Refocusing
DCPS has announced that as of July 15th, 2011 the Office of Family and Community Engagement (OFCE) will begin to re-focus its work, hoping to strengthen their relationships and connections with families and community partners. For more information, click here.
As a result, a meeting will be held on August 4th, 2011, starting at 6pm at Miner Elementary School (601 15th St., NW). OFCE will give parents information about their new efforts in parent and community engagement.
Parent Resource Centers
Three Parent Resource Centers will be temporarily closed for the remainder of the summer, but will re-open in the fall of 2011. DCPS wants to re-open the PRCs with the help of local community partners.
Survey gathering for the Hopes and Dreams campaign ended on July 31st, 2011. DCPS heard from over 8,000 parents and community members about what they believe is the ideal public school system in DC. DCPS plans to use these responses in crafting their new strategic plan. More information on the Hopes & Dreams Campaign can be found here.
