District of Columbia

News, analysis, and opinion about K-12 education in the District of Columbia
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Student Well-Being In Their Own Words These Students Found Mental Health Support in After-School Programs. See How
3 students discuss how after-school programs benefit their well-being.
Lauraine Langreo, May 17, 2024
6 min read
Officers with the New York Police Department raid the encampment by pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University on April 30, 2024, in New York. The protesters had seized the administration building, known as Hamilton Hall, more than 20 hours earlier in a major escalation as demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war spread on college campuses nationwide.
New York City police officers raid the encampment of pro-Palestinian protesters at Columbia University on April 30, 2024. Although not as turbulent as what is happening on many college campuses, K-12 schools in some pockets of the country are also contending with conflict stemming from the Israel-Hamas war.
Marco Postigo Storel via AP
School & District Management Israel-Hamas War Poses Tough Questions for K-12 Leaders, Too
High school students have joined walkouts, while charges of antisemitism in three districts will be the focus of a House hearing this week.
Mark Walsh, May 6, 2024
9 min read
Vector illustration tutoring concept of online learning with teacher and students.
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States Is Tutoring at Risk? States Stretch to Keep Funding in Place
States are using a variety of ways to ensure that tutoring programs can continue.
Olina Banerji, April 8, 2024
6 min read
Jay Glassie, an English teacher at Coolidge High School, speaks to George Washington University law faculty and students ahead of some of his students' presentation.
Jay Glassie, an English teacher at Coolidge High School, speaks to George Washington University law faculty and students ahead of some of his students' presentation.
Kate Woods/The George Washington University
Teaching This High School Class Partnered With a Law School Program. Here's What Both Learned
A university-school system partnership is bolstering the alignment of a high school research course with college expectations.
Madeline Will, February 17, 2023
7 min read
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Kaylee Domzalski
Student Well-Being Video How This School Uses Architecture and Design to Improve Mental Health
John Lewis Elementary School in Washington, D.C., was designed with mental health in mind. It’s become a model for the district.
Kaylee Domzalski, January 10, 2023
2:47
Rear view of a Black female teacher in front of class teaching students - wearing face masks
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Teaching Profession Black Teachers, Pay Incentives, and Evaluation Systems: What New Research Shows
Black teachers in D.C. respond differently than their peers to job-evaluation pressures—and are less likely to opt into a bonus system.
Madeline Will, August 1, 2022
7 min read
Students wearing masks leave the New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math (NEST+m) school in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, Dec. 21, 2021, in New York.
Students wearing masks leave the New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math (NEST+m) School in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, late last year in New York.
Brittainy Newman/AP
States States Are Dropping School Mask Requirements. Here's the Latest and What's Ahead
By the end of this week, only five states and the District of Columbia will still mandate universal masking in schools.
Stacey Decker & Holly Peele, February 28, 2022
2 min read
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Equity & Diversity Video ‘It’s Not Been Easy’: How One Asian American Principal Is Modeling Inclusivity
One Asian American principal has used the increased violence toward the Asian American and Pacific Islander community during the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity for important conversations within his school.
Jaclyn Borowski, January 28, 2022
4:58
Man and woman evaluating and rating profiles by giving them stars.
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Teaching Profession Efforts to Toughen Teacher Evaluations Show No Positive Impact on Students
After a decade of expensive evaluation reforms, new research shows no positive effect on student test scores or educational attainment.
Madeline Will, November 29, 2021
10 min read
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Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week and iStock/Getty
Education Funding State K-12 Spending Is Inequitable and Inadequate. See Where Yours Ranks
There's a $17,000 per student difference between the highest- and lowest-spending states. High-poverty schools suffer especially.
Mark Lieberman, October 28, 2021
4 min read
Teaching Profession Video Teacher and Administrator: A South Asian American Educator Navigates Both Worlds
At an independent school in Washington, D.C., a South Asian American educator navigates life as both a teacher and an administrator.
Jaclyn Borowski, October 27, 2021
5:11
First lady Jill Biden hugs Juliana Urtubey, 2021 National Teacher of the Year, at a ceremony to honor the 2021 State and National Teachers of the Year, on the South Lawn of the White House Oct. 18.
First lady Jill Biden stands beside Juliana Urtubey, 2021 National Teacher of the Year, at a ceremony to honor the 2020 and 2021 State and National Teachers of the Year at the White House on Monday.
Evan Vucci/AP
Teaching Profession Joe and Jill Biden Honor Teachers at Long-Delayed White House Ceremony
The president, with the first lady in attendance, called teachers the "single most consequential people in the world beyond our parents."
Madeline Will, October 18, 2021
4 min read
Angie Ninde leads her class through a math lesson outside at Centreville Elementary School in Virginia on Sept. 7, 2021.
Angie Ninde leads her class through a math lesson outside at Centreville Elementary School in Virginia Sept. 7. The risk of COVID-19 transmission is lower outdoors, so some schools are trying to take classes into the fresh air as much as possible.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week
Teaching If Outdoor Learning Is Safer During COVID, Why Aren't More Schools Doing It?
Teachers and advocates tout the benefits of outdoor learning, but there are barriers for some schools, including the risk of gun violence.
Madeline Will, September 14, 2021
9 min read