Testimony Before the DC Council Committee of the Whole at the Performance Oversight Hearing on DME, DC PCSB, and SBOE
By Ariel Johnson, Executive Director
Good morning, Chairman Mendelson and members of the Committee. My name is Ariel Johnson, and I am the Executive Director at the DC Charter School Alliance, the local non-profit that advocates on behalf of public charter schools to ensure that every student can choose high-quality public schools that prepare them for lifelong success.
Educators, leaders, and District agencies across this city are all working in partnership to ensure that our students make academic gains, can safely access resources across the city, and are protected. As a component of that growth, public charter schools continue to offer some of the most unique programming in the nation, tailored to the diverse needs of our students. Serving students pk-3 through adult learners, public charters are integral to the DC education ecosystem, offering innovative models that provide a myriad of pathways to success for our learners. For example, adult-serving public charter schools, like Briya, continue to offer a unique two-generational model, educating both adult learners and their children. Students can dedicate their time to their academics, knowing their children are safe and supported on the same campus. In the 2022–23 school year, 106 Briya students earned 329 work-required credentials and certificates. Additionally, 90% of Briya's early childhood students met or exceeded expectations on the GOLD (1) assessment in literacy, math, and social-emotional learning.
The District is also fortunate enough to have several bilingual charter schools, including Yu Ying, which specializes in Mandarin, Sela in Hebrew, and DC Bilingual in Spanish, among several others. Of note, DC Bilingual was recognized as a 2024 National Blue Ribbon School, with proficiency rates in ELA and Math approximately twice the citywide average. Latin American Montessori Bilingual, better known as LAMB, exceeded the city’s ELA proficiency rate by eight percentage points and more than doubled the citywide proficiency rate in math, while also having the second-lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 13.4%.
Schools like Center City are offering Innovative Programming, such as a soon-to-open Makerspace, which promotes hands-on, project-based learning. Its Congress Heights campus stands out as the highest-performing school in Ward 8 in both ELA and Math. In Math, the Congress Heights and Brightwood campuses exceed city proficiency rates by double digits.
The District also offers unique alternative school models. Schools, like Kingsman and Goodwill Excel, provide competency-based models that re-engage students who have faced academic disengagement. Of note, many urban school districts have dismantled their alternative school education models, leaving their most vulnerable students without education options if the traditional K-12 system fails them.
Charter Schools are High Performers
Sojourner Truth, DC’s only middle school Montessori program, exceeded the city’s average ELA proficiency rate by 11 percentage points. BASIS continues to be the highest-performing non-selective high school in DC, achieving more than twice the citywide proficiency rate in ELA and Math. Meanwhile, Washington Latin boasts the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the district at 12%, and it exceeds citywide proficiency rates in ELA and Math by over two times. It also features robust arts programming, including theater, concert choir, and jazz band. And, while academic performance is always the number one priority, public charter schools are also dedicated to providing after-school enrichment programs, like DCI’s HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America), while music and language programs at DC Scholars enrich student learning beyond the classroom.
The District's rich, diverse options are worth uplifting and celebrating as a strong component of the education ecosystem. However, maintaining these options requires adequate and equitable funding. The announcement of the Mayor’s Fiscal Year 2026 education budget, proposes providing funding outside of the UPSFF and does not fully and adequately fund charter school educator raises at the same level as DCPS teachers. While we're grateful that the Mayor continues to prioritize resourcing all public schools, attracting, supporting, and retaining the educators who serve half of the city's students is imperative to continue to ensure long-term academic recovery this year and in future years. As all schools face fiscal uncertainty with federal, local, and philanthropic dollars shifting, we support these educators by ensuring funding for the ongoing costs of their salaries and focusing on students most in need with increases to weights for students designated at-risk, alternative students, and adult students.
Collaboration with PCSB and DME
While equitable funding continues to be our number one priority, I cannot underscore the importance of our collaboration with PCSB and DME and their partnership, continued investment and thoughtful policies that ensure all students in our city thrive.
Our work at the DC Charter School Alliance centers on supporting schools in partnership with agencies across the District, often with the support of the Deputy Mayor for Education and the Public Charter School Board. Together, we have responded quickly to federal policy changes and prioritized student safety. Additionally, this year, and in previous years, The DME, the DC PCSB, and OSSE have also graciously prioritized monthly meetings with our Executive Committee, a small voted-on subset of our leaders, designed to elevate open lines of communication and robust discussion about critical issues affecting public education.
Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education
Our students’ educational experiences do not happen in isolation; they are deeply connected to the well-being of their families and communities. We appreciate the DME’s role in helping to coordinate across agencies, especially with the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice (DMPSJ). They have been key collaborators in the effort to ensure students’ basic needs are met, allowing them to safely attend and thrive in school. Additionally, the DC Alliance has been grateful to participate in the EveryDay Counts Task Force to advance and coordinate strategies to increase student attendance and reduce truancy. These collaborative bodies have been instrumental in promoting student attendance and ensuring interagency coordination. Finally, the DC Alliance would also like to acknowledge the DME’s work on Learn24 and Out-of-School Time (OST) Programs. These initiatives provide essential enrichment opportunities that complement classroom learning. And, we commend the DME’s efforts to strengthen connections between education and workforce pathways, ensuring that students are prepared for college and careers via the Education Through Employment Data System.
DC Public Charter School Board
Like the DME, our collaborative work with the DC PCSB allows public charters to pivot and enhance collaboration while focusing on academic growth. For example, we participate in bi-weekly safety calls, bringing together multiple agencies to coordinate strategies to ensure timely communication of safety issues to schools, collaboration between leaders, and safe transportation of students to and from the school.
PCSB’s role as an independent authorizer is essential for maintaining a high-quality charter sector. We particularly commend PCSB’s adoption of the ASPIRE framework, which represents a thoughtful evolution from the PMF. The ASPIRE framework:
Recognizes improvements in student outcomes, including gains on NAEP assessments.
Places a stronger emphasis on supporting subgroups, including students with disabilities.
Reflects PCSB’s willingness to revise its own policies based on assessments of community demand, ensuring alignment with the evolving educational landscape.
Additionally, we note that 67% of the 2024 Bold Performance Schools were charters, including Center City Congress Heights, DC Prep Anacostia Middle, Digital Pioneers High School, and Paul PCS High School, showcasing the sector's consistent commitment to excellence.
PCSB plays a critical role in creating conditions that enable charter schools to operate high-quality programming, and we look forward to our continued partnership.
Finally, We also thank the State Board of Education (SBOE) for engaging our schools in meaningful public discourse. A special thank you to DCPS for hosting a visit to Ron Brown College Preparatory High School, where six charter LEAs had the opportunity to engage with Principal Hunt.
Moving Forward
In closing, DC’s charter schools are critical contributors to the city’s educational ecosystem. With strong academic outcomes, innovative models, and lower chronic absenteeism rates in key demographics, charter schools continue to provide high-quality options for families across the District. We thank the DC Council for your continued support of public charter schools, and we look forward to working with PCSB, DME, and all education stakeholders to ensure every student in DC has access to a high-quality, equitably funded education.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
Citations
GOLD is an observation-based assessment system for children from birth through kindergarten
