Testimony Before the Council of the District of Columbia Committee of the Whole Performance Oversight Hearing on the DC Public Charter School Board and DC Public Schools

By Anne Herr

Senior Director of School Development & Accountability, DC Charter School Alliance

Good morning, Chairman Mendelson and members of the Committee. My name is Anne Herr and
I am a long-time resident of Ward 1 and the Senior Director of School Development and
Accountability 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.

Bright Spots and Innovation

I want to start by celebrating DC’s continuing progress in academic achievement. For several
years DC has been recognized as the fastest improving urban district, and in 2025 the national
Education Recovery Scorecard named DC the most improved state in math achievement from
2022 to 2024. We should celebrate DC teachers and school leaders for their hard work. I also
want to commend city officials for continued prioritization of and investment in education,
including educator pay. Going forward, it is vital to provide equitable, predictable funding to all LEAs
through the UPSFF to ensure sustained investment in high quality educators in all of our schools.

DC’s charter schools continue to demonstrate growth, recovery, and innovation, showing
improved proficiency rates on the 2025 DC CAPE assessment and demonstrating particular
strength in Wards 5, 7 and 8, where over 60% of all charter school students are enrolled. (See the
DC Alliance’s recent policy brief for additional details.)

Public charter schools demonstrate that innovative approaches can yield dramatic results. A few
examples I’d like to highlight include Washington Latin, which overhauled its approach to serving
students with special needs and saw some of the highest gains in the city with this student
subgroup, with an increase of 39.1 percentage points in students scoring 4 or higher on the ELA
test. DC Scholars, located in Ward 7 and serving 69% at-risk students, saw growth and proficiency
rates for economically disadvantaged students that exceeded city averages in both ELA and
math. DC Scholars middle school was recognized as a Math Bright Spot by the DC Math Hub.

The Next Step Public Charter School, which serves adults and older youth who are working to
pass the GED, learn English, go to college or trade school, and prepare for a career, has shown
strong academic gains since the pandemic and is up for its 30 year charter renewal this year, the
first DC charter school to reach this milestone. AppleTree Early Learning PCS, the only DC LEA
dedicated exclusively to PreK, has served DC 3 and 4-year-olds for 20 years and developed a
national model for PreK curriculum that has been adopted as a best practice in DC and around
the nation.

This work does not happen in a vacuum. It is important schools have access to quality partners
and support. We are excited about the Partnership for DC School Excellence (Partnership)
incubated at the DC Alliance, a new initiative which aims to work with school leaders to transform
schools in order to deliver exceptional outcomes for students. This school year, the Partnership
engaged three schools in its pilot cohort, where it provided an in-depth review of school
operations, identified areas for improvement and is now supporting schools in making necessary
changes. This work is necessary as we collectively focus on furthering student outcomes.

Choice as a Success Story

One of the lessons from DC’s academic achievement gains is that investment matters. Another is
that school choice is working. DC is a choice city—options for families exist across both the DCPS
and charter sectors. 70% of DC’s public school students attend a school that is not the one they
are zoned for, whether that is an application high school with a specialized program, a charter
school, or a DCPS in a different neighborhood. DC has taken a system-wide approach that
simplifies choice for families, including a common citywide school lottery and an annual EdFest
which enables families to get information about all their options at one time. These are innovative
practices unique to DC.

The DC Alliance partners with schools and city agencies to ensure that this educational
ecosystem continues to flourish. We provide technical assistance to schools to help them address
challenges, coaching and leadership development, opportunities for expert site visits, talent and
human resources support, review and renewal support, and collaborative spaces where school
staff in similar roles can share best practices. We also help them navigate city agencies and work
closely with city agencies to engage productively with LEAs, for example, encouraging DBH to
seek additional LEA feedback on changes to its school-based mental health program,
coordinating monthly safety calls with MPD and school representatives, and working with OSSE to
provide additional clarity on the transition to a new statewide assessment in SY2026-27.

The Importance of Strong, Independent Authorizing

The role of the DC PCSB as a strong, independent authorizer is an important factor in DC’s
educational gains. Only about 10% of charter authorizers nationwide are independent.
Independent authorizers are able to bring expertise and capacity to their oversight and avoid
conflicts of interest. DC PCSB sets clear and rigorous standards for approving new schools and
conducts review processes that are driven by outcomes, not politics. DC PCSB is a strong
collaborative partner with schools and the DC Alliance, partnering to host safety calls and summer
graduation, increasing its engagement with the schools on the DC Alliance’s Executive
Committee, and strongly supporting the work of the Partnership. DC PCSB is also fully engaged in
its own improvement initiatives, including updating and revising key policies, making the review
and renewal process more predictable and transparent, and seeking to improve engagement and
communication with LEAs.

Moving Forward

Moving forward, I urge city officials to celebrate the progress we’ve made towards providing all
students with a first-rate education, but not to lose sight of the work we still need to do. As a city
we’re accumulating evidence about what works, and we need to continue to invest in these
successes. That means investing equitably in the choice city we’ve collectively built. We must
commit to ensuring that every student receives equitable resources regardless of the public
school they attend. The DC Charter School Alliance stands ready to partner with the Council, the
Mayor's office, and all stakeholders to ensure every child in our city has the opportunity to thrive.

Thank you and I'm happy to answer any questions.