District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) has been steadfast in its efforts to advance high school redesign. In 2022, the district launched a multi-year, community-driven initiative to reimagine high schools in partnership with XQ Institute. As part of this initiative, participating high schools undertook XQ’s Educational Outcomes Audit and Analysis (EOAA), an in-depth portrait of the academic progress of a school’s entire graduating class over all four years of high school. Districts gain insight from a range of sources—including transcripts, student focus groups, and stakeholder surveys—in order to better understand how effectively and consistently high schools are educating every young person. EOAA results provided useful insights across DCPS high schools, particularly in the six schools undergoing high school redesign.
DCPS has also taken significant steps to provide quality work-based learning experiences for the district’s high school students. In partnership with CareerWise, DCPS launched CareerWise D.C., which offers two- or three-year applied-learning apprenticeships that enable high school students to earn debt-free college credit and nationally recognized industry certifications through meaningful paid work in fields like IT, financial services, and business operations.
Most recently, D.C.’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education adopted a districtwide graduate profile that articulates a vision for the college- and career-ready capabilities every student should have by the time they graduate.
As communities begin to operationalize the graduate profile, district leaders could develop resources for high school educators that support their capacity to effectively implement powerful learning experiences.
