Our Mission: Supporting effective teaching and high achievement in every classroom, in every school, in DC Public Schools.
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“By providing a mechanism for private funders to invest in innovation, the Education Fund is an essential partner in our effort to ensure there are great schools in every neighborhood of our city.”

- Adrian Fenty, Mayor, District of Columbia

/Our Work
Creating Compelling and Effective Schools


Students deserve compelling and effective places to learn, with a consistent foundation of challenging academics, strong support for their social and emotional needs, and a variety of programs and instructional themes that are both relevant and rigorous. Parents should be able to select from a broad portfolio of options to the find the best placement for their child.

 

Projects supported currently by the Education Fund include:

 

Compelling Theme-Based Programs

Thirteen elementary, middle, and K–8 schools throughout the district are offering innovative school designs based on themes such as science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM); arts integration; and world cultures.

 

By helping teachers make learning more engaging and relevant to students, these schools will improve achievement and provide models for adaptation elsewhere. After a rigorous planning year, these schools launched their themes in fall 2010.

 

Implementation of the DC Catalyst Project is currently supported by the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriot Foundation, the Weissberg Foundation, the Herb Block Foundation, and the Ludwig Family Foundation. The Education Fund is continuing fundraising efforts to support the DC Catalyst Project throughout two implementation years.

 

Find out more about this project.

 

High-Impact Leadership Development

Leadership teams from 10 elementary and K–8 schools from across the city are sharing best practices and pooling human and financial resources to help raise student achievement through research-based improvement programs.

 

The DC Collaborative for Change is supported by Target, CityBridge Foundation, the Harold Rubenstein Foundation, and the Diane and Norman Bernstein Foundation.

 

Transformative Strategy for Secondary School Reform

A strategic plan currently in development will establish priorities for driving dramatic changes in all DCPS middle and high schools to ensure that all students graduate from DCPS prepared for college, career, and life.

 

DCPS’ Secondary School Transformation planning process is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.