Since 2017, the D.C. Policy Center’s Education Policy Initiative has brought objective analyses to education conversations in the District of Columbia. The Education Policy Initiative’s research reflects the D.C. Policy Center’s broad urban policy perspective, making our work unique in the education research space.
We recognize that public schools factor into where families want to live; how public schools mix students from different backgrounds can increase opportunities (or amplify inequities); schools can shape neighborhoods, and vice versa, even in a unified school district with a great degree of choice; and that schools can alter how employers perceive the local workforce. Thinking of the public school system through this urban policy lens is important because it focuses the policymakers on what local laws and policies can do to bring about change.
Throughout our work, we highlight inequities in education, and how these tie to other areas such as housing and workforce policies. We seek to bring new data and information to help improve outcomes for D.C.’s students, especially those students furthest from opportunity.
RECENT PUBLICATION
This report is the second in a three-part series that examines the housing challenge for essential workers in the District of Columbia in the context of early childhood educators. Part II looks at where early childhood educators live which is often driven by housing affordability challenges.
Chelsea Coffin and Hannah Mason