ABOUT DC BOLD SCHOOLS
What if DC closed the achievement gap within this decade?
We believe that the District of Columbia can be the first urban city to do so with the right practices and supports in place--and the right information to empower school leaders, teachers, parents, and community members to make bold, data-driven decisions.
At EmpowerK12, we celebrate the schools that are serving DC’s most at-risk students in two ways: high-poverty schools where at-risk students perform the best on math and English assessments and high-poverty schools where students designated as at-risk are improving the most on math and English assessments, compared to students who are not designated as at-risk. These bold schools — Bold Performance Schools (returned October 2022) and Bold Growth Schools (returns after December 2023 when PARCC growth data is reported on the DC School Report Card) — are doing just that, making bold choices to serve the students who need the most support.
What’s the difference between growth and performance schools?
Using the DC School Report Card, a citywide report card for every traditional public and charter school in DC, we look at schools who serve large percentages of students who are at-risk (defined as experiencing homelessness, in foster care, receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or, for high school students, older than the expected age for their grade), compared to students who are not at-risk.
Bold Performance Schools serve a high at-risk student population and have combined math and English language arts proficiency rates dramatically higher than schools with similar demographics.
Bold Growth Schools serve a high percentage of priority student populations, such as students designated as at-risk and have at-risk student group growth rates higher than students from more privileged backgrounds.
DC Bold Schools is an initiative of EmpowerK12.
EmpowerK12 analyzes data utilizing rigorous scientific methodologies to help policymakers, advocates, school leaders, and community members understand how our schools are performing on a variety of metrics, including how well schools serve at-risk students, which is central to the organization’s mission. Learn more about EmpowerK12’s mission and work with schools and systems to support data needs, including strategic data planning, continuous improvement practices, and research and evaluation.