Karen Williams and Hanseul Kang: New DC School Report Card shows what we can accomplish when we come together

As principals, teachers, advocates, government officials, parents and students, all of us are striving for the same thing: an education system that works for all students and families in the city we love so much.

More than a year ago, a group of key stakeholders — including parents, students, educators and community members — came together for a conversation about how to make data and information about our public schools more accessible for DC families.

First convened in the summer of 2017, the State Board of Education’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Task Force has worked with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) to engage communities in all eight wards in the building of the DC School Report Card. In addition to serving a critical role in our family outreach efforts, the group has wrestled with the tough question of how we ensure an equitable educational experience for all DC students.

The result of these efforts is a new website — live as of this morning — that gives families in the District access to comparable information about all of the District’s public schools, including both those that are part of DC Public Schools and those that are public charter schools.

Parents and families are demanding access to the same clear and honest information about how our schools are doing. Starting with a common set of facts will help us figure out what is working in our schools and what we need to do to improve outcomes. 

Together the ESSA Task Force members and OSSE hosted nearly 100 public feedback sessions and received more than 4,000 responses about how to make the report card as family-friendly as possible. OSSE made critical changes based on the feedback gathered and on the recommendations of SBOE members, including adding more teacher and family engagement information and making the organization, layout and language used on the DC School Report Card website responsive to the input from these sessions.

Task force members came with strong views, and they didn’t always agree. But during the process, we all listened to the perspectives of others, worked together, and got the job done.

The task force’s efforts were exemplary, and we’re glad that the State Board of Education chose this path. Our work and cooperation will pay off. The DC School Report Card will prove to be a helpful tool for our families and our community. It’s clear that good work can happen in DC when people come together.

Karen Williams is president of the DC State Board of Education, where she represents Ward 7; Hanseul Kang is state superintendent of education.