Bisi Oyedele: Public schools in DC must address absenteeism to regain their momentum

Before the pandemic, DC’s public education system was on the upswing. Gains were made on both local and national metrics. The District was widely hailed as the fastest-improving state and urban system in the country. Our progress and promise were the envy of education leaders across the U.S. Local leaders continued to invest greater and greater sums in DC schools. This strong leadership had bold visions and demanded accountability when our students were not being served adequately.

But that has halted — and progress has reversed or stagnated. 

We recently got a glimpse at moderate improvement in citywide assessments. Overall, math proficiency increased 2.6 percentage points and English language arts ticked up 2.9 percentage points, according to last year’s test results. However, these tallies remain below where we were prior to 2020 and demonstrate that DC is not fully meeting the needs of our Black and Latinx students or those with disabilities. 

In point of fact, assessments are only part of the picture. Since 2022, in partnership with Education Forward DC, EmpowerK12 has maintained the DC Education Recovery Dashboard to track our education system’s health as the District recovers from the pandemic. Through it, anyone can explore how we are serving our students and how our system is doing — citywide, by student group and by ward.

At first look, one thing stands out: Our students are not in school.

The District has experienced a significant spike in chronic absenteeism that is alarming and could imperil future academic recovery. Prior to 2020, just under one-third of students missed significant amounts of learning, according to DC’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education. That jumped to nearly half of students missing 10 or more days of school during the pandemic and has remained above 40%. Nearly 60% of students considered “at risk” of academic failure are missing 10 or more days. The figure for Black students and students with disabilities is almost identical: 53% have missed 10 or more days. When students aren’t in school, making academic progress isn’t possible. It’s that simple. 

It should be noted that DC is not alone. It’s a trend across the country, which prompted the White House Council of Economic Advisers to recommend an “all hands on deck” approach to reducing student absenteeism as key to improving student success and the nation’s economy.

Student engagement needs to be the No. 1 focus of everyone who cares about our students’ futures as well as the future of the District of Columbia.

We all have our own part to play in it. School leaders and educators are certainly already doing a great deal. Education Forward DC continues to focus on student engagement and well-being through investments in survey instruments, school-based mental health supports, and other approaches that value whole child development.

Over the last year, Education Forward DC held a series of events focused on how we can build a school system that serves our students even better than before the pandemic. We heard directly from students who shared hopes for more engaging academic offerings and experiences, greater individual support, reliable transportation, and safer communities.   

It’s time for DC’s elected leaders to listen to these needs and show up for our students.

DC Students Succeed — a coalition of more than 40 community organizations and schools that we are proud to be a part of — has rightly called for Mayor Muriel Bowser and the DC Council to make the necessary investments to ensure that DC students are prepared and engaged and that they feel safe and supported to show up for school. This includes preserving and growing equitable investments in our public school students; preparing students for academic success through an expansion of DC’s science-based literacy initiatives; and engaging students in their futures through increased access to diversified post-secondary pathways for all students.

COVID-19 was, as is often said, unprecedented. But what isn’t unprecedented is forging success in the face of overwhelming challenges when it comes to helping students reach their own vision of success. DC has done it before, and we can do it again.

This new year brings with it the promises of new beginnings and new opportunities. Of course, it also means new challenges on top of old ones exacerbated by the pandemic. But, by looking at the data and centering the needs of our students, there is no doubt in my mind that we can recapture DC’s pre-2019 progress in providing better outcomes for students and get back on track as the fastest-improving school district in the nation.

Bisi Oyedele is CEO of Education Forward DC.

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