(WASHINGTON, DC) – On Thursday, October 5, at 11:45 am, Mayor Muriel Bowser will highlight the $120 million in high-impact investments that DC Public Education Fund (DC Ed Fund) has raised to support innovative initiatives for DC Public Schools (DCPS) at their 10th Anniversary Philanthropy Forum – a convening of education leaders, local and national foundations representatives, and peer education funds from cities across the country, including Chicago, Austin and Denver. Mayor Bowser will be joined by Jessica Rauch, President and Executive Director of the DC Ed Fund, to celebrate the progress DCPS has made over the past 10 years.
Supporting key initiatives in the Bowser Administration such as the Empowering Males of Color, DC ED Fund contributed a public-private investment of $20 million over three years to advance achievement and opportunity and reduce racial disparities, and funded study abroad trips for middle and high school students. DC Ed Fund has also supported DCPS Cornerstones Assignments and hosts Standing Ovation each year – an annual event to honor DCPS’s finest teachers, administrators, and school staff through a presentation of individual and school-community awards.
Accelerating education reform continues to be a top priority for the Administration. In August, Mayor Bowser announced that DCPS saw record gains in proficiency rates on the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) assessment, including a 6.4 percentage point increase in the number of students scoring a four or five on the English language arts assessment and 3.5 percentage point increase in the number of students scoring a four or five on the math assessment. In addition, Washington, DC became the fastest improving school district in the country due to a three percent increase of enrollment in DC public and charter schools. In her Fiscal Year 2018 Budget, Mayor Bowser invested $1.74 billion in public education, an increase of $121 million over last year’s budget and the largest investment in public education in the city’s history.
WHEN:
Thursday, October 5, at 11:45 am
WHO:
Mayor Muriel Bowser
Jessica Rauch, President and Executive Director, DC Public Education Fund
WHERE:
Paul Laurence Dunbar High School
101 N Street, NW
*Closest Metro: NoMa – Gallaudet Metro Station*
Press interested in attending the event are asked to RSVP to [email protected]. To view the event online, visit mayor.dc.gov/live or tune in on Channel 16.