John King and DC Education Leaders Celebrate Public School Students During College Signing Day

On April 29, 127 public charter school students from 17 different public charter schools across DC announced their college decisions at the annual College Signing Day hosted by Office of the State Superintendent.

DC College Signing Day is a day of celebration for college-bound seniors from across the District who have made a commitment to higher education. College Signing Day was created as part of First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2014 Reach Higher Initiative, in an effort to rally the country around the President’s North Star goal – that by 2020, America will have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.

As DC’s public charter schools continue to graduate students at a higher rate than the overall city average (72 percent vs 64 percent), we are proud of the work that our public charter schools have done to provide quality choices, so that families can find the best cultural and academic fit for their student.  

DC’s public charter schools bring innovative approaches to student learning that allow students to find success within the classroom and increase student achievement.  These innovative models and programs come from the teachers, school leaders and families on the ground who see that a different approach may provide a better learning environment for the students.  These approaches are essentially reshaping what school can be for students of all ages. 

For example, Capital City Public Charter School (Capital City PCS), one of the most racially and culturally diverse schools in the city, was the first parent-founded school in DC.  Students at Capital City PCS engage in learning expeditions that include research, fieldwork and service and focuses on a social curriculum in order to build students to become independent workers and thinkers.  As a result, since 2012, 100 percent of graduating seniors have been accepted to college and in 2014, the school had the highest college matriculation rate in the city.

All together, our public charter and traditional public schools, are leading the transformation of education in the city due not only to competing to get the best academic results but to collaboration with each other in the interests of students and families.  

Congratulations to all college-bound seniors and all of the public charter school innovators who helped every senior #ReachHigher!  #dccharterPROUD 

127 public charter school students from 17 different public charter schools across DC announced their college decisions at the annual College Signing Day hosted by Office of the State Superintendent.