We're so proud of our Parent Leaders who lift up their voice for ALL DC students! 📣

💜 Citywide & Ward 1 Parent Leader Renee Davis advocated for universal screening for disabilities and stronger supports for students with disabilities as they transition out of high school.

💜 Ward 7 Parent Leader Quiana Lamons shared about how OST programs can be leveraged to help our kids build digital literacy skills, the need for strong communication around transportation for students with disabilities, and the importance of making sure academic data is accessible to families.

Shoutout to all the Parent Leaders who attended, and THANK YOU to Samantha Thompson-Milton of Friendship Public Charter School for sharing her expertise with us! 💜

🔗 Learn more about how DC is doing - and how your child's school stacks up - here: schoolreportcard.dc.gov/home

And shout out to PAVE’s Program Manager Gabby Silva, who came with receipts on how SBMH can help decrease community violence and strengthen our communities!

Huge shoutout to the Parent Leaders who testified:
💜 Advisory & Ward 7 Parent Leader Karla Reid-Witt
💜 Citywide & Ward 5 Parent Leader Katrice Turner
💜 Ward 7 Parent Leader Quiana Lamons

Having robust supports in every school is not just crucial for supporting kids' overall well-being & ability to engage in school - it's also a way to proactively support public safety by ensuring they develop healthy coping skills & receive the mental health support they need before a crisis occurs.

We’ve got a lot of work left to do. Let’s do it TOGETHER!

Learn more & donate: givelocaltogether.org/o/pave

#DCKidsAndSchools

Our coalition has been hard at work highlighting DC’s growth and opening our doors so other cities & states can learn from us. By giving to PAVE in honor of DC Kids and Schools, you're helping us bring together leaders & policymakers with parents & communities to make our schools stronger.

DC’s education ecosystem — with parents as leaders in our policy and advocacy wins alongside school leaders, systems leaders, and students — shows what’s possible when communities come together.

DC is closing opportunity gaps and leading the way in 4 key pillars:
🏫 Highest parent satisfaction with our school choice system
📚 Fastest math & reading growth in the country
🎓 Career-connected experiences for students in every high school
🖍️ Universal PreK with 95% of 4 year olds enrolled

Earlier this year, we launched DC Kids and Schools — a campaign sharing about the promise and people behind DC’s progress in education: our educators, our students, our families, our school leaders, our policymakers, and our communities who made progress possible.

Shoutout to all the Parent Leaders who testified! #ParentPower

💜 Advisory and Ward 8 Parent Leader Tara Brown shared about the need for increased investments in high-impact tutoring to improve students' academic proficiency and attendance

💜 Citywide & Ward 7 Parent Leader Dawn Smith called for a school navigator program to help parents find the right school for their child
💜 Ward 4 Parent Leader Lisa McCullers advocated for expanding the talent pipeline for school-based mental health clinicians so all students can access supports