Education Forward DC

09/29/2026

What's working in DC? High standards, real accountability, strong public investment, and a relentless focus on setting students up for success. In a Washington Post op-ed, Kevin Huffman recognizes DC among the few places reversing national declines.

"In three decades of testing, this is the first time a cluster of states has moved outcomes this way."

Read more: https://wapo.st/4z4EFcG

A handful of states and the nation’s capital offer a road map to improvement in student learning.

09/02/2026

"Achievement gaps narrowed and student poverty is less predictive of school performance in math and reading. In fact, the correlation between socioeconomic status of a school’s student body and its proficiency rate is the lowest in DC state test history. Yet, differences in performance between student groups remain stark, requiring continued urgency from adults and focus on equitable distribution of resources to support priority student groups."

Josh Boots from our grantee org dives deep into the data from the latest DC statewide assessments. Read more:

Guest Post from Josh Boots, founder of EmpowerK12

08/31/2026

Meet Rashida Young, Partner leading our Schools & Talent Team! 🙌

She believes a zip code should never determine the quality of a student's school. Before joining us, she led school accountability at the DC Public Charter School Board and started her career as a history teacher & soccer coach.

Learn more about Rashida: https://bit.ly/4fWDvr9

08/24/2026

Happy First Day of School! The entire Ed Forward DC team wishes every student, teacher, and leader (and the ones who love and support them) an outstanding start to another great school year!

08/17/2026

Our Managing Partner Margie Yeager joined DC Charter School Alliance's "Leaders in Conversation" to talk facilities & funding, challenges that pull school leaders away from teaching and learning, what more equitable funding could unlock, and the DC Charter Facilities Fund that Ed Forward DC helped launch earlier this year to support school leaders.

Watch:

In this episode of the DC Charter School Alliance’s Leaders in Conv...

08/14/2026

Outstanding learning environments help support outstanding students! Our team we excited to join DC Prep as they broke ground on their new Edgewood Middle School facility last Thursday.

08/11/2026

🎉 Welcome to Education Forward DC, Penelope Pak McMillen!

Penelope has joined our team as Senior Manager supporting Schools & Talent, working to improve school quality and educator pipelines across DC. She previously led leadership development at KIPP Foundation and served as a teacher and principal in California.

Get to know her here: https://bit.ly/4pTcKZM

08/06/2026

In the last five years, Ed Forward DC supported 350+ diverse education leaders through fellowships, coaching, and professional development. Take a look back at the progress made and the organizations we've supported since 2021 and what's next for ensuring a great public school for every DC student.

Read our full Fund II Impact Report here: https://bit.ly/4f5VtHQ

07/29/2026

As Managing Partner, Margie oversees all of Education Forward DC's grantmaking and grantee support work. She started her career as a second-grade teacher with Teach For America at Simon Elementary (DCPS) and later served as Chief of Staff to the DC Deputy Mayor for Education and Director of Advocacy & Policy at Chiefs for Change.

Learn more about Margie https://bit.ly/3YGYDeu

07/20/2026

On Friday, our team concluded our annual planning week with inspiring visits to the Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives and Planet Word to explore DC's education history and spark new ideas for the year ahead.