(Washington, DC) – Today, during a visit to the District’s Advanced Technical Center (ATC), Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the number of students enrolled in public schools in Washington, DC in the 2022-23 school year is at its highest level since the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) began doing a District-wide count of public school students in 2007. After enrollment remained mostly flat in the 2021-22 school year, the unaudited numbers show an overall increase of nearly 3% across DC – or 2,638 more students – compared to last year’s count.
“We know that when we invest in our school communities and provide opportunities and programs that challenge and engage students, families trust us. When families trust us – when they know that their children will be loved and challenged in our schools – that benefits our entire community,” said Mayor Bowser. “As we continue through the process of reimagining the high school experience, the Advanced Technical Center is a good example of how we can work together, across sectors and with our partners in the community, to create opportunities that set students up for success in school and beyond graduation.”
As part of today’s announcement, Mayor Bowser visited students and staff at the Advanced Technical Center, which was launched at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year. The ATC, operated and managed by OSSE, is a centralized Career Technical Education (CTE) program, co-located on the campus of Trinity Washington University. The purpose of the ATC is to allow students to take high school and college level CTE courses in a two-year, dual enrollment pathway. By removing the barriers of equipment costs faced by many schools, the ATC allows students from all over the city to access coursework that they might not have been offered, without requiring them to transfer schools. The ATC reimagines the high school experience by giving students access to CTE pathways that prepare them for high-wage, high-skill, and in-demand careers.
During school year 2022-23, the ATC is located on the campus of Trinity Washington University. In subsequent school years, the ATC will be in a permanent location at the Penn Center building (1709 3rd Street NE). Any student in grades 9, 10, or 11 who attends a DCPS or public charter high school that receives federal Carl D. Perkins funding for their CTE programming is eligible to enroll in ATC courses.
Programs currently offered at the ATC include:
- Cybersecurity (course offerings include Fundamentals of Cybersecurity; Internetworking Technologies; Digital Forensics; Cybersecurity Capstone, which will be an internship)
- General Nursing (course offerings include Principles of Health Science; Medical Terminology; Anatomy and Physiology; Medical Microbiology)
- Health Information Technology (course offerings include Principles of Health Science; Medical Terminology; Anatomy and Physiology; Medical Coding and Billing).
Preliminary Enrollment Numbers
Public School Enrollment Since 2007
| School Year | DCPS | Charter | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23** | 50,204 | 46,449 | 96,572* |
| 2021-22 | 49,035 | 44,890 | 93,843 |
| 2020-21 | 49,890 | 43,942 | 93,832 |
| 2019-20 | 51,037 | 43,518 | 94,555 |
| 2018-19 | 49,056 | 43,960 | 93,016 |
| 2017-18 | 48,144 | 43,393 | 91,537 |
| 2016-17 | 48,555 | 41,506 | 90,061 |
| 2015-16 | 48,439 | 38,905 | 87,344 |
| 2014-15 | 47,548 | 37,684 | 85,403 |
| 2013-14 | 46,393 | 36,565 | 82,958 |
| 2012-13 | 45,557 | 34,673 | 80,230 |
| 2011-12 | 45,191 | 31,562 | 76,753 |
| 2010-11 | 45,631 | 29,366 | 74,997 |
| 2009-10 | 44,718 | 27,661 | 72,379 |
| 2008-09 | 45,190 | 25,729 | 70,919 |
| 2007-08 | 49,422 | 21,947 | 71,369 |
“These preliminary figures are heartening and reinforce that the best place for our children is in school with their excellent educators,” said State Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant. “As we continue to forge our path through recovery and into restoration, we are so grateful for our families, our educators and for the city’s continued commitment to improving educational outcomes in all eight wards.”
As the District’s state education agency, OSSE conducts an annual enrollment audit of public schools. The preliminary numbers above are based on a snapshot of data certified by local education agencies in October. This marks the beginning of an enrollment audit and certification process that takes several months and is conducted in collaboration with an independent auditor. The chart above tracks enrollment trends since 2007 with preliminary unaudited numbers for the 2022-23 school year. Final, audited enrollment figures will be published by OSSE in early 2023.
*Note: State-level enrollment subtotal does not equal DCPS + Charter totals due to student duplications. Duplications have been removed from the state level numbers but may still exist at the sector level in these preliminary, unaudited figures.
**These figures represent preliminary data. Final audited enrollment figures will be published by OSSE in early 2023.
Visit OSSE’s website for more enrollment data and information about the annual enrollment audit.