We are reimagining the high school experience, providing new pathways to college and career and increasing access to a wider variety of learning opportunities.
Advanced Technical Center (ATC)
The ATC is an initiative offering dual-credit Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses in high-demand industries to students citywide. In 2024, the ATC served nearly 200 students from across the city, representing 15 high schools. In addition to doubling its enrollment, the ATC has also seen significant increase in year-over-year persistence, going from 61 percent of year one students returning to the ATC in the 2022-23 school year to 83 percent returning in the 2023-24 school year. ATC students earned a combined 1,576 college credits in the 2023-24 school year worth roughly $1.1 million in tuition.
We also received a $4.1 million Career Connected High School federal grant to expand access to the ATC, and a $9.4 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to launch a new ATC in Ward 8 aligned to in-demand healthcare pathways, including the forthcoming Cedar Hill Hospital.
Dual Enrollment
Students who participate in dual enrollment programming can earn college credits while still in high school. Students gain valuable experience completing college-level course work, working with professors, and in many instances, participating in campus activities.
During the 2023-24 school year, 458 students participated in our Dual Enrollment Consortium. In FY24, students participating in the consortium filled 690 seats in dual enrollment courses (students can take more than one dual enrollment class). This is a 12.5 percent increase in seats filled from FY23 (613 seats) to FY24 (690 seats).
DC Tuition Assistance Grant (DCTAG)
DCTAG provides grants of up to $10,000, or $2,500 per year for DC residents attending public, private, or HBCU colleges and universities in the US or DC metro area. In SY2023-24 we provided DCTAG awards to 3,888 students and in SY2024-25 DCTAG deemed 4,631 DC residents eligible for DCTAG. These are the highest numbers in the last five years.
Adult and Family Education
We support learners of all ages, including adults interested in taking the next step on their career and learning journey. In FY24, 1,192 adult learners participated in integrated education and training programs that included adult literacy and numeracy, along with workforce preparation. Of that number, about 64 percent of participants achieved a measurable skills gain, and 481 participants earned 731 industry-recognized credentials aligned to the Workforce Investment Council’s high-demand industries. Also, 371 participants completed paid, work-based learning opportunities (e.g., internships, externships, or pre-apprenticeships).
Reimagining High School - DC Graduate Profile
We collected feedback from a diverse range of stakeholders through more than 30 listening sessions and surveys of administrators and former students on the city’s current high school graduation requirements and the development of a new DC Graduate Profile. The feedback will help shape the development and implementation of revised high school graduation requirements that support innovative approaches to preparing young people for life after graduation.
Career and Technical Education (CTE) Internship Programs
We invested more than $3 million in internship opportunities aligned to high-demand careers for our high school students enrolled in CTE programs. Rising juniors and seniors are eligible for the Career Ready Internship (CRI), a summer program that lasts six weeks. CTE students who are at the fourth-level course in their program of study could apply for The Advanced Internship Program (AIP) – a school year internship up to 27 weeks that gives students academic credit. Both internships are paid ($17 per hour) and aligned to student CTE coursework in high-demand career fields such as engineering, information technology and health science.
Participation in the AIP and CRI programs has rapidly increased over the last few years going from 110 AIP placements in SY2021-22 to 364 AIP placements in SY2024-25 and 618 CRI placements in the summer 2022 to 825 placements in the summer 2024.
