Advancing policies for a strong, competitive, and vibrant economy in the District of Columbia.

PUBLICATION | EDUCATION

Building career assets for lifelong success

D.C. has many opportunities for high school age youth to connect to college and career. Despite this, little has been publicly reported about these opportunities across all providers, and there is limited information available surrounding outcomes of these programs. This report provides a high-level landscape to help better understand what career asset building opportunities are available to high school-age youth as a starting point to understanding quality, equity, and gaps in offerings.

Chelsea Coffin and Hannah Mason

Economy & Competitiveness

publications | Economy

2024 State of Business Report: Creating a thriving business environment

Daniel Burge, Yesim Sayin

September 27, 2024

publications | Economy

Long-term unemployment in the District of Columbia: What it means, how it has changed, and whom it affects

Daniel Burge

July 12, 2024

publications | Economy

Laying the foundation for a resilient fiscal future for the District of Columbia

Yesim Sayin, Daniel Burge

April 25, 2024

Criminal Justice

publications | Criminal Justice, D.C. History

How D.C.’s criminal justice system has been shaped by the Revitalization Act

Emilia Calma, Yesim Sayin

March 1, 2023

publications | Criminal Justice, Demographics

A look at who is incarcerated in D.C.’s criminal justice system

Emilia Calma, Yesim Sayin

March 6, 2023

publications | Criminal Justice, D.C. History

The District of Columbia’s Criminal Justice System under the Revitalization Act: How the system works, how it has changed, and how the changes impact the District of Columbia

Emilia Calma, Yesim Sayin

March 1, 2023

Education Policy Initiative

publications | Education, Schools

Early Childhood Educators in D.C. and Housing: Part I, Where do early childhood educators work?

Chelsea Coffin, Hannah Mason

June 18, 2024

publications | Education, Schools

Early Childhood Educators in D.C. and Housing: Part II, Where do early childhood educators live?

Chelsea Coffin, Hannah Mason

June 20, 2024

publications | Budget, Education, Schools

The fiscal future of public education in the District of Columbia

Yesim Sayin, Chelsea Coffin

February 13, 2024

Housing

publications | Housing

Priced out: Where can D.C.’s essential workers afford to live?

Yesim Sayin, Emilia Calma

July 18, 2024

publications | Housing

Housing abundance under new workforce conditions

Yesim Sayin

September 24, 2024

publications | Housing

Expanding housing affordability for a strong and resilient District of Columbia

Emilia Calma

September 24, 2024

Workforce

publications | Housing

Housing for workforce is a key economic development program

Andrew Trueblood

July 31, 2024

publications | Poverty and Income Inequality, Racial Equity, Talent pipeline, Workforce

The case for creating a local talent pipeline in the District of Columbia

Emilia Calma, Yesim Sayin

April 29, 2021

publications | Workforce

Creating an embalmer’s license in the District will not increase opportunity for workers

Emilia Calma

January 24, 2024

Spotlight: Chart of the week

Our chart of the week is a quick-read highlight of new or relevant data every week.

publications | Education

Chart of the week: Amid widespread reductions in chronic absenteeism, about half of schools saw an improvement in learning outcomes this past year.

September 06, 2024 | Chelsea Coffin

publications | Economy

Chart of the week: Businesses remain pessimistic about the D.C. economy

August 09, 2024 | Daniel Burge

publications | Education

Chart of the week: Chronic absenteeism is still improving as of March 2024, with uptick from fall

July 19, 2024 | Chelsea Coffin

Press coverage

The work of the D.C. Policy Center is often featured by the media in articles, interviews, and other platforms that highlight our expertise.

publications | Economy

DC weekly roundup: A startup grows in the DMV (and Philly); Scaling considerations; $100M cyber infusion | Technical.ly

October 01, 2024 | D.C. Policy Center

publications | Economy

DC councilmember proposes solution to empty downtown office buildings costing the city millions | WUSA9

September 26, 2024 | D.C. Policy Center

publications | Economy

IRS study shows a post-pandemic exodus of wealthy residents from D.C. | Washington Times

August 15, 2024 |

Events

To encourage the exchange of new ideas and fresh perspectives, the D.C. Policy Center hosts lectures and roundtables, and our experts regularly participate in events in the community.

event

Small landlords survey

July 25, 2024 |

event

Parent Listening Sessions for State of D.C. Schools 2023-24

July 25, 2024 |

event

Lunch and Conversation with At-Large Councilmember Christina Henderson

June 27, 2024 |

Our most recent publications

Testimony | Housing

Finding long-term solutions to protect affordable housing in the District

Good morning, Chairman White, and members of the Committee. My name is Emilia Calma, and I am the Director of Research and Policy of the D.C. Policy Center—an independent non-partisan …

November 15, 2024 | Emilia Calma

Testimony | Education, Schools

D.C.’s chronic absenteeism rates are decreasing, but still are higher than pre-pandemic. Insights from stakeholders shed light on why, what’s working, and what’s not

As of March 2024, data show that across all D.C.’s public schools, chronic absenteeism improved by 4.3 percentage points over the same time during the previous year, and a majority …

November 13, 2024 | Hannah Mason

Reports | Education, Student experience, Workforce

Building career assets for lifelong success

Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to The Richard E. and Nancy P. Marriott Foundation for their support of this report and to Education Forward DC for their ongoing support of …

November 13, 2024 | Chelsea Coffin

Testimony | Education, Schools

Improving math instruction and achievement in older grades and for students furthest behind to strengthen outcomes

There is need to focus on strengthening math instruction and achievement in D.C. through a dedicated Task Force. Statewide assessment results show that a smaller share of students are meeting …

November 6, 2024 | Chelsea Coffin

Testimony | Education, Schools

Improving teacher retention rates by specialization and subject is key to improving student outcomes

Urban districts tend to have lower teacher retention than other areas. In school year 2021-22, for example, teacher turnover was the highest (12 to 14 percent) in urban districts, high-poverty …

October 29, 2024 | Hannah Mason

Testimony | Education, Workforce

Strengthening work-based learning is necessary to improve early career outcomes

Data from the American Community Survey (ACS) indicate low early career outcomes for D.C.’s public school alumni, underscoring the need to strengthen connections to CTE and work-based learning programs. For …

October 24, 2024 | Chelsea Coffin

Data Collection Inbox

Business insights

We collaborate regularly with practitioners in the District’s business community, who have their ear to the ground. Share your insights via our data collection inbox.

Share info

Media inquiries

Talk to our experts

From quarterly economic indicators, to housing data, to demographics, our staff and independent fellows are available for media interviews and speaking engagements. We strive to respond to media requests same-business-day.

Get in touch

Commissioned research

Partner with us

We are independent, nonpartisan, and open-minded, and our work is shaped by data, not opinion. We work regularly with the public and private sector on commissioned research.

Inquire

Advancing policies for a strong, competitive, and vibrant economy in the District of Columbia.

Economy & Competitiveness

Criminal Justice

Education Policy Initiative

Housing

Workforce

Spotlight: Chart of the week

About the D.C. Policy Center

Subscribe

Press coverage

Events

Our most recent publications

Business insights

Talk to our experts

Partner with us