My time in Washington, D.C. has been a crash course on the education system of D.C. public schools. I am currently interning at Catholic Charities Refugee Service Center. Our main goal is to help refugees and asylees — asylum seekers who have been granted protection status by the U.S. government — find employment in the D.C. area. Our small branch is looking to expand its service to help school-aged immigrant youth integrate into U.S. culture and learn English. I was shocked at what I found when researching the current D.C. school system.
At the end of the 2016-17 school year, schools were celebrating another successful year of increasing the graduation rate in our nation’s capital. Even more impressively, one of the schools with consistently low graduation rates, Ballou High School, had graduated nearly all of its seniors, and all who did graduate had been accepted into college. The city was pleased, even though some parents of the students were surprised that they had graduated, citing their children’s having missed a lot of school.
In November 2017, NPR and the Washington Post investigated Ballou High School and found that the majoriaty of graduates had low grades, excessive absences, or other failed requirements. This discovery launched an investigation into the D.C. public school system. On Jan. 29, the report came out with shocking results. Seventeen of the 19 schools had violated policies in order to graduate students who had not met requirements. According to the report, one in three students graduated even if they had policy violations. Soon after this was released, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said it would launch its own investigation.
As I continue to follow this story, I worry for our clients that are currently in the school system. Are they receiving the proper guidance to succeed in a new country? What services can our organization provide to make sure they are successful? When I search for services that are helpful to my clients, I am confronted with all the other D.C. students that might not have the same resources and support. However, according to reports from WAMU 88.5, the radio station for NPR news, some students have legitimate reasons for not going to school, either working to support their family or needing to care for sick loved ones. Others felt no connection to the school because teachers changed so frequently or substitute teachers were there instead.
Recently, the D.C. administration has had a program called “Every Day Counts!” that encourages students to continue to attend school and lists resources for students and their families. It provides statistics about the detriments of school absences, ways to get free transportation for students, and ways the community can help students. That, I believe, is a great way to help. As a community, it is important to build a culture that encourages students to attend school, and helps with the issues preventing them from attending school. Catholic Charities agrees with the “Every Day Counts!” model and will encourage the parents to be involved in their children’s education. What I have experienced at EMU, and what the D.C. administration is trying to encourage, is that community is needed for D.C. students.
