Civic Leader Emmanuel Bestman Advocates for FY2025 Investment in Math.

Emmanuel Bestman
Civic Leader
Education Reform Now Advocacy D.C.

DC Council’s Committee of the Whole FY 2025 Budget Oversight Hearing on: 

• Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education

• District of Columbia Public Schools

• Office of the State Superintendent of Education

Good afternoon, Chairman Mendelson, members, and staff of the Committee of the Whole;

I am Emmanuel Bestman, a ward 4 resident, financial literacy coach, and dedicated advocate for the D.C. Chapter of Education Reform Now Advocacy, an organization fighting for a just and equitable education for all students in the District of Columbia. Today, I stand before you not as an educator but as a resident deeply concerned about our community’s future, especially regarding our students’ mathematical skills.

Here’s the hard truth: nearly 80% of our students didn’t meet math standards last year.1 In a city where every job of the future will demand strong math skills, this is a red flag we can’t ignore. The absence of proposed funding for a statewide strategy on math research and innovation is alarming, particularly when our students have faced unprecedented declines in math proficiency. 

Math is not just a subject; it is a critical tool that shapes our children’s future, fostering analytical skills and opening doors to numerous career opportunities.

My journey in financial literacy has shown me firsthand how math underpins the ability to make informed decisions, manage finances effectively, and navigate the complexities of our economic system. This skill set begins in the classroom. Still, the Mayor’s proposed FY2025 Budget and Fiscal Plan provides no funding for improving math instruction. Given our students’ math outcomes, this omission is troubling. Therefore, I am urging the DC Council to include a budget support act title that would:

1. Create a Mathematics Innovation and Research Task Force: To lead a city-wide strategy, turning around our math education crisis.

2. Invest in Evidence-Based Math Practices: Let’s fund programs that work, shown by real results, to transform our students’ math abilities.

3. Support for Teachers and Families: Provide resources and training to those on the front lines of education, ensuring they have what they need to turn the tide.

The data is clear: when students excel in math, their chances for success skyrocket. This isn’t just an investment in education; it’s an investment in our city’s future. Thank you for considering this call to action.

###

1 OSSE. School year 2022-23 PARCC assessment results. Source: https://osse.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/osse/page_content/attachments/Assessment%202023%20Deck_.08.24_0.pdf

ERNA DC’s Public Comments on the Draft DC Financial Literacy Standards

ERNA DC’s Public Comments on the Draft DC Financial Literacy Standards

Thank you to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education for allowing Education Reform Now Advocacy to submit a public comment on the November 2023 draft of the DC Financial Literacy Standards. Overall, the draft standards are vital as they infuse valuable local, modern, and culturally relevant perspectives on personal finance compared to the National Standards. Additionally, we believe it’s essential that every student takes a financial literacy course. This should be built into D.C.’s high school graduation requirements because they are vital skills in a student’s life, education, and career.

We have three recommendations to strengthen the standards.

1. The Earning Income standard needs to include guidance on the financial impact of higher education and career choices. Students must understand their options when considering earning income in the 21st century.

a. The Earning Income-4 or 5 standard should include comparing post-secondary education costs with the potential income increase for a career of choice.
b. The Earning Income-4 standard should explicitly name dual enrollment opportunities as a program that helps students pay for college.
c. The Earning Income-5 standard should include support with creating a resume. We’ve heard from schools that students should leave high school with one.

2. The Investing standard should include guidance on the role of behavioral finance/cognitive biases in investing decisions, the role of financial technology in investing, tax rules for retirement investing (Roth IRAs vs. Traditional IRAs, etc.), the impact of inflation on returns, index investing, and basics like the difference between saving and investing.

3. The Managing Risk standard should tackle financial decisions more relevant to high school students’ immediate lives, such as protection from fraud and scams while on social media and while shopping on mobile apps.

Testimony for April DC State Board of Education Public Meeting

Public Meeting

Jessica Giles
Executive Director
Education Reform Now D.C.

Greetings Executive Director Butler, Representatives, Student Representatives, and D.C. State Board of Education (SBOE) staff. My name is Jessica Giles. I am a ward seven resident and the Executive Director of Education Reform Now D.C. (ERN DC). ERN D.C. is a non-profit organization fighting for a just and equitable public education system for all students in Washington, D.C. 

Thank you to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) and SBOE for holding many opportunities for the public to engage in the revision of the Social Studies Standards. In February, ERN DC submitted public comment to the OSSE and public testimony to the SBOE recommending essential changes that are needed to the Social Studies Standards. Several of our recommendations were accepted, including providing more clarity on how teachers implement the Social Studies standards in practice, diversifying the list of feminist scholars and thought leaders, and addressing the role that enslaving Black people played in the development of the District’s institutions. We hope OSSE and SBOE move swiftly to approve these standards. 

Additionally, I would like the State Board and the State Level and Systemic Policy Committee, in particular, to focus on two additional vital topics this year.

*** MAKE EXPANDING DUAL ENROLLMENT OPPORTUNITIES A TOP PRIORITY ***

The Need: 51 percent of students enroll in a two or four-year college. However, only 8 out of 100 9th-grade students will complete a postsecondary degree within six  years of high school graduation. 58 percent of D.C.’s job market requires a postsecondary degree, yet only 26 percent of D.C. residents aged 18 to 34 who were born here have a postsecondary degree, compared to 70 percent of those who moved here. Dual enrollment has a significant effect on 2-year and 4-year college enrollment, degree attainment, and early labor market earnings six years after high school, with stronger effects for students who are traditionally underrepresented. 

About Dual Enrollment: An estimated 10% of the student population uses dual enrollment opportunities. It needs to be clarified what percentage of students receive college credit. Bard High School Early College provides 377 students with an opportunity to graduate high school with an associate’s degree. In the fall of 2022, the Mayor’s office launched the Advanced Technical Center, which offers nearly 100 students the opportunity to take up to 20 college courses free of charge in cybersecurity, general nursing, and health information technology over a two-year period. In addition, over 450 students are taking dual enrollment courses at local Institutions of Higher Education (IHE). Many of these students have to take the course virtually or attend the course in person at the IHEs, which is time-consuming. Please note: the location of some LEAs and bus schedules can make it quite impossible for some students to participate meaningfully in in-person dual enrollment courses. Additionally, the difficulties that students face enduring long commutes to and from their classes create significant barriers to access, especially for students with the least financial means who are also least likely to attend school near colleges or universities that offer in-person dual enrollment. Further, three charter LEAs and 9 D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) schools do not offer any dual enrollment opportunities at all. 

In March 2022, the Deputy Mayor for Education partnered with the College in High School Alliance to develop a District of Columbia Dual Enrollment Needs Assessment Action Plan. Recommendations from this action plan are listed below:

• Engage in a Process to Understand DC Student & Parent Perspectives on Dual Enrollment

• Develop a Comprehensive Dual Enrollment Ecosystem Map for DC

• Continue to Build DC Dual Enrollment Data Availability & Tools For Use

• Formalize and Expand OSSE’s Dual Enrollment Community of Practice

• Consider Alternative Program Models and State Funding Mechanisms for Dual Enrollment

• Expand Dual Enrollment Course Options and Dual Crediting of Class Experiences

• Provide Tools and Resources to School Counselors & Other Dual Enrollment Practitioners

• Develop a Student, Parent, and Caregiver Friendly Web Portal for DC Dual Enrollment

The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education deserves some credit for progress made on understanding student and parent perspectives regarding dual enrollment and increasing the number of seats offered, but the Mayor’s proposed FY2024 budget includes no additional investments in dual enrollment opportunities and we are already behind on the timeline for completing the recommendations. 

Furthermore, there are two important issues I would like the Committee to pay special attention to:

• The need for expanding in-person cohort-based dual enrollment courses in the District. A successful example includes the Bard Sequence, which is currently offered at Idea Public Charter School and Thurgood Marshall Public Charter School.

• Students must have more opportunities to receive high school credit for their college courses. DC is an outlier in this regard, and it is incredibly inefficient. 

*** MAKE CREATING THE FINANCIAL LITERACY STANDARDS A TOP PRIORITY ***

The Need: Currently, D.C. does not require students to learn personal financial literacy skills, and too few schools offer it. Financial literacy concepts such as earning income, spending, saving, investing, managing credit, and managing risk are all information that D.C’s students must learn to succeed in school, life, and career.

Additionally, students need to learn how to become an entrepreneur, better understand career paths, and labor market opportunities during the “income” segment. 

The Colorado Department of Education summarizes personal financial literacy as the following “[it] applies the economic way of thinking to help individuals understand how to manage their scarce resources using a logical decision-making process of prioritization based on analysis of the costs and benefits of every choice.” Currently, ten states offer financial literacy as a part of the social studies standards. While OSSE is not revising the social studies standards to include additional financial literacy standards, OSSE should develop and adopt standalone financial literacy standards as soon as possible. We urge OSSE and SBOE to prioritize these two issues this year. 

Thank you for allowing me to testify today.

Testimony for February DC State Board of Education Public Meeting

February 15, 2023 Public Meeting
Jessica Giles
Executive Director
Education Reform Now D.C.

Greetings Executive Director Butler, Representatives, and staff of the D.C. State Board of Education (SBOE), my name is Jessica Giles. I am a ward seven resident and the Executive Director of Education Reform Now D.C. (ERN DC). ERN D.C. is a non-profit organization fighting for a just and equitable public education system for all students in Washington, D.C. I am pleased to submit my written testimony for the February 15 public meeting.

There are several ways for the Social Studies standards to be strengthened.[1][2]=

1. Include financial literacy as a critical content area within the Social Studies standards.

D.C. does not require students to learn personal financial literacy skills.[3] Personal financial literacy teaches essential concepts like saving, investing, debt, budgeting, setting short- and long-term financial goals, and money management. These are integral to the financial well-being of students. The Colorado Department of Education summarizes personal financial literacy as the following “[it] applies the economic way of thinking to help individuals understand how to manage their scarce resources using a logical decision-making process of prioritization based on analysis of the costs and benefits of every choice.”[4] Currently, ten states[5] offer financial literacy as a part of the social studies standards, and the District should do the same at every appropriate grade level. It’s a shame that students will learn about the Global Economy but not how to manage their budget, which is a vital life skill.

2. Provide more clarity on how teachers implement the Social Studies standards in practice.

Currently, the Social Studies standards provide little guidance on how teachers might implement the standards. I recommend adding a section under each grade level that includes context for interpreting, connecting, and applying the content and skills of each standard. Some states already have this essential information in their standards, including California (with a narrative description)[6] and Colorado[7] (through Academic Context and Connections).

3. Review the Social Studies Standards to ensure ample opportunities for students to receive dual high school and college credit.

The District must make higher education quality, affordability, and opportunity an absolute priority for our students furthest from opportunity. Therefore, OSSE should take every measure to ensure the updated Social Studies standards allow for dual high school credit and college credit with the institutions of Higher Education (IHE) the District currently has partnerships with and even future ones.

4. Include important context to various sections within the standards.

I would be remiss if I did not mention how shameful it was for the College Board to water down the AP African American Studies.[8] I encourage the SBOE to ensure that African Americans’ history, culture, and contributions are taught to students in full and unfiltered by including (where appropriate ) such topics as womanism, intersectionality, Black queer studies, and reparations in the Social Studies standards. I recommend a few areas below.

Include: Georgetown University and the Maryland Jesuit’s history of “selling” more than 272 enslaved African Americans in 1838 and other documented institutional wealth accumulation from chattel slavery.

●      DC.Hist.DHC.8 Evaluate the geographic, economic, and political factors that resulted in the location and design of the nation’s capital, including the role of slavery; or

●      3.Geo.HC.19 Describe the lives, experiences, culture, and communities of free and enslaved Black Americans in the Chesapeake Bay region during the 18thcentury.

Include: Black, Chicana, and Asian American feminist scholars and thought leaders such as Alice Walker, Audre Lorde, Dolores Huerta, Angela Davis, and Yuri Kochiyama.

●      US2.Inq.DP.65 Analyze the writings of different perspectives of the Women’s

liberation movement from women from diverse backgrounds, such as, but not limited to, Gloria Steinem, Elaine Brown, Phyllis Schlafly, and Gloria Anzaldúa

Include: Movements against police brutality.

●      5.Hist.DHC.52 Evaluate the impact and influence of historical movements on modern social movements and organizations.

●      US2.Civ.CE.72 Evaluate the tactics of modern social, labor, political, and environmental activist movements in America, measuring their success.

Further, I encourage the SBOE to take action to improve transparency in AP data and exam passage rates. I testified about a few issues, and provided solutions in my testimony before the D.C. Council on this issue last September. [9]

Lastly, I recommend that the D.C. State Board of Education and OSSE review education standards every ten years, at the minimum. Thank you for allowing me to testify.

 ——————————————————————————————————–

[1] I have already submitted my public comment to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE).

[2] I have a B.A. in History from Furman University and a Master in Public Policy from American University, if a helpful reference point for my public comment.

[3] Seven schools currently offer financial literacy as a course, and 10 city schools offer an Algebra class that includes similar concepts. Source: https://wtop.com/education/2022/06/school-zone-how-financial-literacy-is-making-its-way-into-dc-area-school-curricula/

[4] Pg 6  Colorado Department of Education. Social Studies Standards https://www.cde.state.co.us/cosocialstudies/cas-ss-p12-2022

[5] Civics Alliance. https://civicsalliance.org/financial-literacy/#:~:text=Five%20states%20offer%20a%20standardized,stand%2Dalone%20personal%20finance%20course.&text=States%20with%20stand%2Dalone%20personal,approach%20to%20financial%20literacy%20education.

[6] California Department of Education. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/hs/cf/documents/hssfwchapter4.pdf

[7] Colorado Department of Education. https://www.cde.state.co.us/cosocialstudies/cas-ss-p12-2022

[8] February 9, 2023. The New York Times. “The College Board Strips Down Its A.P. Curriculum for African American Studies” https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/01/us/college-board-advanced-placement-african-american-studies.html

[9] The Committee of the Whole Public Hearing on: B24-0665 – Access to Advanced Placement Exams Amendment Act of 2022. https://edreformnow.org/2022/09/27/ern-dc-testifies-on-the-access-to-advanced-placement-exams-amendment-act-of-2022/