Issues

DFER D.C. believes that all public school students, particularly students of color and students from low-income families, must graduate from high school with essential skills and receive a high-quality, affordable postsecondary education and the work-based experience and credentials necessary to immediately earn a livable wage.

Resource Equity

Fight for targeted, adequate, and equitable investments that prioritize the academic progress, health, social-emotional well-being, and life outcomes of students, and ensure they have ample opportunities to learn. Click here to learn more about our work on resource equity.

Accountability

Ensure education stakeholders are responsible, based on fair and objective data, for improving student outcomes, particularly for those students living at the sharpest intersections of marginalization. Click here to learn more about our work on accountability.

Choice

Dismantle racist redlining and opportunity hoarding by ensuring students of color are able to attend the public school of their choosing regardless of where they can afford to live. Click here to learn more about our work on public school choice.

Teacher Quality & Prep

Recruit, prepare, and retain highly effective educators, particularly educators of color, within their chosen fields; ensure robust compensation and fair evaluation; adopt culturally responsive standards and instructional materials, and support incentives for educators to teach in schools serving historically underserved students. Click here to learn more about our work on teacher quality and preparation. 

Higher Education: Quality, Affordability & Opportunity

Prepare all students, particularly students of color and students from low-income families, to graduate from high school and receive a high-quality, affordable college education or the work-based experience and credentials necessary to immediately earn a livable wage. Click here to learn more about our work on higher education.

We believe every policymaker must have a strong understanding of the building blocks of an equitable public education.