Attendance Hearing Follow-up Responses

1. Are students who got failure due to absence able to participate in credit recovery and/or summer
school and still graduate at rainbow graduation? What about for Freshman-Juniors, will they be able
to matriculate to next grade if they do credit recovery/summer school despite absences?

This year, DCPS is offering enhanced high school summer school programming across the city to provide
all students with the support they need on their path toward graduation. DCPS’ traditional high school
summer school program is made available to students who have failed a course(s) required for
graduation. The program offers credit recovery courses and original credit courses in alignment with
graduation requirements.
• Credit recovery courses are available only to students who have completed and failed a course
for academic reasons; they are not available to students who have failed a course due to
unexcused absences. Credit recovery provides an additional opportunity for students to learn
course material after they have failed a full 120-hour, one credit course or a 60-hour, half-credit
course. These courses serve students who learned some content, but who need more support
and instruction in order to pass the course.
• Original credit courses are for students who have never taken the course, or for students who
failed a course due to excessive unexcused absences. Original credit courses will be prioritized
for current seniors and rising seniors who require more than eight (8) credits to graduate;
additional students may enroll based on capacity.

Enrollment in high school summer school is open to all current DCPS students in grades 9-12, with
priority given to students who are required to attend due to not having met promotion criteria, current
seniors, and 9 graders.
th

Per the DC Municipal Regulations (DCMR), students who fulfill all the graduation requirements through
credit earned during summer school may participate in Rainbow Graduation, the commencement
ceremony for summer graduates.

Promotion and Retention of 9th-11th Grade Students

For high school students, grade level is classified based on completion of Carnegie Units and specific
graduation requirements, aligned with DC regulations (see below). For example, if a student meets all
the 9th grade requirements except English I in their first year of high school, s/he would be classified as a
9th grader until fulfilling that requirement, either during summer school or during the following year.
However, not passing English I does not preclude the student from advancing his/her study in other
subject areas.

Per 5-E DCMR § 2201.8, students may complete the high school graduation requirements over a three-,
four-, or five-year period, depending upon the time and support they need to complete graduation
requirements as stated in their individualized graduation plan (Letter of Understanding that outlines
student’s program of study and graduation requirements), signed and verified by the counselor. The
following guidelines apply for testing purposes where a grade definition is required:

1 2 00 Fi rs t S tr e e t, N E | W as hi n g t o n, DC 20 0 0 2 | T 2 0 2. 4 4 2. 5 8 8 5 | F 20 2 . 4 4 2. 5 0 2 6 | dc ps . dc . g ov
 • Any student who earns six (6) Carnegie Units by completing content standards of the required
courses, including units in ninth (9th) grade English and Algebra I, shall be eligible to be classified
as a tenth (10th) grade student.
• (b) Any student who earns twelve (12) Carnegie Units by completing content standards of the
required courses including tenth (10th) grade English, shall be eligible to be classified as an
eleventh (11th) grade student. 

• (c) Any student who earns eighteen (18) Carnegie Units by completing content standards of the
required courses including eleventh (11th) grade English, shall be eligible to be classified as a
twelfth (12th) grade student. 


Student Supports and Communication

DCPS is committed to partnering with students and families to ensure all students receive the support
they need on their path to graduation. At the end of Term 3 (mid-April), high school families received
information about student supports, including summer school. Additionally, individualized academic
planning meetings are currently underway at every high school for all grades. During these meetings,
counselors discuss with students their path to graduation and develop a schedule that is unique to their
needs, including enrollment in summer school, if appropriate.

2. What percent of students who did not graduate last year returned to DCPS for this year? Is there
any way to capture those who did not graduate and did not return but enrolled in another DC
education program?

There were 873 non-graduates in the 2017 cohort. Of those non-graduates, 300 (34%) enrolled in DCPS
during the 2017-18 school year. DCPS does not have data on students who did not return to a DCPS
school.

3. Can you give a detailed update on what DCPS is doing to engage and support each of the seniors
who are off track to a) get them on track to graduate or b) keep them engaged and on a positive
trajectory despite not graduating on time. Same with the students in grades 9, 10, 11 who are not on
track to matriculate.

A diploma is a passport to what’s next in life. At DCPS, it is our responsibility to graduate students with
the skills to succeed in college, career, and beyond, and only when they have demonstrated mastery of
the course material. We must keep expectations high for all students, support students in meeting those
high expectations, and have the courage to improve. To do that, we are building strong high schools,
with a profile of a DCPS graduate, so every student, parent, and community member knows what being
a DCPS graduate means, and has confidence that our graduates are prepared for college, career, and
life. We maintain a clear focus on supporting every student towards graduation through two basic
practices:

• First, DCPS identifies students who are off-track for graduation and does individual student
planning; and
• Second, DCPS provides opportunities for those students to get back on track and connects them
with the appropriate resources and supports.

1 2 00 Fi rs t S tr e e t, N E | W as hi n g t o n, DC 20 0 0 2 | T 2 0 2. 4 4 2. 5 8 8 5 | F 20 2 . 4 4 2. 5 0 2 6 | dc ps . dc . g ov
Individual Student Planning
The Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR) Tracker and ACGR Specialists support secondary school
leaders in Clusters 8 and 9 (high schools) – from Principals and Assistant Principals to Counselors and
Registrars – in tracking individual student progress toward on-time graduation. The ACGR Tracker
provides an up-to-date view of course and transcript information for each student, as well as early
warning indicators for students who are off-track, making it easier for schools to monitor all students
beginning in their 9th grade year. ACGR Specialists provide support interpreting ACGR data, compiling
student-level analyses, creating structural interventions, and implementing intervention plans to help
students get back on track to graduate in four years. This work is done in alignment with the district’s
pathways initiative to provide student-specific intervention support.

All students who are off-track for graduation and/or failing courses are expected to have an intervention
plan in place and documented in our student information system. This is tracked and monitored through
the aforementioned ACGR process. Intervention plans are created and monitored by a collaboration of
school staff - counselors, pathways coordinators, assistant principals and social workers- and are
expected to be updated with relevant information at each term. Intervention plans should specifically
address why a student is off-track to graduate (including previous and current course failure) and create
a concrete path toward on-time graduation. These plans can include behavior and attendance
interventions as well, but are mainly focused on academics.

At the end of Term 2 (late January), DCPS hosted a Graduation Excellence summit to reiterate
expectations to school leaders and key staff around individualized student planning. School teams
prioritized meeting with all 2018 cohort off-track students in February and continued meetings with off-
track students in the 2019, 2020, and 2021 cohorts through March. At the end of Term 3 (mid-April), all
high school students and families received their report card and information about student supports at
their school (see the table below). Students in the 2018 cohort and their families also received a
graduation status notification letter. Finally, individualized academic planning meetings are currently
underway at every high school for all grades to prepare for next school year. During these meetings,
counselors discuss with students their path to graduation and develop a schedule that is unique to their
needs, including enrollment in summer school, if appropriate.

Student Supports
This Spring, DCPS conducted a deep review of student supports at every high school, including holding
several focus groups with high school principals to identify strengths and gaps. Schools were provided
with individualized partnership lists, community service partner lists, and plans and best practices for
school staff on supporting students using social emotional learning. DCPS created school specific
resource lists, including tutoring, mentoring, and other academic and social emotional services so that
students and families know the supports available to them. An overview of the student support services
available at each high school is included below:

Post-
Type of Case Saturday Other (select
Tutoring Mentoring Attendance secondary
Support Management School examples)
Preparation
Medical care:
Anacostia X X X X X Wellness Clinic,
New Heights

1 2 00 Fi rs t S tr e e t, N E | W as hi n g t o n, DC 20 0 0 2 | T 2 0 2. 4 4 2. 5 8 8 5 | F 20 2 . 4 4 2. 5 0 2 6 | dc ps . dc . g ov
 Post-
Type of Case Saturday Other (select
Tutoring Mentoring Attendance secondary
Support Management School examples)
Preparation
Restorative Justice,
Ballou X X X X X Mindfulness
Training
Career Bridge
Ballou STAY X X X X
Internships
Additional student
and family
Banneker X X X X X
supports, as
necessary
Resource Fairs,
Cardozo X X X X X College and Career
Fairs
Personal Growth
CHEC X X X X X X Team, Restorative
Justice, Home Visits

Coolidge X X X X X Wellness Team

Dunbar Alumni
Dunbar X X X X X X Foundation
(Scholarships)
Mental Health
supports incl. Grief
and Trauma,
Duke Structured
X X X X X X
Ellington Psychotherapy for
Adolescents
Responding to
Chronic Stress
Twilight, SEL
Eastern X X X X X X
Supports
SEL Supports,
IYP & YSC X X X X
Restorative Justice
Community
Partnerships, SEL
Luke C.
X X X X X X Supports, Personal
Moore
Responsibility
Circles
Health and
McKinley
X X X X X X Wellness, SEL
Tech
Supports
Internships, Job
Shadowing,
Phelps X X X X X X Student
Empowerment
Clubs

Ron Brown X X X X X

1 2 00 Fi rs t S tr e e t, N E | W as hi n g t o n, DC 20 0 0 2 | T 2 0 2. 4 4 2. 5 8 8 5 | F 20 2 . 4 4 2. 5 0 2 6 | dc ps . dc . g ov
 Post-
Type of Case Saturday Other (select
Tutoring Mentoring Attendance secondary
Support Management School examples)
Preparation

Roosevelt X X X X X X SEL Supports

Roosevelt Counseling, Career
X X X X X
STAY Prep, SAT Prep

School
Without X X X X X Counseling
Walls
Tutoring
Washington
X X X X X Partnership with
Metropolitan
Howard University

Wilson X X X X X X

Woodson X X X X X X

Additionally, DCPS’ Pathways Program (created in 2016) is designed for students who are at risk, falling
behind, and off-track to graduate high school, as well as supports their progress to post-secondary
success. Pathways coordinators are full-time, school-based staff members at the following schools:
Anacostia, Ballou, Ballou STAY, Cardozo, Columbia Heights Education Campus (added in SY17-18),
Coolidge, Dunbar, Eastern, Luke C. Moore, Roosevelt, Roosevelt STAY, Washington Metropolitan,
Wilson, and Woodson. Pathways coordinators review student academic data (through the ACGR tracker)
and choose 30-50 off-track students who are failing courses to support intensively for the year. A key
element of this support is working with each student to create and maintain an intervention plan that
addresses root causes of the academic failure and establishes SMART goals for each of the courses the
student is struggling in. The Pathways coordinator serves as the mentor and advocate for these students
and helps ensure they receive the help they need to get back on track.

1 2 00 Fi rs t S tr e e t, N E | W as hi n g t o n, DC 20 0 0 2 | T 2 0 2. 4 4 2. 5 8 8 5 | F 20 2 . 4 4 2. 5 0 2 6 | dc ps . dc . g ov