Program areas at DC Charter School Alliance
Advocacy: since its launch in june 2020, DC Alliance has become the primary advocate for the district of columbia's public Charter schools. In areas of advocacy, DC Alliance has been and will continue to be a proponent for greater access to public facilities, equitable funding, and the maintenance of public Charter schools' autonomy that is guaranteed in the School reform act. In addition, DC Alliance amplifies the voice of DC's public Charter schools in working groups, task forces, and panels in reference to the DC public Charter School board, the office of the state superintendent, the deputy mayor for education, and the council of the district of columbia. In 2022 and 2021, DC Alliance directed its attention to growing the Charter advocacy base, most notably by building a robust advocacy team who develops and leads DC Alliance's strategies and initiatives to create positive social impact, develop helpful programs, and enlist community support for causes. DC Alliance looks forward to continuing and expanding this work to engage more parents, students, and board members of public Charter schools in advocacy.
School support: DC Alliance provides a range of support for schools at every stage of development, from founding groups navigating the Charter School authorization process to high-performing schools thinking about how to serve more students. For Charter schools interested in expanding, DC Alliance offers a comprehensive series of expert-led workshops and a guided self-study to help schools assess their readiness to grow. DC Alliance's School quality workshops, while open to all Charter schools, are particularly aimed at helping new schools, small schools, struggling schools, and schools experiencing leadership transitions. DC Alliance also organizes the DC Charter conference, which brings together hundreds of Charter School leaders and staff to network and learn from one another. In 2022 and 2021, DC Alliance convened various organizations that provide direct support to Charter schools in the district of columbia to ensure that schools' needs and concerns were elevated and that nonprofit organizations working in the same Charter spaces were aware and respectful of each other's priorities and services.