DC Public School Enrollment Down 12% This Week's Data Confirms a System in Crisis

Washington's public school system recorded a 12 percent drop in enrollment compared to two years ago, according to figures the DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education released Wednesday — a decline that school board members say is straining budgets at dozens of campuses across the city and forcing the District to confront some hard math about which schools can survive.

The timing matters. The Trump administration's ongoing restructuring of the federal workforce has pushed thousands of government employees and contractors out of the region since January 2025. Many of those families have left the District entirely. Ward 6 and Ward 7, which stretch from Capitol Hill east through Anacostia, have seen some of the sharpest per-school losses, according to preliminary data shared with the DC Council's Education Committee on Tuesday. The committee is scheduled to hold a full public hearing on the enrollment figures July 16 at the Wilson Building.

Where the Students Went

Charter schools have absorbed part of the shift. DC Public Charter School Board data shows charter enrollment is up roughly 4 percent citywide over the same two-year period, meaning some families stayed in the District but left DCPS campuses. Anacostia High School on Good Hope Road SE — one of the system's flagship east-of-the-river institutions — saw its headcount fall below 400 students for the first time in more than a decade. Eastern High School on East Capitol Street NE is facing similar pressure, with administrators there telling parents at a June 25 meeting that the school's athletics and extracurricular budget had been cut by $180,000 for the coming school year.

The picture is different in wealthier parts of the city. Schools in the Tenleytown and Cleveland Park corridors along Wisconsin Avenue NW have held enrollment relatively steady, and several elementary schools in NoMa and the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood have actually grown, tracking the gentrification that has reshaped those zip codes over the past five years. That geographic split is making a politically difficult conversation even harder: any consolidation plan will fall disproportionately on wards east of the Anacostia River.

Mayor Muriel Bowser's office said Wednesday that the administration is reviewing the data and will present a response to the Council before the July recess. Her FY2027 budget, passed in May, assumed a 6 percent enrollment decline — not 12 percent — leaving a funding gap that budget analysts at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute now estimate at somewhere between $47 million and $65 million for the school year beginning in September.

What the Numbers Mean for Families

Per-pupil funding in DC runs roughly $15,800 per student under the current Uniform Per Student Funding Formula. Losing several thousand students — the OSSE figures put the raw number at approximately 5,400 fewer enrolled children compared to fall 2024 — translates directly into formula-driven budget cuts that hit staff first. DCPS confirmed Thursday it has issued reduction-in-force notices to 312 non-instructional employees, with decisions on teaching positions expected by July 21.

The Council's Education Committee chair sent a letter to DCPS Chancellor Lewis Ferebee Thursday requesting a full accounting of which schools are on a watch list for possible closure or consolidation before the 2027-28 school year. A community meeting is already scheduled for July 22 at Thurgood Marshall Academy in Anacostia. Parents who want to weigh in before the July 16 Council hearing can submit testimony through the Council's online portal or appear in person at the Wilson Building at 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue NW — the deadline for written submissions is July 14 at 5 p.m. Families with children in schools east of the river should pay particular attention: the consolidation decisions made this summer will determine whether their neighborhood school is still open when the 2027 calendar starts.