May 19, 2023

Dear Angela,

This week, the Council took our first vote on DC's budget for the upcoming year. In the email I sent on Tuesday I described the huge $240 million shift we were able to make from the Mayor's budget to restore dollars she had cut from housing and safety net programs. Today, I'm focusing on what we accomplished for education.

The budget includes solutions I proposed for two big education challenges: teacher retention and filling gaps in our social work and behavioral health workforce. I'm excited to share with you what we're going to do on both, below!

Other big budget wins for education: the Council funded a well-deserved pay raise for teachers in both DC Public Schools (DCPS) and DC Public Charter Schools. We also overturned proposed budget cuts from the Mayor and ensured all DCPS schools receive their full funding. The Council's final vote on the budget is expected mid-June, and I will keep you updated on the process along the way.

Sincerely,

Robert

Keeping excellent teachers in the classroom

DC has one of the highest urban teacher turnover rates in the nation. In the 2022 school year, 30% of District teachers left their schools. This is up from 26% the year before and 19% the year before that. When teachers burn out and leave the classroom it impacts our students' academic success, and it means one less trusted adult showing up consistently in their lives. Not to mention, it costs a lot of money, around $20,000, to replace each teacher.

To take on this issue, I worked to get funding in the budget for two important things from my Educator Retention for Student Success Act, which aims to put into law what teachers have said they need to avoid burning out and leaving the profession they love:

• Investing $3.9 million to fund a flexible scheduling pilot program for 6 DCPS and 6 DC Public Charter Schools. In a survey done by the Washington Teacher's Union and EmpowerEd, teachers said that flexible scheduling would help them stay in their jobs. It means they have more time and freedom to plan and work with students without sacrificing learning. As one Ward 1 educator explained, “The workload of teachers isn’t going to get smaller but giving teachers more time each day or week to prepare and plan will make a huge impact on student outcomes and quality of learning experiences students receive.”
• Requiring DCPS to report the results of teacher exit surveys so we know why teachers are leaving and what changes we need to make to better support our educators so they are able to stay. Currently, DCPS is not required to make the results public. The legislation we included in the budget will change that.

Tackling crime and homelessness with

free Master's in Social Work program at

the University of the District of Columbia

I'm so happy to share that the Council also committed $1.2 million for 2024 to pay for my Pathways to Behavioral Health Degrees Act. DC has a shortage of case workers needed to process housing vouchers, address the increase in violence and trauma around the District, and fill the hundreds of vacant behavioral health jobs in DC Public Schools. This investment will help us have more behavioral health experts to address challenges like crime and homelessness.

With this funding, we'll establish a Master’s in Social Work degree program at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and make it free for District residents and people working in DC who have bachelor’s degrees. The scholarship making this program free covers tuition, the cost of books, licensing exam fees, and a monthly stipend for living expenses and transportation. To give back, scholarship recipients will have to work for at least two years in a DC school, government agency, or healthcare organization after they finish their degree.

Need to reach me or a member of my team?

My office is available to you. Connect with me and my staff via phone or email. Please call my personal office at (202) 724-8174, or my committee office at (202) 727-8270, or email any of my team members. If you have a moment, please take my 3-question constituent survey here.

  PERSONAL OFFICE STAFF

Robert White | Councilmember | rwhite@dccouncil.gov

Angela Fowlkes | Chief of Staff | afowlkes@dccouncil.gov

Katie Whitehouse | Legislative Director | kwhitehouse@dccouncil.gov

Andre Strickland | Constituent Services Director | astrickland@dccouncil.gov

Devon Haynes | Communications Director | dhaynes@dccouncil.gov

Lisa Wright | Legislative Assistant | lwright@dccouncil.gov

Sam Walden | Office Manager | swalden@dccouncil.gov

HOUSING COMMITTEE STAFF

Shawn Hilgendorf | Committee Director | shilgendorf@dccouncil.gov

Sean Cuddihy | Deputy Committee Director | scuddihy@dccouncil.gov

Neah Evering | Legislative Counsel | nevering@dccouncil.gov

Caitlin Cocilova | Legislative Counsel | ccocilova@dccouncil.gov