D.C. Students Join Staff Meetings, Boost Attendance 20%

At Columbia Heights Education Campus in Washington D.C., something unusual happens during staff meetings: students pull up chairs and share their opinions like colleagues.

Teachers lean forward, take notes, and ask follow-up questions as teens candidly discuss what's working and what needs to change. It's not a token gesture. Principal Maria Tukeva set a goal to include 20% of students in traditional adult decision-making spaces, and they blasted past it to 30%.

The results speak volumes. Student sense of belonging increased by 7% in just one year, according to school climate surveys.

This approach is spreading across D.C. Public Schools through something called the DCPS Design Lab, created in partnership with the XQ Institute. The team works with schools to document successful programs and help other schools adopt them.

At Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, America's first public high school for Black students, every eligible senior now participates in an off-campus internship. Since launching the "City as Classroom" model, the school saw an 18% increase in students on track for promotion and graduation.

Down the road at Cardozo Education Campus, ninth graders explore career options before choosing their path on a celebratory "Declaration Day." Career and Technical Education pass rates for first-year courses hit 93%.

The Ripple Effect

The district listened when students from across D.C. schools presented their own solutions to chronic absenteeism at Student Design Days. Some schools adopted these student-led ideas and saw in-seat attendance jump by as much as 20%.

D.C. Public Schools is now changing district-wide policies based on what works at individual schools. They've codified processes for off-campus learning, clarified attendance tracking, and revised how schools develop their annual planning to ensure student voices are heard.

The innovation isn't just happening in one classroom or building anymore. By documenting successful practices and providing resources to replicate them, the district is proving that student-centered approaches can scale.

Chancellor Lewis Ferebee calls it a "monumental shift in power," where adults genuinely center student voice instead of just asking for input and moving on. When teenagers see their ideas turn into real change, they show up differently.

Thirty percent of students at one school helping shape decisions may sound modest, but it's creating a culture where young people know their perspectives matter in concrete ways.