The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Learn Dc Pcs
LEARN DC PCS is a single-school public charter district in Washington, DC, rooted in Ward 8 and the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling community. It opened in August 2021 with a mission to serve an underserved population in that area, and it has been adding one grade level each year since. For the current year the school serves preschool through third grade in the state assessment data, though publicly reported information indicates it has already expanded to serve through fifth grade and plans to add sixth grade the year after next, with a goal of growing through eighth grade. This planned expansion means families who enroll early can keep their children in the same building from preschool into middle school, which reduces the number of school transitions a child experiences during the elementary years.
The enrollment is small and weighted toward the earliest grades. The largest cohort is in preschool, with each successive grade shrinking as the school has only been open a few years and is still growing into its full grade span. The student body is racially diverse, with Black students forming the largest group, followed by White and Hispanic students, and a meaningful share of children identified as two or more races. The school also serves a small number of Asian students and one Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander student. We looked for data on free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, and English learner status, but none of those figures were available in the data provided.
Academic results are limited to the 2024-25 state assessments, and even those are sparse because of the school's young grade span and small tested population. Only about two dozen students sat for the DCCAPE assessments at each tested grade level. Third-grade math proficiency fell in a range below a third of tested students, and third-grade English language arts proficiency landed in a similar range. Fourth-grade results were stronger, with roughly half of tested students reaching proficiency in both math and English language arts. These are early results from a young school with small testing cohorts, so a parent may want to look into how the school plans to sustain and build on those fourth-grade outcomes as more grades come online. No multi-year trend data was available, which is expected given the school only opened a few years ago. Average scale scores and participation rates were not reported.
The school's instructional direction has taken a concrete step in literacy. LEARN DC has adopted Fishtank ELA for its upper elementary grades, a curriculum choice that shapes how students in those grades learn reading and writing. This sits within a broader literacy focus the school has described publicly. No information was provided about math curriculum, science or social studies programming, arts offerings, extracurriculars, or specialized student supports, so those remain gaps a family would need to ask the school about directly.
Because LEARN DC does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and the absence of that measure reflects the grade band rather than any shortcoming. No discipline data, attendance data, staffing figures, or course-access information was included in what we received. No community or economic context was available for the surrounding area, and no housing value or rental data was provided, so we cannot characterize the local residential market. There was also no neighbor comparison set to position this district against others in DC.
What the data does show is a young, intentionally growing charter school serving a diverse student population in a part of DC that has historically had fewer school options. Its early assessment results are mixed, with stronger fourth-grade outcomes than third-grade ones, and its commitment to adding grades each year gives enrolled families a pathway that could carry their children from preschool into middle school without changing buildings. Families considering LEARN DC would be choosing a school still in its building phase, with the benefits and uncertainties that come with that. Asking the school about its literacy results beyond the Fishtank adoption, its math instruction, and its plans for student support as the population grows would help fill in the picture the current data cannot complete.
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