The top reported proficiency rate is 24% in English language arts. The lowest is 19% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Center City Pcs - Shaw
Center City PCS - Shaw is a public charter school in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C., serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is one campus within the Center City Public Charter Schools network, which operates multiple sites across the city. The school sits on N Street NW, a central location in a historically rich and rapidly changing part of the District, with the broader city's civic and cultural life radiating outward from the monumental core and National Mall. The surrounding zip code carries home values above the D.C. state benchmark and well above the national figure, with rents that reflect a competitive urban market. This is an established, sought-after neighborhood for families, and housing costs are a real factor for anyone considering a move here for school access.
The school is small for its grade band, with an enrollment that keeps classes intimate. Its student body is predominantly Black, with a large Hispanic population as well, and only a handful of students identifying as white, Asian, multiracial, or American Indian or Alaska Native. The network as a whole serves students across its campuses, and the Shaw campus reflects that community-oriented mission. Free and reduced-price lunch data was not reported, and information on students with individualized education programs or English learners was also missing, so a parent would want to ask the school directly about how it supports those populations.
On the most recent D.C. assessments, the school's proficiency results are low in both math and English language arts, with only a fraction of tested students meeting or exceeding expectations. Science results from the prior testing cycle were even more concerning, with proficiency in the lowest reported range for both fifth and eighth grade. These are not middling scores; they point to a real gap between where students are performing and where the state expects them to be. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, asking what instructional changes are underway, how growth is measured beyond proficiency, and what supports are in place for students working below grade level.
The school does not have a graduation rate, because it does not serve high school grades. No neighbor comparison data was available to position this campus against other D.C. charter or traditional public schools in its immediate area.
Within the broader network, Center City PCS made a visible capital investment in STEAM education. Publicly reported information from the district indicates that the network opened a dedicated Makerspace in 2025, described as the first K-8 facility of its kind in Washington, D.C. It includes multiple specialized labs with hands-on tools for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. The building was purchased in 2022 and developed over several years, and it serves students across the network's campuses from its location in Ward 5. This is a concrete programmatic asset that a family considering the Shaw campus should ask about, including how often Shaw students visit and how the space is integrated into the regular curriculum.
What the data does not tell you is also worth naming. No discipline data, course access information, staffing figures, or attendance rates were available for the Shaw campus. No program offerings were listed beyond the network-level Makerspace. The school's website and leadership would be the next stop for a parent trying to understand daily classroom experience, extracurriculars, and culture.
For a family weighing this school, the core tension is clear. The campus offers a small, community-rooted environment with a predominantly Black and Hispanic student body, a pre-K through eighth grade continuous pathway, and access to a network-level facility built around hands-on STEAM learning. At the same time, state assessment results are weak across subjects, and the available data does not include enough detail on student supports, staffing, or growth to determine whether those numbers reflect a school in the middle of a turnaround or a longer-standing pattern. The neighborhood is expensive and central, the network is investing in facilities, and the question for any parent is whether the academic program is moving in a direction that matches that investment.
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