Our Mission

Prepared youth. Productive residents. Thriving communities: A Collective Call to Action

There are nearly 750,000 jobs within the District of Columbia’s borders and only 361,000 District adults in the labor force.  Yet our city struggles with a nearly 8 percent unemployment rate and has nearly 10,000 low-income youth who are out-of-school and out-of-work.

Driven by the need to transform how we support success from cradle to career, innovative leaders from across public, private, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors are stepping up to shape a civic infrastructure that moves away from the District’s habit of isolated efforts towards a smarter and more integrated way of organizing existing funds, initiatives, and resources for children and youth.

The work of the Raise DC partnership will drive improvements in outcomes for children and youth along each part of the cradle-to-career continuum by:

• Aligning academic and non-academic supports across all parts of the continuum,
• Focusing resources on the few most critical outcomes for children and youth,
• Using data to identify effective practices that will improve existing programs, rather than launching new ones, and
• Investing in the sustainability of the work so that it thrives beyond political cycles.

Selecting Citywide Outcomes

With support from the Urban Institute, the Raise DC partnership underwent an extensive process to articulate common citywide outcomes that would lay the foundation for our collective work and would provide the District with a comprehensive picture of our progress each year. 

These key outcomes are highlighted below:

• Increase the percent of children entering kindergarten meeting expected benchmarks in multiple domains.
• Increase the percent of youth who graduate from high school within 4 years, college/career ready.
• Decrease the number of youth who are disconnected from both school and work.
• Increase the percent of youth who attain a college degree or industry-recognized license/certification.
• Increase the percent of young adults who are employed.

Goals	Every child is prepared for school	Every child succeeds in school	Every youth who has dropped out is reconnected to education/training	Every youth attains a postsecondary credential	Every youth is prepared for a career
Outcomes (Core Indicators) and Targets	Percentage of children entering kindergarten meeting expected benchmarks in multiple domains: TBD	Percentage of students graduating from high school In 4 years: 75 percent by 2017 Percentage of students proficient in Partnership for Assessment of Readiness of College and Careers (PARCC) assessments: TBD	Number of low-income youth ages 16-24 not in school and not employed: 7,000 by 2014	Percentage of students who complete an associate’s or bachelor’s degree program within six years of high school graduation: 40 percent by 2019 Percentage of students who complete an associate’s degree within three years of high school graduation: TBD Percentage of students who complete a bachelor’s degree within six years of high school graduation: TBD Percentage of UDC-CC students age 24 or younger who complete a certificate program within two years: 60 percent by 2015	Percentage of DC residents ages 20-24 employed full-time: 66 percent by 2017
Contributing Indicators	Percentage of pre-kindergarten teachers with a bachelor’s degree Percentage of high quality preschool programs Percentage of births with early prenatal care Percentage of children (ages 0-5) receiving early screening for developmental delays Percentage of children (ages 0-5) with a medical home Percentage of children (ages 0-5) receiving health screenings	Graduation rate Percentage of 3rd grade students scoring “proficient” or “advanced” on DC Comprehensive Assessment System (DCCAS) reading assessment Percentage of 3rd grade students scoring “proficient” or “advanced” on DCCAS math assessment Percentage of 8th grade students scoring “proficient” or “advanced” on DCCAS reading assessment Percentage of 8th grade students scoring “proficient” or “advanced” on DCCAS math assessment Percentage of all 9th grade students promoted to 10th grade Percentage of students truant Percentage of students suspended Number of students expelled Student average daily attendance	Number of youth ages 16-24 who exited school without indicating enrollment in another educational experience or showing up in another school roster Number of formerly out-of-school youth ages 16-24 enrolled in high school / GED preparation / adult basic education programs Number of formerly out-of-school youth ages 16-24 enrolled in postsecondary program  (college or certification) Number of formerly out-of-school youth ages 16-24 connected to employment training	Percentage of high school graduates who enroll in a college or credential program within 6, 12, and 18 months of high school graduation Percentage of students persisting to their second year of college or university Percentage of graduating seniors who complete Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Percentage of graduating seniors who complete DC Tuition Assistance Grant Program (DCTAG) application	Number of youth ages 16-21 who get an early work experience Number of youth ages 18-24 enrolled in apprenticeship programs Percentage of young people in the labor force

Looking Ahead

• Publish baseline report card on outcomes and key contributing factors – Winter 2012
• Identify long-term anchor institution for Raise DC partnership – Spring 2013
• Finalize change networks action plans – Spring 2013
• Transition key roles and responsibilities to anchor institution – Summer 2013

For more information, contact:

Eshauna Smith, eshauna.smith@dc.gov
Celine Fejeran, celine.fejeran@dc.gov
Lucretia Murphy , lmurphy@seeforeverfoundation.org
Stacey Miller , smiller@seeforever.org