The Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs (OAPIA) is committed to informing the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) population on education issues in the District of Columbia and works to create a more welcoming and open environment for API students in DC Public Schools.
Below are resources related to education in District of Columbia:
ANNOUCEMENTS/NEWS FROM DCPS -
Bilingual/ESL Summer School – Elementary School
The DCPS Bilingual/ESL Summer Program will be open to all English language learners (ELLs). Elementary school students will attend classes with their peers with the support of ELL teachers and differentiated instruction.
Bilingual/ESL Summer School – Middle and Senior High School
Newcomer middle and senior high school students who placed at Level One and Two (as determined by the ACCESS for ELLs English Language Proficiency Assessment) will receive content-based ESL classes ( English/Language Arts/ and Math). These students are learning a language as well as content and will be receiving these classes by certified ESL teachers.
At the high school level, one elective credit will be awarded for successful completion of the program. Newcomer high school students who failed a content class and are taking summer school for this reason will be allowed to register for the class, so that they may earn the necessary Carnegie Unit credit.
Students at Level Three and higher will be integrated into regular summer school classes.
Summer school training will provide teachers with strategies to make the content more accessible to the English language learners.
For additional information please contact Lorna Jefferson and/or Jeanne Castro at (202) 671-0750.
School Year Registration
For information on how to register a child for school and where to go register, please visit this link:
For more Information about Registration, please visit these Frequently Asked Questions [PDF*]:
From age 5 (provided they are 5 before September 30th) until the age of 18 years, children in the District of Columbia are required to be in an educational program recognized by the District. This can be a regular public school, a chartered public school, a private school or an approved home-school program.
Every student from kindergarten through 12th grade has a right to attend his or her local, neighborhood “in-boundary” DCPS school. Or, a student may enroll at another DCPS school if space is available. If space is limited, an out-of-boundary lottery takes place.
Students who do not speak English should contact the DCPS at (202) 671-0750 for assistance in enrolling
• Student Health Packet [PDF*]
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• New Immunization Requirements for 2009-2010 [PDF*]
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Application for Free or Reduced Meals
To apply for free or reduced meals, complete and sign the Family Free or Reduced meals application and return it to your youngest child’s school.
• Families may apply to participate in the program at any time during the school year.
• Only one application per family is required; if there is more than one student in your household that receives an application, you may paperclip the applications together, complete one and submit them to your youngest child’s school.
May 2009 - Letter from Chancellor Rhee to parents and guardians about Free and Reduced Meals (FARM) application [PDF*]
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Family Application Instructions for Free or Reduced Meals [PDF*]
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The Office of Bilingual Education provides quality educational services to English language learners and their families. DCPS enrolls students from 135 countries, who speak 121 different languages. The five languages other than English spoken most often are Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Amharic, and French. The services provided help these students to attain English language proficiency and to be academically successful.
The District of Columbia Public School system has a district-wide policy regarding
services to linguistically and culturally diverse (LCD) students. It is contained in the
D.C. Municipal Regulations, Title 5 – Board of Education, Chapter 31 – Education of Language Minority Students adopted October 1, 1993. The introduction reads:
3100 Policy on the Education of Language Minority Students
3100.1 The D.C. Public Schools (DCPS) shall provide an appropriate,
publicly supported, comprehensive bilingual/English as a Second Language
(ESL) program suited to the needs of DCPS Non-English Proficient
(NEP) and Limited English Proficient (LEP) students.
3100.2 The comprehensive bilingual/ESL program shall be equivalent in
quality and standards to that provided to native speakers of English.
3100.3 The Superintendent shall ensure that educational services designed
for NEP/LEP students will develop English language proficiency and
academic skills, enabling these students to participate successfully in the
general education program of the D.C. Public Schools.
3100.4 The Superintendent shall ensure the integration and full access of
language minority students to all educational programs, services and
extracurricular activities of DCPS.
In order to carry out this policy, every DCPS office and officer is charged with the
responsibility to serve linguistically and culturally diverse students.
Further instruction is provided in the Superintendent’s Directives 421 – Bilingual
Instruction, August 1, 1977, and 421.2 – Compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for Limited English Proficiency Students, April 27, 1992.
Parent InvolvementParent and Community Support UnitMarsella Herran, Unit Coordinator
Phone: (202) 671-0750
Activities:
• Provide orientation to parents in the native language
• Provide support to families new to DCPS through Parent Advocates
• Provide training and technical assistance to schools on serving linguistically and culturally diverse students and their families
