Over the past 75 years, the literacy rate for Black children in Washington, DC, dropped from over
90% to 23%
Why?
What went wrong?
The District used to be a beacon of Black education. The village was strong. Our kids were learning and our communities thriving. But decades of disinvestment have suppressed the joy and learning potential that we know Black kids have.
Systemic issues, overpolicing, and government mismanagement have prevented liberatory education from taking hold, from the police backlash of the MLK Riots, to the urban renewal program that decimated community solidarity, to the Vietnam War, to the devastation of the Crack Epidemic. These man-made disasters have led to the legacy of mass incarceration, housing and economic insecurity, and the racial wealth gap that stifle Black potential.
Why We CARE
We CARE because our communities do. We see the promise of the past. D.C.’s Black children are already successful. Our schools need to work to showcase their brilliance. Too often, traditional public schools in Wards 5, 7, and 8 are expected to do more with less. Disinvestment and disenfranchisement have put our communities on the back foot. They have no capacity to give schools what they need when they are fighting to put food on the table. In a city like D.C., that is fundamentally unjust. At CARE DC, we help communities make strong schools.
We CARE because our families do. Our families show up for their students in many different ways. We know that their work is not always appreciated. We work to make sure that every family has what they need to advocate for their students and schools. Neighborhoods work because families work together to make them successful. At CARE DC, we strengthen families and their students.
We CARE because our teachers do. It’s clearly obvious in our passionate educators, leaders, and staff. Despite the inequality in resources, our schools manage to educate, develop, and grow passionate learners every day. That’s not because of DCPS central office, nor is it the immense resources of the surrounding neighborhoods. It’s because of the educators, leaders, and staff who show up for our kids. At CARE DC, we support our educators, leaders, and staff.
Our Programs
Our programs are designed around our educators, families, and neighborhoods to strengthen schools.
Our work creates just schools.
Educator Advancement Team
A chapter-focused professional cohort of passionate educators committed to shaping Washington’s future leaders. E.A.T. creates educational opportunities for joyful and forward-thinking classroom experiences.
Professional learning community for educators
Hopes and Dreams
Promoting economic empowerment and justice to fund and uplift the hopes and dreams of our families, within their community’s schools.
Responsive, mutual aid, and capacity-building opportunities
Power Our Schools
Spark awareness and drive solutions within our neighborhood to build power, navigate policies, advocate for change, and increase volunteerism in our schools. All to ensure our community remains invested and engaged in the educational community.
School and community organizing
Building a Just Future Together
With time, we aim to grow more chapters, and the programs within them, throughout Washington, DC, so that every community and school has the power to cultivate its own path toward justice.
Our youth need their village to be strong—without it, something else will write their future.
✨ Experience our Storybook to see these possibilities in motion—through the faces, stories, and moments that show racial justice taking root in our schools through the hands of our communities.