Teaching & Learning 2024

School districts nationally face a shortage of talented principals. Compounding the situation is the pressing need to recruit administrators who have the skills to address inequities in our school systems.

DC Public Schools (DCPS) and the George Washington University Graduate School of Education and Human Development’s Educational Leadership and Administration (ELA) program are partnering to build an equity-centered principal pipeline for the District. With the support of a five-year grant from the Wallace Foundation, the GW/DCPS collaboration began with two years of program redesign efforts in order to best prepare ELA program participants to advance educational equity as future school leaders.

“Through this partnership, we are going beyond providing exceptional professional development opportunities—which supports our retention efforts,” said DCPS Chancellor and GW alumnus Dr. Lewis D. Ferebee. “The ELA program is helping us to cultivate a talent pool of equity-centered leaders from within our educator workforce.”

“Every assignment, every class, we are focusing on equity,” said  Pernell Hicks, Ed.S. ’25, a DCPS assistant principal and member of the inaugural cohort of aspiring leaders. 

“That is important because for so long,some students have been underserved.Being equity-focused leaders helps us make sure students have the resources to be successful in school.”

—PernellHicks, Ed.S. ’25

In each class, educators apply relevant research and theory to their own practice in their roles as DCPS employees. As a core component of their 18-month graduate program, students also complete summer internships in schools across the District.

During her internship as a summer school principal, Rian Reed,Ed.S.’25, and her leadership team collaborated with GW’s Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service to design project-based learning experiences with local partners like the Washington Youth Garden, where students worked alongside master gardeners and presented their learning through a student showcase.

“The strong partnership with DCPS and the support from The Wallace Foundation has tremendous impact, not just on the students but on the communities they serve,” said Dr. Leslie Trimmer, cohort advisor and ELA faculty member.

Reed agrees. “[DCPS and The Wallace Foundation] set the tone to say, this is community-oriented, this is about growth, this is about equity. We can all thrive together.”

And Reed sees the effect in the students she leads. “At the end of the summer, one student said, ‘I didn’t think I was smart before. Now I know I am.’”