When a lot of students change schools mid-year, it can be disruptive for them – and for their schools. We often hear anecdotes about the large numbers of students who move in and out of DC public schools during the year, creating funding challenges for school leaders...
Soumya Bhat
Recent posts by Soumya Bhat
More Young Children Are Engaged in Reading With the Books from Birth Program
by Soumya Bhat
Thousands of books are getting into the homes of families with young children – and into the eager hands (and occasional mouths) of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers – thanks to a new DC program! Over 13,000 DC children are participating in Books from Birth, DC’s...
Improving the Economic Security of DC’s Early Care and Education Workforce
by Soumya Bhat
Too many of the professionals who care for our youngest children live in poverty because of low wages. Not only is this challenging for people in a demanding job, it’s bad for children because it leads to high turnover and a stressed child care workforce. Improving...
Shoring Up Educational Support for DC’s Homeless Students
by Soumya Bhat
Children who are homeless need adequate support from their school and community to ensure they are able to stay on track and complete their education. But this can only happen after they are properly identified and offered resources -- such as help with food,...
What Does the New ESSA Law Mean for How We Measure Progress in DC Schools?
by Soumya Bhat
DC residents have an important chance to weigh in this week on new efforts to measure the quality of our schools, as well as new strategies for improving lower-performing schools. The public is invited to learn about the District's new proposals for school...
Additional Needs for Early Care and Education, Early Intervention, and Adult Education Services in OSSE Budget
by Soumya Bhat
The proposed FY 2017 budget included significant investments in education, but more could be done to improve access to quality early care and education, services to identify and address young children with developmental delays, and improvements to adult education and...
Are DCPS Low-Income Schools Shortchanged When It Comes to Supplemental Resources for “At-Risk” Students?
by Soumya Bhat
When the District's local school funding formula was changed in 2014 to add a new category for low-income students, the intent was to drive additional, targeted resources to DC's high-poverty students. However, an analysis of the FY 2017 budget shows that nearly half...
Who Pays the Price When Child Care Subsidies Are Too Low?
by Soumya Bhat
All families should have access to high quality care and education for their young children. And we know that quality care is expensive. So, how can we ensure that providers offering this early care and education to mostly low-income families are adequately funded? In...
Solid Footing: Reinforcing the Early Care and Education Economy for Infants and Toddlers in DC
by Soumya Bhat
The District of Columbia (DC) is a vibrant, diverse, financially stable city that has become one of the most expensive places to live in the nation. It also ranks among the five major U.S. cities with the greatest income inequality. Because of this economic divide,...
Challenges to Providing Quality Child Care For DC’s Infants and Toddlers
by Soumya Bhat
Many of the District's families rely on the city's child care subsidy program to access quality child care while they go to work or pursue education. However, many early care and education providers struggle to make ends meet because of a large gap between the costs...
Testimony of Soumya Bhat, Policy Analyst, at the FY 2016 Performance Oversight Hearing for the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education, March 2, 2016
by Soumya Bhat
Chairman Grosso and members of the Committee on Education, thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Soumya Bhat, and I am the Education Finance and Policy Analyst at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute. DCFPI is a non-profit organization that promotes...
A First Look at What Will Get Funded at DC Public Schools Next Year
by Soumya Bhat
While budgets for most DC government agencies won't be released until late March with the Mayor's full proposal, DC Public Schools (DCPS) is already deep into the process of making funding decisions for the 2016-17 school year. The education agency released initial...
The District Should Do More to Evaluate Success of Critical Education Programs
by Soumya Bhat
Yesterday, DCFPI testified before the Council Committee on Education on two important divisions within the Office of the State Superintendent for Education (OSSE) that would benefit from better data and evaluation: homeless student services and the city's Community...
Testimony of Soumya Bhat At the FY 2016 Performance Oversight Hearing for the Office of the State Superintendent for Education, February 17, 2016
by Soumya Bhat
Chairman Grosso and members of the Committee on Education, thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Soumya Bhat, and I am the Education Finance and Policy Analyst at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute. DCFPI is a non-profit organization that promotes...
New Education Task Force Formed to Improve Planning and Collaboration between School Sectors
by Soumya Bhat
With enrollment growing in both DCPS and the city's public charter schools, and with the number of students in charter schools almost as high as the number in DCPS, it is increasingly important for these two pillars of public education to work well together. However,...
Better Pay for Child Care Professionals Will Mean Higher-Quality Care for Kids
by Soumya Bhat
Child care providers serving low- and moderate-income DC families often do not have the resources needed to support a strong and stable workforce. That makes it hard to provide the kind of care that helps young children start their education off on the right...
Testimony of Soumya Bhat at the Public Hearing on Early Learning and Early Care in the District of Columbia, November 14, 2015
by Soumya Bhat
Chairman Grosso and members of the Committee on Education, thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Soumya Bhat, and I am the Education Finance and Policy Analyst at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute. DCFPI is a non-profit organization that promotes...
Testimony of Soumya Bhat at the Fiscal Year 2017 Budget Hearing for District of Columbia Public Schools, November 4, 2015
by Soumya Bhat
Chancellor Henderson, thank you for the opportunity to speak today. My name is Soumya Bhat, and I am the Education Finance and Policy Analyst at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute. DCFPI is a non-profit organization that promotes opportunity and widespread prosperity for...
Next Week: Two Opportunities to Impact DCPS Budgets
by Soumya Bhat
As you're getting ready for those cute and scary trick-or-treaters, it's also a great time to jot down your top priorities for how the city will invest in educating our wonderful children next school year! That's because there are two public hearings next week that...
CareFirst Has an Obligation to Invest $56 Million in the Health of DC Residents
by Soumya Bhat
Late last year, the DC Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking (DISB) found that CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield's DC-based subsidiary owes the District $56 million in community reinvestment because of excess surpluses accumulated by the nonprofit health...