Mentally, we’re still at the 2026 Learning Acceleration Summit.
Earlier this month, on a day that somehow managed to be cold, rainy, snowy, and sunny all at once, educators, tutors, school leaders, policymakers, and partners from all over the District filed into Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library for the first-ever DC Learning Acceleration Summit. We could easily sum up our favorite experiences at this year’s summit in three words: all of it, but here are a few more on what stood out at this year’s summit:
Our Partnerships: OSSE & EmpowerK12
We had the honor of hosting this year’s convening alongside the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) and EmpowerK12, which brought together DC’s high-impact tutoring and math education communities under one roof, for the first time. Together, we were able to create a unique experience for learning and sharing HIT and math best practices with hundreds across the district.
“Thanks to the leadership from OSSE, and coordinated cross-sector efforts from EmpowerK12 to create data routines, we’ve built one of the most robust infrastructures in the country to analyze what’s working.” — Catherine Peretti, Executive Director, CitySchools Collaborative
Attendees: 250+
When we learned that excessive snow days had pushed March 12th back into a traditional school day for schools across the District, we understood that educators and partners might have to miss out, which made it that much more meaningful to see hundreds of familiar and new faces fill the room. More than 250 tutors, educators, school administrators, leaders and partners showed up to learn from each other and to grow the momentum and impact of HIT and strengthen math instruction across the district.
Opening and Lunch Plenaries: District Leaders & the DOPE MATH® Educator
Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn, State Superintendent Dr. Antoinette Mitchell, DCPS Chancellor Dr. Lewis Ferebee, and DC Public Charter School Board Executive Director Dr. Michelle Walker-Davis set the tone for the entire day. District leaders held an honest, moderated conversation, by Josh Edelman of Transcend, on everything from high-impact tutoring and what schools are doing right to the importance of collaboration in supporting our students and teachers.
“One of the most basic drives that we have is to be seen. And I think high-impact tutoring does that for our students. When students know a caring adult is going to show up for them multiple times a week and give individualized instruction, that’s when our students thrive. It enables them to thrive.” — Dr. Antoinette Mitchell, State Superintendent of Education, OSSE
The lunch plenary welcomed Jaliyla Fraser, the DOPE MATH® Educator. Her session lifted up the core values of effective math instruction, challenged the limitations we unknowingly place on our students, and sent educators into the afternoon ready to try something new.
“You must have a relentless commitment to them (students). When was the last time ‘relentless’ led for you, for your students, for something you believed in?” — Jaliyla Fraser, the DOPE MATH® Educator
Breakout Sessions: 20+ Sessions
Through morning and afternoon breakout sessions, attendees had the opportunity to explore everything from HIT research and implementation to math acceleration, school-provider partnerships, teacher learning, and multilingual learner support. Sessions got deep into:
- The latest math outcome data in What the Data Says, and What We Do Next
- How schools build thinking classrooms by Using a Video Club to Foster Thinking Classrooms
- How to strengthen coaching cultures in Accelerating Teacher Learning: Using Reciprocal Feedback and Coaching Cycles to Build Psychological Safety in Math Classrooms.
- And building programs and partnerships that work through Accessible and Responsive HIT Programs: Design for All Learners, and From Alignment to Impact: School-Provider Partnerships That Work.
A special thank you to all of the speakers, facilitators, and collaborators who shared their time and expertise to host these and over 20 inspiring and information-rich sessions throughout the day.
Moments to Celebrate
From showcasing the wins leading up to this year’s Summit in the plenary’s “This is Working” video, a two-minute snapshot of what’s working across high-impact tutoring in DC (a special thank you to TerraRosa, PAVE, and all of our partners who collaborated on this year’s feature video, especially Statesman College Preparatory for Boys, for starring in it), and the Pearl-sponsored “And Research Says…” Tiny Mic Trivia that put attendees to the test on DC’s HIT and math data, and the progress made leading up to this year’s summit (watch the full clip here). To the countless moments throughout the day among new and old partners connecting, networking and building new ways to strengthen school, teacher, and student success, there was so much to celebrate at this year’s Learning Acceleration Summit!
Thank you to sponsors CBIZ, FundEd Strategies, Pearl, and Vault, and to every attendee who came. Pass this along to someone who couldn’t join us for this year’s Summit!
Session slides and the new High-Impact Tutoring Guide are now available.
Stay connected with CitySchools Collaborative, EmpowerK12, and OSSE for post-summit content, resources, and future opportunities to connect.