Editorial Standards

Our mission

DCSchools.com helps Washington, D.C. families compare and choose schools. We aggregate enrollment data, programs, leadership, and outcomes for every DCPS, public charter, and private school in the District, and we publish original guides and news briefs to help parents navigate the DC school landscape. We are independent and not affiliated with DCPS, the DC Public Charter School Board, or any government office.

Where our data comes from

For school facts (address, grades served, enrollment, demographics, leadership) we draw from a defined set of public sources:

• DCPS — dcps.dc.gov for traditional public schools.
• DCPCSB — dcpcsb.org for public charter schools, including the annual Performance Management Framework.
• OSSE — osse.dc.gov for state-level enrollment audits and the School Report Card.
• My School DC — myschooldc.org for lottery, grades served, and program tags.
• School websites — each school's official site for current contact info, leadership, tuition (private), and programs.
• U.S. Department of Education (NCES) for federal-level enrollment and Title I status.

Every school profile lists the data sources used, and we link out to the school's own website wherever possible.

How we verify school information

1. Primary fact (e.g., enrollment number) is pulled from the most recent OSSE audit or DCPCSB filing.
2. It is cross-checked against the school's own published figures.
3. If sources disagree by more than 5%, we use the more recent figure and note the source publicly.
4. Leadership names and contact info are verified against the school's “About” or “Staff” page at the time of publication.
5. Profiles are reviewed at least annually, and we accept corrections from schools and families on a rolling basis.

Use of AI in our editorial process

We use large language models (Claude, GPT) to help draft narrative paragraphs, FAQs, and news briefs from verified source material. AI does not invent school names, enrollment numbers, leadership, program details, or quotes. All factual claims are grounded in the sources listed above. A human editor reviews every published piece before it goes live, with particular attention to numbers, names, and links. When an AI tool cannot find a verifiable fact, it is instructed to say so or skip the section — never to fabricate.

Our news briefs always credit the original publisher and link to the source article. We rewrite in our own words and add DC-family-relevant context; we do not copy or paraphrase paragraphs from source articles.

Photography

School photos on profile pages come from the school's own website or official social media presence. We do not use AI-generated images of schools, students, or staff. Generic stock images, if used, are clearly distinguishable from location-specific photos.

Independence and conflicts of interest

We do not accept payment from schools in exchange for inclusion, ranking, or favorable coverage. Every DC public, charter, and private school we know of is listed for free. Some pages include affiliate links to tutoring partners; those relationships do not influence which schools we cover or how we describe them. When a partner relationship is relevant to a piece, it is disclosed in line.

Corrections

If we get something wrong, please tell us. Email hello@dcschools.com with the URL and the correction. We aim to acknowledge corrections within two business days and to update or annotate the page promptly. Substantive corrections to news posts are noted at the bottom of the article with the date of the update.

Who we are

DC Schools Guide is run by Niels Baardseth, founder and editor. See the About page for background on the team and Contact for how to reach us.