What is Creciendo Chisholm?

• Our campaign, Creciendo Chisholm, centers on the urgent need to expand Spanish dual-language education pathways in the eastern half of the District—where none currently exist beyond elementary school. 

• Today, the only DCPS Spanish dual-language middle school options are located in the northwest quadrant of the city, creating significant geographic and systemic barriers for families committed to bilingual education.

• Chisholm Elementary is a thriving dual-language and arts-integrated Title 1 school with a diverse student body. As it prepares for a full modernization in FY26, the District has a unique and time-sensitive opportunity to address this equity gap by expanding Chisholm into a PK–8 education campus that will be able to offer a clear pathway for dual-language learners across the city.

• If DCPS is serious about equity and language access, then it must prioritize resources where they are needed most. A middle school at Chisholm is not just a local need — it’s a citywide opportunity to keep students in DCPS, support bilingualism, and deliver on the promises of the Boundary and Student Assignment Study.

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Is this just for Shirley Chisholm families?

Not at all. The primary goal of this campaign is to serve families in Wards 6, 7, or 8 who are seeking a clear dual-language pathway into middle school. And because of the public school lottery system, we hope that families from all dual-language elementary schools across the city could potentially benefit as well.

Why do we need a dual-language middle school in Ward 6?

• Currently, there are no public dual-language middle schools in wards 5, 6, 7, and 8.

• The programmatic feeder school for Chisholm students, MacFarland Middle School, is too far for many families—especially those relying on public transportation. This creates an equity gap in access to dual-language education.

• ​Chisholm Elementary is uniquely positioned for expansion. It has a growing and diverse student population, a thriving dual-language and arts-integrated program, strong family engagement, experienced leadership, and a safe, centrally located campus that is easily accessible by public transportation. These factors make Chisholm a natural and efficient home for a dual-language middle school that could serve families across Wards 5, 6, 7, and 8.

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Is there enough demand to support a middle school expansion?

• We are continuously collecting information on enrollment patterns and survey data from families at Chisholm and families with children enrolled in other dual-language schools in the community and the demand is high for a middle school on the east side of the city. In our recent internal survey, 93% of Chisholm families said they would support a middle school on-site, and 96% said continuing bilingual education was important to them. That’s not just interest — that’s overwhelming support.

• And the need doesn’t stop with Chisholm. Dual-language elementary schools like Houston Elementary, Mundo Verde PCS, Global Citizens PCS, and EW Stokes PCS also lack accessible bilingual middle school options. Many of these schools feed into DC International (DCI) — which is not only far, but has limited capacity and long waitlists. A new dual-language middle school at Chisholm could serve as a viable option for students who are otherwise left without a pathway.

Would this expansion require a new building?

Yes and No
Shirley Chisholm is already scheduled for modernization in 2026. Creciendo Chisholm proposes that this modernization be re-scoped to support grades PreK–8, which is a more efficient use of resources than constructing a new middle school elsewhere. Many people have concerns about the various aged students on one campus, so the school design might be a seperate wing of the new building or possible a separate building on the same property.

Isn't DCPS trying to move away from the education campus model?

• While this might be true for some school models, dual-language education is a unique and proven exception. Across DC, some of the most successful and sought-after dual-language programs — including Oyster-Adams, DCI, and Columbia Heights Education Campus (CHEC) — operate as education campuses that serve multiple grade bands. These schools not only thrive academically but also enjoy strong parent satisfaction and high student retention rates.

• What sets these schools apart isn’t the separation of grades — it’s the continuity and depth of bilingual programming. Parents of dual-language students consistently tell us that their top priority is keeping their children on the path to biliteracy. 

• A middle school addition at Chisholm would allow us to deliver high-quality, culturally sustaining education in a safe, modernized facility — while also responding to clear community demand. This isn’t about reverting to an old model; it’s about building the right model for our students.

How would this benefit the city?

Creating a bilingual middle school in Ward 6 to serve Wards 6, 7, 8, and beyond would:

• Improve language equity and access

• Supports DC’s citywide goal of expanding dual-language public education

• Reduces long commutes for working families

• Helps retain students within DCPS who might otherwise leave for charter or private schools

• Strong schools play a vital role in retaining families in the city—when families stay, they contribute to the local economy through taxes, homeownership, and neighborhood stability, helping to sustain city services and fuel long-term growth.

Won't that cost a lot of money?

• We recognize that budgets are constrained, but expanding Chisholm to include a dual-language middle school is a smart, efficient, and equitable investment — not just another cost. DC is already committing $101 million to modernize Chisholm Elementary. Adding a middle school now would leverage that investment and avoid the significantly higher costs of building separately later.

• For reference, DCPS is investing $110 million to build a brand-new middle school in Northwest. That kind of commitment to students on the west side of the city highlights a painful imbalance — particularly when dual-language students in Wards 6, 7, and 8 have no accessible middle school options.

• While it is expected that enrollment will decline during the modernization period, especially due to a less than desirable swing space location, there is concern that Chisholm may not recover in the same way as other schools after the completion of the modernized building. Because of the dual-language component, new or returning students in grades 2-5 will have to pass a Spanish assessment in order to enroll, making it more difficult for Chisholm to “bounce back”. A middle school would be a motivating factor for families to remain enrolled.

What about the DME Boundary and Student Assignment Study?

• The 2023 Boundary and Student Assignment Study from the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME) clearly states that DCPS must develop a public plan to ensure dual-language access citywide by 2026. 

• One of the study’s key recommendations is to create clear, geographically reasonable feeder pathways from dual-language elementary schools to at least one nearby dual-language middle school.

• Chisholm and Houston Elementary are specifically mentioned in the study as examples of schools without a viable dual-language middle school feeder. Yet, nearly a year later, there is no public plan, and no clear progress toward meeting this deadline.

• Expanding Chisholm into a PK–8 dual-language campus is a concrete, cost-effective way to fulfill this recommendation — and to do so on a realistic timeline. The modernization is already funded, and there is strong demand from families. This is a rare opportunity for DCPS and DME to meet their own goals, equitably.