Leaders of Color-Washington, D.C. is celebrating the graduation of our 2023 class of 24 fellows! Together, this class of leaders has worked to support the students and families of Washington D.C. by organizing for equitable policies and practices. Here are some highlights from a productive year of leadership:

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• Ending Legacy Preference: Leaders of Color in Washington, D.C. hosted a policy town hall on the discriminatory practice of legacy preference in higher education - practices that place a premium on student applications if they are related to university alumni. The event was attended by nearly 100 education stakeholders, elected officials, students, teachers, professors, and parents.
• Protecting Teacher Pay: Together with Democrats for Education Reform (DFER)-DC, Leaders of Color fellows organized a phone banking campaign to protect millions of dollars in public charter school funding that was earmarked for pay increases for teachers.  
• Making Money Moves: Leaders of Color-D.C. partnered with several organizations around the city to host a budget forum entitled “Our Children, Our Community: Uniting for Action on Education.” The event brought together D.C. parents, students, teachers, and education stakeholders to voice their values, priorities, and ideas for the D.C. fiscal year 2024 budget and to develop their own personal advocacy plan to advance education priorities.

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We congratulate and celebrate our 2023 D.C. Leaders of Color for their commitment and contributions to our students! 

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