-  ElectED DC Executive Director and Community Activation Cohort Members Urge DC Council to Protect Advanced Technical Center Funding in FY 2027 Budget

May 7th, 2026

WASHINGTON, DC. ElectED DC Executive Director Erika Harrell and two members of the organization’s Community Activation Cohort, Quiana Lamons of Ward 7 and Tyesha Andrews of Ward 8, testified before the DC Council Committee of the Whole today, urging members to protect funding for the District’s Advanced Technical Centers (ATCs) in the FY 2027 budget for the Office of the State Superintendent of Education.

All three testifiers, residents of East Of The River, made the case from different angles: the executive director of an East Of The River political education organization, a Ward 7 mother who lost her son to community violence, and a Ward 8 DCPS parent and native Washingtonian. Each pointed to the same conclusion: the program works, the students it serves cannot afford to lose it, and the Council has the data to make the right call.

Harrell, a Ward 7 resident with children in both DCPS and DC charter schools, told the Council that 22 percent of Ward 7 and Ward 8 voters in ElectED’s 2025 East Of The River Survey said their local schools provide pathways to good jobs and financial stability. ATCs were built to close that gap, she said.

“The ATCs serve students from 25 high schools across public school sectors, with no GPA requirement. Sixty percent are at-risk students. Eighty percent are Black. In three years, 400 students earned more than 4,700 college credits and 250 industry-recognized credentials in cybersecurity and patient care. Cutting them widens the gap they were built to close,” Harrell testified.

Harrell also urged the Council to address two companion investments: equitable funding for charter schools and full funding for high-impact tutoring.

Lamons testified in honor of her son, Dennis Zeigler, who was killed after earning his high school diploma. She framed ATC funding as a public safety question.

“What we are facing is not just a public safety crisis. It is a mental health crisis disguised as violence. When you cut funding for ATCs, you are not cutting programs. You are cutting lifelines. Career pathways are life-saving pathways,” Lamons said.

“My son did everything he was supposed to do. He earned his prize of graduation, but our city failed to protect him after that moment. ATCs provide the next step. They create structure, purpose, and opportunity for our young people when they are most vulnerable.”

Andrews, a native Washingtonian, DCPS graduate, and parent of two DCPS students, spoke to the academic case.

“These programs are not optional extras. Without adequate funding, students who most need support, often in Wards 7 and 8, risk falling further behind. Cutting these programs would deny students the academic support and mentorship that set the foundation for a brighter future,” Andrews said.

Andrews cited research showing that high-impact tutoring of the kind ATCs provide can produce five to ten months of additional learning in a single year.

Background

Advanced Technical Centers serve 25 DC high schools across public school sectors. The Ward 8 campus is housed inside the Whitman-Walker Max Robinson Center, anchoring health care infrastructure East Of The River. ATCs are set to enroll 520 students in the coming year. ATC participants graduate at rates seven percentage points higher than non-participants.

ElectED DC’s 2025 East Of The River Survey found that 67 percent of Ward 7 and 8 voters do not trust city government to act in their interest. Only 22 percent said local schools provide pathways to good jobs. Six in ten residents said they were pessimistic about their neighborhood economy.

About ElectED DC

ElectED DC engages community members East Of The River to build political power so that every DC student can thrive. The organization runs a Community Activation Cohort of Ward 7 and Ward 8 residents who set the priorities ElectED carries to elected officials. Learn more at electeddc.org.

Media Inquiries

Email: info@electeddc.org

Spokespeople available: Erika Harrell (Executive Director), Quiana Lamons and Tyesha Andrews (Community Activation Cohort).

Full testimony available on request.