District of Columbia Public Schools

District of Columbia Public Schools is the local, traditional public school system of Washington, D.C. in the United States. DCPS should not be confused with the independently governed DC Public Charter Schools, which also operates in Washington, D.C.Composition and enrollmentDistrict of Columbia Public Schools consists of 111 of the 238 public elementary and secondary schools and learning centers located in Washington, D.C. These schools have a grade span of prekindergarten to twelfth grade and, as of 2000, a kindergarten entrance age of 5 years old. School is compulsory for DCPS students between the ages of 5 and 18. DCPS schools typically start the last Monday in August. The school day is generally approximately six hours.The ethnic breakdown of students enrolled in 2014 was 67% Black, 17% Hispanic , 12% non-Hispanic White, and 4% of other races. As of 2014, the District itself has a population that is 44% White, 49% Black and 10% Hispanic . Gentrification and demographic changes in many DC neighborhoods has increased the White and Hispanic populations in the city, while reducing the Black population. In 2008, DCPS was 84.4% Black, 9.4% Hispanic , 4.6% non-Hispanic White, and 1.6% of other races.