For the first time in DC CAP's history, we celebrated graduates from all of our University Partnership programs. These scholars crossed the stage this year with college degrees in hand, young people from D.C. public and charter schools who, not long ago, might have been told that a path like this wasn't for them. I am incredibly proud of these students and this accomplishment.

When people tell me, “college isn't for everyone,” I ask them the same question: “What are you doing for your own children?” The answer, almost without exception, is that they're doing everything they can to give their kids options — including college. Our scholars deserve no less. A D.C. student who wants a college degree should be able to get one with little to no debt.

I am often asked what to make of this moment. Of AI, automation, and the relentless disruption reshaping work and society. My answer is simple: the research has never been clearer. In an age of disruption, postsecondary education is not less important. It is more important. The jobs that will endure, the careers that will thrive, the people who will lead through change will be lifelong learners. They will be people who know how to think, adapt, and grow. That is exactly what a college education, done right, teaches. It remains the most essential credential for economic mobility.

In the District, a college degree determines whether residents can afford to live in the city they grew up in. The MIT Living Wage Calculator puts economic stability for a single adult here at $56,000 a year. A high school diploma alone leaves graduates $17,000 short of that line; whereas the median D.C. bachelor's degree holder earns $95,471. Over a lifetime, D.C. college grads will earn $2.2M more than those with just a high school credential. The data remain unambiguous: a college degree matters more in D.C. than in any other community because of our knowledge-based economy.

And D.C. students want to graduate from college. Each year, about 810 economically disadvantaged D.C. students enroll in college within a year of high school, doing exactly what was asked of them. Without structured support, only about one in five finishes, meaning roughly 640 of those 810 will leave with debt and no degree. That's an unacceptable outcome. And that's the gap DC CAP was built to close.

This year confirmed, yet again, that our model works. Eighty-five percent of DC CAP's college freshmen scholars returned for their sophomore year and seven partner cohorts hit 100 percent retention for freshman to sophomore year. Across our active partner universities, DC CAP scholars complete their degrees at an average rate of 76%. This is a world away from the 19 to 25 percent national rate for first-generation, low-income students. Take a moment and reread those statistics again. These are exceptional outcomes for D.C. students.

Believing in this work means playing the long game and finding allies on that journey. We did both this year. On the long game, we achieved a much-sought-after win for our community: the DC Tuition Assistance Grant rose from $10,000 to $15,000 a year — a 50 percent increase, and the first since 1999 — backed by a full $40M appropriation. This would not have happened without the steady and thoughtful engagement of the DC CAP Board of Directors rallying the community in support of our cause. On finding allies, we were honored (and pleasantly surprised!) to be selected as a grant recipient by the most trusted name in philanthropy, MacKenzie Scott.

Our scholar outcomes speak for themselves, but we're not done. Three priorities carry us forward. First, we're localizing our partnerships — six of our fourteen partners now sit in the Mid-Atlantic, so coaches visit campuses more often, and scholars stay connected to their community. Second, we're adopting a Career-Connected Learning framework to center careers in our success coaching interactions. And third, we're putting technology to work in service of students, coaches, and counselors through a careful, guardrails-first AI roadmap funded by a $600,000 grant from the KPMG Foundation.

For the 100–140 University Partner Scholars we support in each cohort, the completion gap has closed. The next challenge is scale: hundreds of economically disadvantaged D.C. students start college every year without the support to finish. We know what works. We know what it costs. What remains is the investment. That's why we're building toward a $250M raise — enough to serve every economically disadvantaged, college-bound D.C. student who needs us, on the way to our 2050 goal of an 80 percent college completion rate for the District.

The north star hasn't changed. The evidence says we're on our way. We hope you will join us to make our dream into reality.

— Eric Waldo, President & CEO