"DCPS has made remarkable progress over the past 10 years. For DCPS’ next phase of excellence, every student from Pre-K to 12th grade should have a high-quality education that prepares them to take advantage of the growth and opportunity in our thriving city."
Dr. Lewis D. Ferebee is the Chancellor of DC Public Schools (DCPS), selected by Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2018. Bringing 20 years of experience to his position as Chancellor, Dr. Ferebee is focused on ensuring there is great school in every neighborhood, keeping equity and transparency at the heart of our district’s work, and setting every student up for post-secondary success.
Under Chancellor Ferebee’s leadership, DCPS is the fastest improving urban district in the nation, making historic gains on the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) over the past decade. In 2019, DCPS marked its fourth-consecutive year of progress made on Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC), outpacing the state averages for both English language arts (ELA) and math. And for the first time since 2006, the district enrolls more than 51,000 students.
Before joining DCPS, Dr. Ferebee served as Superintendent of Indianapolis Public Schools beginning in 2013, where he employed transformation efforts to drive turnaround for low-performing schools and raise the district's graduation rate by 15 percentage points. During his tenure, graduation rates for Black and Hispanic students surpassed the district average, with Black students also surpassing the state average. Dr. Ferebee also designed a student-based budgeting process, enabling schools to innovate in order to meet the needs of their students while improving transparency and equity around the distribution of resources system-wide.
Prior to working for Indianapolis Public Schools, Dr. Ferebee served for three years as Chief of Staff for Durham Public Schools, where he reduced to zero the number of schools in Durham designated by the state as “low performing.” He also worked for Guilford County Schools in North Carolina as a principal, where he was named Principal of the Year, before serving as an Instructional Improvement Officer and Regional Superintendent.
Dr. Ferebee earned his doctorate in educational leadership from East Carolina University, a master's degree in school administration from The George Washington University, and a bachelor's degree in elementary education from North Carolina Central University.
In 2016, Dr. Ferebee was named among Education Week’s Leaders to Learn From. He also received Marian University’s 2016 John A. Purdie Innovator and Mentor of the Year Award.
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