Exactly 20 years ago today, President Clinton signed legislation authorizing charter schools in Washington, D.C. His signature changed the lives of tens of thousands of students and parents — and it changed the trajectory of the public schools in our nation’s capital. Today, charter schools educate 44% of Washington, D.C.’s public school children. Enrollment in both charter schools and traditional district schools is growing, and academic performance is improving in both sectors.

As we reflect on 20 years of progress — and look forward to the next 20 — we checked in with Irene Holtzman, the executive director of FOCUS, an organization that was instrumental in opening the door to charter schools in D.C. Today, FOCUS continues to press for equitable school policies that will place charters on equal footing with traditional public schools.

“More students than ever are waiting for seats in high-quality charter schools. And we can’t let that sense of urgency die down because they need good schools now; they can’t wait,” she told us.

A landmark study on the performance of urban charters released last year by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford found that D.C. charter students are learning the equivalent of 96 more days in math and 70 more days in reading than their peers enrolled in traditional public schools. This is happening even as D.C. charter schools are enrolling a higher proportion of students in poverty than traditional public schools (76% vs. 68%), a similar percentage of special education students (16% vs. 19%), and the same percentage of English-language learner students (6%).

David Osborne, the director of the project on Reinventing America’s Schools at the Progressive Policy Institute, recently wrote that public education in D.C. might be “the nation’s most interesting laboratory.” He writes that the charter governance model is leading to faster improvements for D.C. students and draws useful lessons that can help other cities.

We’re proud to have supported promising and proven education entrepreneurs — including more than 100 new school startups — to improve education in Washington, D.C.’s charter, district and private sectors. And we’re eager to continue working with educators, parents and organizations like FOCUS to create new opportunities for the children, families and communities of Washington, D.C., in the years to come.