Eboni-Rose Thompson:
A Dedicated Advocate for Ward 7

Eboni-Rose Thompson is a proven leader, advocate, and policymaker. 

In 2020, Eboni-Rose was elected to represent Ward 7 on the DC State Board of Education, serving in leadership as the vice president and president. She is deeply connected to her community. As an elected representative, she tirelessly works to ensure every child receives a high-quality education that prepares them for success. Having experienced the challenges families face in providing opportunities for their children, she is driven by a personal commitment to educational excellence.

A graduate of DC traditional public and charter schools,  Eboni-Rose’s educational journey includes earning a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and completing a certificate in education finance from Georgetown University. Her expertise encompasses education policy, advocacy, community engagement, and communications. She brings her passion for equity and community building to her community and philanthropic work, investing in initiatives that promote educational equity and advance policies for excellence in public education.

Eboni-Rose brings over 15 years of experience supporting education, government, and social impact organizations across local and national contexts. She has worked in various roles, including at DC Public Schools, Save the Children, America’s Promise Alliance, and Schusterman Family Philanthropies, contributing to local and national education initiatives. 

A daughter of Ward 7 and 5th generation Washingtonian, Eboni-Rose was raised and lives in the Fort Dupont community. Before her election to the SBOE, Eboni-Rose served her community as Chair of the Ward 7 Education Council and a three-term Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. 

In these roles, Eboni-Rose has actively contributed to her community advocating for fair funding and resources for Ward 7 schools and the services our children need. Her accomplishments include securing funding for “at-risk” resources, building new schools and recreation centers, and overall increases in the public education budget. In her ANC capacity, Eboni-Rose collaborated with colleagues to secure funding for the modernization of the Benning Stoddert Recreation Center and supported the establishment of the Washington Tennis and Education Foundation and Nationals Baseball Academy. 

During the pandemic, Eboni-Rose worked with neighbors to start the Ward 7 COVID Response Team. The team of volunteers delivered over 150,000 free meals and produce to families and seniors during the COVID lockdown. Once on the SBOE, Eboni-Rose pushed for safety measures and vaccine access while reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accomplishments

Eboni-Rose has a track record of making an impact for Ward 7. In every role she has held, Eboni-Rose has understood the duties and responsibilities of and used her understanding of local issues, collaborative leadership style, advocacy and communications skills to get things done.

With the State Board of Education:

  • Elected president and vice president
  • Led revision of the most inclusive, diverse, and historically accurate social standards in the country
  • Established new attendance policies that eliminated the 80/20 rule which unfairly marked late students absent and creating the first ever virtual attendance policy
  • Made community service more accessible for students expanding the requirements to allow service hours to be counted from opportunities with community based organizations, ANCs, and other experiences 
  • Led a citywide engagement process including families, students, and community  members to propose changes to our education governance structure
  • Supported the creation of literacy recommendations to ensure all our students are strong readers
  • Special Ed Hub launch
  • Created safety recommendations for schools and youth that were adopted by every Ward 7 ANC including the creation of the School Safety Enhancement Committee and expanded safe passage.
  • Worked with the Commission on Arts and the Humanities to establish the Color the Curb program to improve traffic safety around schools, first implemented at Drew, CW Harris, Houston, and Plummer elementary schools
  • Advocated for federal and local Funding for the East Capitol Street redesign

SBOE annual reports

2022
2021

Serving as the Chair of the Ward 7 Education Council since 2012, Eboni-Rose has worked with families, educators, students, and community members to advocate for Ward 7 to receive our fair share of public education funding and resources. During her eight-year tenure, she helped:

  • Advocate for millions of dollars for “at-risk” funding resources.
  • Advocate for millions of dollars for modernization funding for Kimball, Ron Brown, CW Harris, and Houston.
  • Advocate for and win increases to the overall public education budget every year for the last 5 years
  • Advocate for politics that created at-risk funding and charter school transparency
  • Fight school closures in 2012 and keep Smothers open.
  • Represent Ward 7 on Mayor Bowser’s committee to reopen schools during COVID-19, pushing for safety measures like universal testing
  • Work with the Office of the Student Advocate (OSA) to provide parent empowerment program training to PTAs.
  • Partner with organizations to sponsor Back to School and Book Giveaways every year since 2014, giving backpacks, school supplies, and books to 10,000 students
  • Partner with ANCs, Civic Associations, and community leaders to spearhead a community vision for the Fletcher-Johnson campus and create an economic development opportunity for Ward 7

Eboni-Rose was also elected to serve 3 terms as an ANC 7F commissioner. During that time, she worked with her ANC colleagues to:

  • Secure $6.7 million to modernize Benning Stoddert Recreation Center
  • Support the openings of the Washington Tennis and Education Foundation and Nationals Baseball Academy
  • Negotiate $100k in community benefits funding to support the residents of ANC 7F
  • Stop the closure of the Downtown Ward 7 post office, which would have reduced service to seniors and families

She continues to find ways to give back to her community. For instance, she has:

  • Co-founded the Ward 7 COVID Response Team, which delivered more than 150,000 meals to Ward 7 families during the pandemic
  • Volunteered as a literacy tutor with Higher Achievement for 3 years
  • Worked with the “Ward 7 Neighbors & Friends” to raise more than $20,000 for Ward 7 families in need during the holidays
  • Honored her grandmother’s legacy by establishing the Constance Thompson Memorial Scholarship, awarding $5000 in scholarships to Ward 7 graduating seniors going on to college

Awards

  • DMV Top 30 Under 30, 93.9 WKYS 
  • Washington’s Women of Excellence, Mayor’s Office on Women and Policy Initiatives
  • Ward 7 Woman of Excellence, East River Family Strengthening Collaborative