Safe Passage Priority Areas for School Year 2024-2025

For school year 2025-26, more than 200 Safe Passage Ambassadors will support more than 120 pre-determined routes in 12 priority areas across the District. The Safe Passage priority areas for the 2025-2026 school year include:

Priority Areas:

Anacostia

Brookland

Congress Heights 

Columbia Heights

Eastern/Stadium Armory

Fort Totten

L'Enfant

Minnesota Ave/Deanwood

NoMA

Potomac Ave

Petworth/Brightwood

Tenleytown

In each of the Safe Passage Priority Areas, regular calls or meetings are held between school leaders, MPD, DDOT, and Metro Transit Police to discuss student safety concerns, plan assistance that is provided to areas, and share strategies for improving safety. Feedback from each meeting is used to determine what additional supports are needed. When needed, government agencies participate in citywide safe passage campaigns by adopting an area and providing physical support during student arrival and dismissal.

About Safe Passage
In August 2017, the School Safety and Safe Passage Working Group collectively decided to focus on specific areas of the city to improve student safety as they travel to and from school. Areas were selected based on the number of student-involved incidents in the area using data from MTPD from the 2016-2017 school year and anecdotal information from various stakeholders within the Working Group. In Fiscal Year 2024, Safe Passage was transitioned to the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice (DMPSJ) from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME). DMPSJ works closely with DME, other District agencies, and community partners to ensure our youth can travel to and from school safely. This includes daily check-in calls with law enforcement, monthly calls for school leaders, the reporting of unusual incidents along routes, and offering training for Safe Passage Ambassadors on topics such as de-escalation strategies, trauma-informed practices, youth development, and effective communication.