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Oct. 26, 2023
The District is fortunate to have the very best teachers in the nation. As Mayor Muriel Bowser said during our Teacher of the Year celebration earlier this month, “...our teachers are much more than just teachers; they are mentors and life coaches, they make sure students are excited to go to school every day, and they inspire our students to make good choices.”
OSSE continues to develop innovative ways to support our teachers in and out of the classroom. The supports we provide are aimed at helping educators in schools across the District support the thousands of DC students that attend our public schools. We know the pandemic had a tremendous impact on our students, so our work to offer instructional supports to accelerate learning is particularly important as we continue to move from recovery to restoration.
OSSE is investing $61 million in federal stimulus funds on strategies to accelerate learning in the District. This includes over $9 million on professional development and instructional supports for educators across grade levels. As we recognize Dyslexia Awareness Month in October, we’re also proud to highlight that OSSE is leveraging local funds to equip educators with the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to identify and support students in need of literacy interventions, including students with reading disabilities. This includes the development of a universal screener guidance for K-2 and training all DC educators in Dyslexia awareness and reading difficulties.
We’re addressing student needs in math and English language arts through a number of programs and initiatives, including:
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Expanding resources to high-quality instructional materials ($) and providing technical assistance to support implementation;
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Offering math bootcamps ($) targeted at high need schools and new teachers to strengthen the delivery of math instruction; and
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Providing science of reading trainings ($) for leaders and educators
Read on to learn more about our investments supporting instruction here in the District.
In service,
Dr. Christina Grant
Celebrating the 2024 DC Teacher of the Year
 Pictured: Cardozo Education Campus Principal Arthur Mola, State Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant, 2024 Teacher of the Year Beth Barkley, DCPS Chancellor Dr. Lewis Ferebee, Mayor Muriel Bowser and Deputy Mayor Paul Kihn on Oct. 11
Earlier this month, Mayor Bowser, State Superintendent Grant and District officials presented Beth Barkley, a high school teacher at the International Academy at Cardozo Education Campus, with the 2024 DC Teacher of the Year Award during a surprise event. The prestigious honor, which comes with a $7,500 prize, is awarded annually to a DC Public Schools (DCPS) or public charter school teacher who has demonstrated outstanding leadership and commitment to student achievement.
“I will continue to create platforms to amplify students’ voices, raise awareness, find creative solutions to our mental health crisis, and ensure equitable access for immigrant youth. This is for students. They are the Teachers of the Year.”
-2024 DC Teacher of the Year Beth Barkley
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OSSE Instructional Support Investments
 Pictured: DCPS Chancellor Dr. Lewis Ferebee, Deputy Mayor Paul Kihn, PCSB Executive Director Dr. Michelle Walker-Davis, State Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant, SBOE Ward 2 Rep. Allister Chang, and DCPS Literacy Coach & Reading Interventionist Jenelle Bryant during Literacy Task Force Report Launch Panel livestream discussion on Oct. 13
On Oct.13, the Literacy Task Force ($), led by the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, released its report, Recommendations for Structured Literacy Instruction in the District of Columbia. The report is the culmination of 10 months of work by representatives from the DC Council, OSSE, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Education, the DC State Board of Education, District of Columbia Public Schools, the DC Public Charter School Board, and public and public charter schools.
The work of the Literacy Task Force is an exemplary representation of what can happen when stakeholders across the District come together to engage on literacy, which matters not only for student learning, but also for student lives. The Task Force recommendations touch upon several critical levers needed to meet the needs of all students and to ensure our educators are fully equipped with the knowledge and skills they need in the classroom.
The Task Force’s recommendations support and build on our efforts to ensure that District educators have the knowledge and skills necessary to meet student literacy needs, thereby helping to ensure that the District is a top destination for teachers nationally. The executive branch will take the Task Force’s recommendations into consideration during formulation of the next budget.
Teacher Testimonials on Instructional Supports
 Additional Investments in Instructional Supports
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$16 million in grants funds from the Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) grant program to expand access to evidence-based literacy trainings for educators across the District.
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13 local education agencies (LEAs) in the District of Columbia received more than $1.7 million in grant funds to select and adopt high-quality instructional resources and materials ($) to support accelerated learning for more than 12,800 DC Public Schools (DCPS) and public charter school students across the District.
- $1.6 million investment of federal recovery funds in math bootcamps ($) that provide in-person math content and pedagogy planning and coaching sessions as well as online coursework through nationally recognized professional development providers.
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$335,000 in competitive grant funds awarded by OSSE for math High Quality Instructional Materials ($) and implementation support, including support for school teams that is enabling engagement in EdReports 6-step HQIM adoption process to support high-quality implementation in the 2023-24 school year.
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we released which went into effect on Oct. 1, raising the eligibility rate from families making 250 percent of the federal poverty to 300 percent. Over 2,000 families are anticipated to become newly eligible for subsidy.
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We began the distribution of more than $64 million to nearly 140 public charter schools representing 70 local education agencies in the first installment of the charter teacher pay program. The charter teacher pay program is part of a more than $73 million investment by Mayor Bowser to provide 7.6 percent retroactive payments to returning teachers and increase charter teacher pay by 12.5 percent going forward. These pay increases coincide with the significant salary increases received by teachers at DC Public Schools.
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We recently released the District of Columbia’s first-ever
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As of September 20, 1,488 District residents have been made eligible for the Additionally, DC Futures successfully completed the 2022-23 program enrollment, with over 1,300 participants completing the application. Partner institutions of higher education (IHEs) granted emergency funds to 275 students in 2022-23 at an average of $1,779 per student.
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We held two virtual staff presentations celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month featuring multilingual learners in DC and the intersection of identity and work at OSSE. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, staff participated in our annual #OSSEWearsPink campaign. |
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kicked off pilot testing this month for a new Parent School Bus Hub Mobile App. Our new online user-friendly Bus App will allow parents to track the location of their student’s bus, in real-time at any point during the scheduled transport. |
 Pictured: OSSE Staff honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month and our OSSE survivors
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The District has implemented a robust recovery to restoration plan, which includes investing nearly $1 billion of federal stimulus funds to support the recovery and restoration of the public education and child care sectors. Projects funded in full or in part by federal recovery dollars feature this symbol ($).
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