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Partnership Opportunity – OSSE Apprenticeship in Teaching Program
OSSE is seeking LEA partners to support the High School Graduate pathway of the city’s first registered apprenticeship in teaching program, which will begin full-scale implementation during the 2024-25 school year. The High School Graduate pathway allows recent high school graduates with fewer than 48 higher education credit hours to work in a placement at a DC LEA under the guidance of a mentor teacher. Apprentices will complete a cost-free bachelor’s degree and ultimately be eligible for an OSSE standard credential. If your LEA is interested in supporting this innovative pathway to teaching, please complete this meeting request form by March 6 to schedule a 30-minute informational session with the OSSE team.
Opportunity for Feedback on Discipline Data Collection (reminder)
In the interest of continuous improvement, OSSE is seeking feedback on the changes made to the discipline data collection during the 2022-23 school year. In addition, OSSE wants to provide a space for LEAs to provide generalized feedback about the discipline data collection process.
The information collected in this survey will be used by OSSE's Division of Data, Assessment, and Research to inform future changes to OSSE's Discipline Data Collection Guidance and OSSE's overall approach to collecting discipline data. For example, the “No Incident” tab of the Integrated Data Submission (IDS) reporting template was added in response to requests for clearer instructions on reporting zero discipline incidents.
This survey is not anonymous so that OSSE can ensure participation across a variety of LEAs and follow-up as needed to troubleshoot challenges, seek clarification, and offer opportunities to further inform improvements to the discipline data collection.
There is no limit to the number of people from each LEA who can provide feedback. OSSE is interested in gaining insights from multiple perspectives.
This survey will close at 11:59 pm on Friday, March 1.
ARROW First Year Cadre – Inaugural Cohort Communications (reminder)
OSSE's Advancing the Recruitment and Retention of Our Workforce (ARROW) is announcing the launch of the First Year Cadre for school-based behavioral health providers, i.e., school social workers, school psychologists and counselors (school counselors and licensed counselors), who are new to working in a school-based setting and have an employment start date of Nov. 1, 2022 or after. The First Year Cadre is an opportunity for providers in their first year working in a school-based setting to build foundational skills necessary to be successful in the school environment. This cohort will serve as the inaugural cadre and run from April to June 2024.
Please see this one pager for more information and the eligibility criteria. Applications are now open and close Friday, March 8, 2024.
Participants who successfully complete the cadre will be eligible for a $500 stipend.
Questions? Reach out to OSSE.HYDT@dc.gov.
LEA Financial Reporting Application Released – Submissions due March 15 (reminder)
The LEA Financial Reporting application is open for the annual collection of financial expenditure data. The DC School Report Card website will be updated to include the per-pupil financial expenditure data that you submit for each school and LEA for the 2022-23 school year. All LEAs are required to submit financial data to OSSE by Friday, March 15.
The following resources are available on the OSSE website to assist you with this annual reporting requirement:
In addition, OSSE will hold optional office hours for LEA staff who have questions or need assistance with the application. The office hours will be held on Webex at the following times:
LEA staff with the following roles in the Integrated Data Submission (IDS) tool currently have access to the LEA Financial Reporting Application.
- Head of School;
- LEA Data Manager;
- Chief Financial Officer; and
- LEA Finance/Grants Manager.
If you have difficulty logging in to the application or if you have a staff member who needs access to the application, please email Sade.Wade@dc.gov.
If you have any questions related to the LEA Financial Reporting Application, please contact Sade Creighton-Wade, OSSE Administrative Officer, at Sade.Wade@dc.gov or (202) 716-7227.
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Mathematical Reasoning for All Students – Enrolling Now!
OSSE is excited to offer professional learning to increase mathematical reasoning for all students. This training will be a two-day course on March 26 and 27, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and will provide participants with five research-based strategies to teach all students how to think and reason mathematically. Participants will learn what it looks like when students reason mathematically, as well as different ways in which students access and develop mathematical thinking. They will learn teaching strategies for engaging students in mathematical thinking and discourse, supporting their students’ development of mathematical thinking and helping their students develop independence as learners. Finally, participants will leave the course ready to support every learner to develop as mathematicians based on their individual learning profiles. Participants must attend both days and will receive 12 professional learning units. Register here or contact Miryam.Oziel@dc.gov for more information.
Foundations of Second Language Acquisition for All Educators Serving ELs
OSSE’s Division of Teaching and Learning (TAL) is pleased offer a professional learning pathway for District educators including school leaders and service providers serving English learners (ELs) grades pre-K through 12 in DC public and public charter schools. The Foundations of Second Language Acquisition for all Educators Serving English Learners course provides the foundational knowledge and skills needed to effectively serve ELs and build the capacity of educators through eight meaningful and engaging virtual sessions.
Session: Teaching Academic Vocabulary
The development of vocabulary plays a pivotal role in language acquisition and overall academic achievement. According to Michael Graves, while much of the support given to ELs mirrors that provided to monolingual English students, ELs often need instruction on a larger variety of words, more comprehensive teaching approaches, and targeted assistance in mastering strategies for learning new words. This principle also applies to students with limited vocabulary who are not ELs. During this session, participants will understand how linguistic awareness plays a role in vocabulary selection and identify ways to teach new vocabulary while aiding comprehension and memorization.
Participants will earn one professional learning unit for full attendance and participation. Register here to attend on Wednesday, March 13, from 3-3:45 p.m. For questions, contact Lucia Cuomo at Lucia.Cuomo@dc.gov.
Early Childhood Special Education Community of Practice
OSSE is excited to announce the Early Childhood Special Education Community of Practice. This community of practice is designed to create authentic opportunities for LEA pre-K special education points of contact (POCs) and those who support this population to collaborate with others and improve learning outcomes for children with disabilities, ages 3-5, who are enrolled in early childhood special education programs. Participants will discuss topics identified by those currently serving children in our local early childhood programs. The sessions will occur on the fourth Wednesday of each month, beginning Feb. 28, from 10–11 a.m. The identified topics are listed below.
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March 27 – Family Engagement Activities
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April 24 – Instructional Practices and Strategies for Specific Disability Categories
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May 22 – Data Tracking and Reporting
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Aug. 28 – Early Childhood Developmental Screening and Child Find Obligations
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Oct. 23 – Instructional Practices and Individualized Education Program (IEP) Goal Writing
Please register for the community practice sessions using the links above. For questions, please contact Dawn Hilton, Supervisory Coordinator for Special Education (Part B-619), at Dawn.Hilton1@dc.gov.
Educator Wellness – Blueprint Resource Feedback Sessions (reminder)
OSSE’s Division of Health and Wellness has released an updated one-pager on its Whole School Approach to Educator Wellness and The Blueprint for a Whole School Approach to Educator Wellness. As these resources are in their initial version, we want to hear from DC public and public charter school educators, school leaders and community-based organization (CBO) staff who support educator wellness work to better: 1) understand its usefulness in supporting schools to address educator wellness; 2) identify questions or areas of ambiguity about the content or process; and 3) gather additional information or resources that could be added to further support educator wellness. Please register for one of the sessions below to share your voice and to contribute to future updates of these resources:
If you’re interested in providing feedback but can’t attend a session or have questions, please contact OSSE.HYDT@dc.gov.
Additional Information on the Blueprint
The Blueprint is a quick reference guide that provides LEAs, school leaders, educators and CBOs a roadmap for integrating educator wellness policies, practices and processes into their school system. The Blueprint uses a whole school approach, centered on educator voice and equity, to implement approaches at the individual, interpersonal and organizational levels. It is built from growing research and evidence-based practice in educator wellness and the use of a whole school approach to educator wellness in DC public and public charter schools.
DC Secondary STEM Fair and Elementary STEM Exhibition (reminder)
In collaboration with DC4STEM, OSSE is excited to announce the return of the DC Secondary STEM Fair and Elementary STEM Exhibition. Join us on Saturday, March 16 at Dunbar High School for this exciting event! The fair will host an elementary exhibition for students in grades K-5 and a competitive fair for secondary students in grades 6-12.
Eligibility Requirements:
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Elementary STEM Exhibition: students in grades K-5 from DC public, public charter, parochial, private and home school.
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Secondary STEM Fair: students in grades 6-12 from DC public, public charter, parochial, private and home schools.
Supporting Effective Science Teaching and Learning with Literacy and Content Integration (reminder)
In partnership with BSCS Science Learning, OSSE will provide a series of three, full day sessions for K-12 educators - administrators, teachers and coaches where we will experience, analyze, discuss and plan how best to improve outcomes in science with explicit connections to literacy and content integration. Next generation science instruction requires a shift in practice for students, teachers and leaders so join us as we learn by doing, exploring and explaining.
Goals:
- Educators will experience and understand high quality science teaching and learning.
- Educators will examine and explain how literacy and content integration supports high quality science teaching and learning.
- Educators will consider and plan how they will use what they have learned to improve science teaching and learning in their context.
Dates:
- Session 1: Thursday, March 28, 2024
- Session 2: Thursday, June 13, 2024
- Session 3: September (TBD)
Location: TBD
For more information please email, Jhatia.Mcknight@dc.gov or click here to apply.
Upcoming Professional Learning Opportunities with OSSE’s Division of Teaching and Learning (reminder)
OSSE's Division of Teaching and Learning is pleased to offer many upcoming professional learning opportunities for DC educators, including teachers, staff, school leaders and service providers serving students in grades pre-K through 12 in DC public and public charter schools. All DC educators are encouraged to subscribe to the monthly TAL PD Bulletin to receive additional announcements about professional learning opportunities and resources for educators. View the most recent bulletin here.
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FY24 ESEA Final Allocations (reminder)
Final allocations for fiscal year 2024 (FY24) Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title I-A, II-A, III-A, and IV-A grants are published on OSSE’s website. Awards in the Enterprise Grants Management System (EGMS) now reflect FY24 allocations for these grants.
If you have questions or need technical assistance for the FY24 ESEA ConApp, please contact the ConApp team at Con.App@dc.gov.
SOAR Formula Consolidated Post-Award Webinar and Semi-Annual Narrative Reports (reminder)
OSSE will host a post-award webinar for public charter LEAs receiving funds through the FY24 Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Formula Consolidated grant at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5, 2024. This webinar will cover expectations and requirements of the SOAR Formula grant, including reimbursement request submission, maintaining the Central Data application, semi-annual narrative reporting requirements, and budget amendments. Webinar attendance is optional for all grantees but highly recommended for new LEA staff. Please register to attend here.
The first semi-annual narrative report for the FY24 SOAR Formula Consolidated grant will be due by email to your LEA’s SOAR program contact on Monday, April 15, 2024. The FY24 reporting template is available here.
For any questions, please reach out to your LEA’s SOAR program contact or OPCSFS.funding@dc.gov.
FY24 Stronger Connections Grant Continuation Application Open (reminder)
Stronger Connections grantees may now access FY24 applications in the Enterprise Grants Management System (EGMS). If you are eligible to carry over funding from your FY23 grant, your LEA must complete this application before you can access carryover funds. After your application is approved, you may reimburse Stronger Connections grant expenditures from Oct. 1, 2023 through Sept. 30, 2024.
The deadline to submit FY24 Stronger Connections grant application is Friday, March 15, 2024, by 3 p.m. EST. For questions or additional information, please contact Mildred Washington at Mildred.Washington@dc.gov or (202) 724-7870.
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March 2024
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