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March 29, 2024
Earlier this month, I was honored to join Mayor Bowser and other District education leaders at the first-ever DC High-Impact Tutoring Summit. Mayor Bowser previewed several key investments from her forthcoming Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget which include $4.8 million to continue and support high-impact tutoring (HIT) across the District. I am so grateful to Mayor Bowser for this commitment to leveling the playing field for access to this time-tested and highly effective strategy for accelerating academic growth for students across our city, and especially for those furthest from opportunity.
Over the past three fiscal years, the District committed approximately $33 million in federal stimulus funds to expand HIT programming in math and literacy. We are currently on track to reach more than 10,000 students by fall 2024. Through this strategic investment, we have built a robust high-impact tutoring ecosystem and have seen early evidence that HIT is working for our students and our schools. Because we know our students are benefiting, we are doubling down on what we see working best with high-impact tutoring and using local resources thoughtfully in a way that will maximize their impact.
We will continue investing local dollars to support LEAs in strengthening and scaling high-impact tutoring across the District. OSSE holds a critical position in ensuring fair access to top-notch educational opportunities for every student. Through a multifaceted strategy, OSSE focuses on enhancing school quality, strategically allocating grant funds to address specific needs and achieve measurable outcomes, and ensuring efficient use of resources for the students' advantage.
Read on to learn more about our investments that help to ensure all students have access to a high-quality education every day.
In service,
Dr. Christina Grant
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Providing Learning Opportunities for Students with the Highest Needs
OSSE leads a three-year, $33 million dollar investment to expand access to high-impact tutoring ($) for students across the District. Through this investment, OSSE aims to provide HIT for at least 10,000 students, with a particular focus on students who are designated as economically disadvantaged. High-impact tutoring is widely considered one of the most effective interventions for learning acceleration based on a robust body of research, especially for students who are furthest from opportunity.
With Mayor Bowser’s support, OSSE urgently built a small internal team and forged strategic partnerships with local organizations who have the same passion, goals and dedication to students. We awarded over $28 million in grants that primarily funded experienced tutoring providers to scale their work and reach more students at schools and community-based sites. OSSE also awarded a strategic program supports grant to CityTutor DC to continuously improve the quality of OSSE HIT programs and to grow the HIT ecosystem by incubating smaller tutoring organizations, recruiting new organizations to the District and funding LEAs and community sites.
OSSE’s HIT initiative identifies seven standards for high-quality HIT programs:
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Grounded in trusting relationships
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Focused on tutor effectiveness
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Supported by high-quality curriculum
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Occurring frequently
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Organized 1:1 or in small groups
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Data-driven
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Collaborative with schools
Tutoring providers partner with schools to engage students through one-on-one or small group tutoring sessions for at least 90 minutes per week. Central to the success of the HIT initiative is its research-backed approach, which tailors instruction to meet each student's specific needs in small-group settings.
 Pictured: Principal Latisha Coleman (right) interviewed by NBC Washington's Tracee Wilkins (left)
“For us, tutoring isn't just about remediation; it's also about acceleration. It's about giving our kids a leg up. Tutoring has helped build our kids' confidence,” said Latisha Coleman, principal of Johnson Middle School in Southeast D.C. during a recent interview.
Investments in Achieve Equitable Outcomes for All Students
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The Spring 2024 cohort for OSSE’s professional learning series, centered on key knowledge and skills needed to serve students with disabilities, launched in Feb. 2024. These cohort programs include asynchronous online coursework hosted on OSSE’s learning management system (LMS) platform.
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63 educators representing 11 LEAs have enrolled in Early Childhood cohort
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42 educators representing 12 LEAs have enrolled in Support Staff cohort
- 25 educators, representing 5 LEAs have enrolled in the SEERI cohort
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Through a $1.5 million investment over three years, OSSE supports the DC Special Education Hub providing plain-language, multilingual resources and one-on-one assistance for students with disabilities. The Hub launched a six-video Family Empowerment Series which helps to clarify the special education world of DC Public and Public Charter Schools and create an accessible bridge for caregivers, families, educators, and students with disabilities. This year, the Hub is on track to train triple the number of families as were trained in FY23. 97% of families who have received 1:1 support or training from the Hub in FY24 reported increased skills, knowledge and confidence to resolve their issue.
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Child care providers participating in the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund will receive their quarter two award payment by the end of this month. OSSE will notify participating providers after their payment has been disbursed. OSSE continues to offer virtual “office hours” to support providers participating in the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund. |
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On March 16, OSSE hosted more than 200 students and families from across the District at the 2024 DC STEM Fair. Students presented nearly 70 projects from a variety of topics across science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
On March 20, OSSE adopted Financial Literacy Standards following a unanimous vote from the State Board of Education (SBOE). The new set of standards marks the first time Financial Literacy Standards have been available DC-wide for high school students.
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 Pictured: Participants at the 2024 DC STEM Fair
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OSSE and CityTutor DC welcomed more than 200 attendees and special guest Mayor Bowser to the first-ever DC High-Impact Tutoring ($) Summit on March 20. This in-person summit provided an opportunity to celebrate the progress of high-impact tutoring (HIT) in the District so far and discuss efforts to support its sustainability. |
 Pictured: Team OSSE at the DC High-Impact Tutoring Summit
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During the DC High-Impact Tutoring Summit, Mayor Muriel Bowser previewed Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) investments for the Advanced Technical Center ($), including:
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$5 million to support the reimagination of high school, including programming at the existing Advanced Technical Center in Ward 5, dual enrollment expansion, and the Advanced Internship Program and Career Ready Internships
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$17 million to open a new health clinic, in partnership with Children’s National Hospital, to provide health care services and training for students at the existing Advanced Technical Center in Ward 5
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$600,000 to open a new Advanced Technical Center at the Whitman-Walker Max Robinson Center in Ward 8
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OSSE has committed to administering statewide school climate surveys of students, school-based staff, and caregivers. To build up to a statewide administration, OSSE is working with an Advisory Cohort of 16 LEAs to administer school climate surveys this spring for students in grades 3-12, school-based staff and caregivers. So far, the Advisory Cohort has finalized the content on the surveys, taken the administration training, and begun collecting responses. OSSE will continue to gather feedback from the Cohort during and after the administration window. You can learn more about OSSE’s school climate surveys on our website. |
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To celebrate Women’s History Month, OSSE staff welcomed Ms. Jeannette Brown Carson (Cardozo High School Class of 1950) for a special historic in-person presentation. Ms. Carson shared about her DC public school education experience during segregation and her student advocacy work. Click here to learn more about Ms. Carson. |
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Ms. Jeannette Brown Carson attended Sumner School from 1938-1943. Ms. Carson graduated from Cardozo Senior High School in 1950. That same year, Ms. Carson was Student Council President where she led a march from Cardozo to the DCPS headquarters and also wrote and delivered a speech to the DC Public School Board outlining why the severely underpopulated Central HS should be transferred to Cardozo High School, which was so overcrowded students were attending in shifts. |
 Pictured: OSSE staff with Ms. Carson
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OSSE launched the Monthly Parent Stipend Program to provide a monthly payment to eligible parents or guardians who opt out of OSSE-DOT provided vehicle or bus and self-transport their student to and from school. This also includes drop off and pick up for special services the student receives that are related to their education. Eligible families who are approved to participate in the program will receive $400 per month to support self-transportation of students. |
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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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