 Healthy Schools Act Self-Assessment and Action Plan (SAAP)
Schools out of compliance with the health education, physical education and physical activity requirements set forth in the Healthy Schools Act of 2010 and Healthy Schools Amendment Act of 2018 were required to submit a Self-Assessment and Action Plan (SAAP) to OSSE. The deadline for schools to submit the SAAP was Friday, May 31. Schools that are required to submit an SAAP in the 2023-24 school year but have yet to do so have until Friday, June 28 to complete all steps. Schools must submit a plan, receive approval from OSSE and attest to the final assurances to be marked as complete. Schools should submit their SAAP as soon as possible to meet this final deadline. For questions or additional information, please contact OSSE.HYDT@dc.gov.
Sex Education Self-Paced Training for Health Education Teachers (reminder)
Attention health education teachers! Gain knowledge and skills to deliver inclusive and affirming sex education lessons in safe, supportive classroom environments. OSSE's Division of Health and Wellness (H&W) will offer self-paced training for health education teachers on sex education topics during summer 2024.
Hosted by Spark*ED, these virtual trainings will support educators in delivering high-quality comprehensive, inclusive, medically accurate and shame-free sex education to students of all sexual orientations and gender identities. This opportunity is open to health education teachers returning to DC public or public charter schools in the 2024-25 school year. Preference will be given to grade 6-12 health education teachers. If space allows, elementary teachers will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Slots are limited to 62 eligible educators. Educators must complete the training and submit proof of completion by Sept. 1, 2024. Review the training options and complete this form by Friday, June 21 to select your preferred training.
For questions or more information, email HYDT.OSSE@dc.gov.
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OSSE Releases 2024-25 School Year School Calendar Guidance and Waivers
Guidance and associated waivers for the 2024-25 school year calendar are now available on OSSE’s website. The materials were released May 23, and apply to 2024-25 school year instructional days and calendars. Guidance documents include:
No substantive changes have been made to SY 24-25 guidance compared to SY 23-24 guidance. Rather, edits were made to clarify areas of possible confusion.
Reminder: Full school year instructional and noninstructional days must be submitted in eSchoolPLUS 45 business days prior to the LEA’s start of the school year. LEAs should refer to Calendar Creation in eSchoolPLUS regarding the procedure to submit calendars. Weekly half-day waivers should be submitted on the same date that a school’s calendar is submitted to eSchoolPLUS for OSSE approval, and the proposed weekly half-day should be reflected in the submitted calendar. This means that weekly half-day waivers should also be submitted at least 45 business days prior to the LEA’s start of the school year.
New for SY 24-25: To increase clarity, the waivers to reduce instructional time, request additional situational distance days, and request half-days of instruction are now separated into three distinct forms.
The newly released guidance and waivers only apply to SY 24-25 calendars and instructional days. Schools and LEAs should continue to follow 2023-24 school year guidance for concerns related to SY 23-24 school calendars and attendance.
State Board of Education Student Advisory Committee (reminder)
Calling all rising sophomores, juniors and seniors! The Student Advisory Committee (SAC) application for the DC State Board of Education is now open until June 15. Educators, encourage your students to be the voice of their peers and help shape educational policies. Apply here today and make a difference!
Dyslexia Legislation Year 2 (reminder)
The new dyslexia awareness modules have been posted on the Learning Management System (LMS). The dyslexia awareness modules are an annual requirement for all educators employed by an LEA. This year, the modules have been differentiated to include specific content for educators serving the following grades:
- Pre-K;
- Kindergarten through grade 5; and
- Adolescents to adults.
OSSE has several new, science-based literacy resources available for the adoption of science-based literacy programs for LEAs serving grades K-5. This includes a list of literacy programs aligned with High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM), guidance and rubrics for identifying HQIM.
On June 5, OSSE began hosting Literacy Office Hours on Wednesdays, from 2-3 p.m.
Discipline Data Collection Deadline July 2 (reminder)
The Integrated Data Submission (IDS) tool is open for the final Discipline Data Collection submission process of the school year. The OSSE Support Tool (OST) deadline is July 2, with a certification date of July 9. LEAs can review their submitted data in the Qlik SY23-24 Data Validation app and make any necessary changes through an IDS resubmission by July 8.
Submissions should include all discipline incidents from March 4 through June 21, 2024. Extended year LEAs will have an additional certification deadline on Aug. 9.
LEAs can access a copy of the discipline collection guidance and the IDS template via OSSE’s website: Student Discipline Data Collection Guidance | osse (dc.gov).
For questions or support with the IDS tool, please submit a ticket by July 2 in the OST Quickbase application by using “Discipline” as the issue type with a status sub-category of “Integrated Data Submission Tool (IDS).”
For questions or support with discipline policy, please contact Jenni Russell Ziarnik at Jennifer.RussellZiarnik@dc.gov or schedule a meeting via the OSSE Discipline Support Bookings tool here.
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Next Generation Science Standards Lunch and Learn Live
OSSE is pleased to announce a Live Lunch and Learn designed to equip school leaders and educators with the knowledge to understand the research and adoption process of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).
By the end of this course, participants will:
- Identify how NGSS came about.
- Understand the need to change standards.
- Analyze the research and development process of standards.
- Key ideas to understand.
Participants may earn up to 4 professional learning units (PLUs) after completing all assignments in Schoology.
This Lunch and Learn will be held on June 18, from 12-1 p.m.
Please RSVP to join here.
For questions, please contact Jhatia McKnight at Jhatia.Mcknight@dc.gov.
2024-25 Restorative Justice Technical Assistance Application
We invite you to complete the 2024-25 School Year Restorative Justice Technical Assistance Application. OSSE is funding a select number of technical assistance opportunities to support schools with restorative justice implementation to aid reentry and recovery, as well as longer-term integration of restorative justice into school policies and practices. The technical assistance will include three main elements:
- Summer Capacity-Building and Planning (Summer 2024)
- Planning and Implementation Assessment (Fall 2024)
- On-site and Virtual RJ Technical Assistance (Fall 2024 - Spring 2025)
Restorative DC will provide the technical assistance specific to the needs of the applying school. All public and public charter schools serving grades K-12 in the District of Columbia are encouraged to apply. For more information and to sign up, please visit bit.ly/RestorativeDCTAApply24-25.
OSSE’s Apprenticeship in Teaching Program Application (reminder)
Leader Community of Practice: Science at the Center (reminder)
In partnership with BSCS Science Learning, OSSE will convene a virtual Community of Practice (CoP) for leaders that meets for 90 minutes to share, discuss and brainstorm ideas and issues related to science instruction that brings into focus critical aspects of the recovery to restoration strategic plan. Leaders will consider and examine the Science at the Center Series as an opportunity to inform and improve the goals and outcomes before and after the sessions and reflect on next steps.
Goals:
- Leaders will build community by sharing and discussing their science teaching and learning goals and their connections to the Recovery and Restoration strategic plan
- Leaders will brainstorm how the Science at the Center Series can support and enhance their science teaching and learning goals
Suggested Dates:
- CoP 4: June 2024
- CoP 5: September 2024
For more information, please contact Jhatia.Mcknight@dc.gov or register here.
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
Next session: Thursday, June 13
Location:
Office of the State Superintendent of Education
1050 First St. NE
Washington, DC 20002
For more information, please contact Jhatia.Mcknight@dc.gov and register here.
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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FY25 ESEA Titles I-IV Phase I Application Opens May 31
The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provides federal funding to ensure equal opportunity for all students. Under this program, OSSE issues Titles I-A, II-A, III-A and IV-A grants through its annual Phase I Assurances and ESEA Consolidated Application (ConApp).
The annual application process for ESEA Title grants begins with the submission of assurances. The ESEA Phase I application includes assurances for Titles I-A, II-A, III-A and IV-A and has been available in the Enterprise Grants Management System (EGMS) since May 31. Details about grant programs within the ConApp are available on OSSE’s website here and preliminary allocations will be available here in the coming weeks.
LEAs are required to submit these Phase I assurances for fiscal year 2025 (FY25) ESEA grants by June 28, at 3 p.m. EST. Once Phase I assurances are approved, your LEA may complete the Phase II ESEA ConApp available in July.
For questions or additional information about ESEA Titles I-IV, Part A please contact Bonnie Bacon at Bonnie.Bacon@dc.gov.
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June 2024
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