 Important Bird Flu Update for School Leaders (reminder)
Bird flu (H5N1) has been found in wild birds and poultry in the DC region, but no cases have been reported in DC. The risk to people is low, but staff and students who handle birds or contaminated surfaces should take precautions. This H5N1 bird flu virus has the potential to affect students and school staff that come in close contact with infected birds or contaminated surfaces. Currently, human transmission is rare, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not identified any human-to-human transmission in the US.
- Share guidance with staff handling birds, nests, or contaminated areas (e.g., custodial, maintenance, and chicken program staff).
- Remind students and staff to avoid handling wild birds or their nests without proper personal protective equipment (PPE), including while on school grounds and environmental field trips.
- Promote hygiene—encourage frequent handwashing and avoid touching wild birds.
- Report concerns—notify DC Health if you see three or more sick or dead birds on school grounds.
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Monitor health—staff with possible exposure and flu-like symptoms should isolate and contact DC Health. See more here: symptoms of bird flu.
Please review and share this guidance with school staff who may encounter birds or contaminated surfaces, including maintenance, groundskeeping or custodial staff who may encounter nesting or dead wild birds (including bird feathers and bird droppings) and school staff who manage an approved school chicken program used for educational purposes (see here how bird flu can spread via a chicken program). As a reminder, if your school has a school chicken program, it must be approved annually by DC Health (see more information here).
Immediately report any signs of sick or dead wild birds (three or more) or chickens on school grounds to DC Health.
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*New* The DC Survey About Your School (DC SAYS) Window Opens Monday, Feb. 24
The first District-wide survey of students, staff and caregivers – DC SAYS - goes live on Monday, Feb. 24! The survey window will run Feb. 24-March 28. Our goal is for all schools to have at least one survey liaison signed up per campus. If you have not yet signed up to be a survey liaison – it not too late - you can do so on this form. The survey liaison training materials, including the video of the training sessions, promotional flyers, blurbs for staff and families in multiple languages, parent notification letters and other resources are available on our school climate survey resources website.
School-based staff can expect to receive an email from Panorama with a confidential link to the survey on the morning of Monday, Feb. 24; an anonymous version of the survey (with the same questions) will be available here. The parent surveys are available at DCSAYS.dc.gov.
We are excited to get started! Thank you to the 16 LEAs that participated in the pilot of these surveys last spring. Thanks to their experience and feedback, OSSE is confident that these surveys will be a great resource for your school community. If you have any questions or concerns, please email Ben.Peisch@dc.gov.
*New* Sign up for the OSSE Data Discovery Newsletter
Did you know that the Data, Assessment and Research (DAR) team at OSSE has a blog about data? We are starting a newsletter to share new blog posts. Sign up hereOur goal is for data to be accessible to everyone, so the team has written concise and inviting posts about important topics. We have recently posted the following:
There's more to come! If you have any feedback or suggestions for topics, please reach out to Ben Peisch at Ben.Peisch@dc.gov.
The District of Columbia Tuition Assistance Grant (DCTAG) and Mayor’s Scholars Undergraduate Program Applications are open! (reminder)
The DCTAG and Mayor’s Scholars applications opened on Feb. 3 and will close on Aug. 15, 2025, at 3 p.m. Click here to see the recent press release and learn more about these exciting opportunities for students to achieve their postsecondary education goals!
DCTAG pays the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition for DC students. Students can receive up to $10,000 toward tuition annually at public colleges nationwide and up to $2,500 toward tuition at private colleges in DC and private Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Interested students can apply for DCTAG through the DC OneApp at dconeapp.dc.gov.
The Mayor’s Scholars Undergraduate Program is a locally funded program that provides need-based assistance for eligible students earning their first associate or bachelor’s degree. Both incoming and current college students are eligible for this award program. Applicants must re-apply to the Mayor’s Scholars program each year. The 2025-26 application is available in OSSE’s Application for Postsecondary Studies (APS).
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*New* Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Week 2025
OSSE is thrilled to promote National SEL Week, celebrated March 3-7. Become a part of the transformative movement highlighting the importance of social-emotional skills by attending one of our professional development sessions and using the SEL Week Promotion Kit!
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’SELebrating’ Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Day
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Using Restorative Practices to Develop Adult SEL Skills (Virtual)
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Weaving the Implementation of Social Emotional Learning Practices with Educator Wellness (Virtual)
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Leveraging Student Voice to Drive Culture and Improvement (Virtual)
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Using Mindfulness to Support SEL (Virtual)
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Understanding Trauma in Children and How to Develop Healing-Centered Practices (Virtual)
By participating in SEL Week, you’ll contribute to the larger movement aimed at improving social and emotional learning practices. For more information and to download the Promotion Kit, visit OSSE's SEL website. For more information, please contact Marcus Hughes, School Climate Specialist, at Marcus.Hughes@dc.gov.
*New Location* 'SELebrating' Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Day at The National Theatre
To celebrate SEL Day and launch SEL week, DC educators are invited to an exclusive training at The National Theatre! Hosted by OSSE, in partnership with Dramatic Solutions, Inc., this professional development session will showcase how to implement the 3 Signature Practices of SEL in the classroom to align with DC’s SEL standards. The interactive activities will equip educators with strategies to integrate SEL into their core curriculum, making lessons both engaging and impactful. Participants will also hear success stories from fellow DC educators and leaders about how they incorporate SEL in their schools.
This training event will take place on Monday, March 3, from 12 – 3 p.m. at The National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20004.
Seats are limited so register soon! *Note* DC educators will get first priority and should register within OSSE’s Learning Management System (LMS) platform here. All other attendees can RSVP here. Detailed directions to the location will be provided via email. For questions, please email Jessica.Dulay@dc.gov.
*New* Dual Language Research, Policy, and Practice Series (Session 2, March 12)
Dual language leaders, please join us Wednesday, March 12 for a virtual learning series focused on building connections across schools and sectors in the Washington, DC dual language community. This series will feature presentations from local research, policy, and practice leaders focused on fostering equitable and high-quality dual language education.
The second session's guest will be Mayra Canizales Cruz, a dual language and English language learner expert, a national award-winning instructional leader, and a founding partner of the Canizales Group. Sra. Cruz will share takeaways from her experiences as an equity-driven Latina school leader of a National Blue Ribbon bilingual school within a monolingual system. Participants will be invited to reflect on takeaways related to their own work as well as action steps for the broader DC dual language community.
A variety of dual language leaders are welcome to attend, including LEA leaders, principals, assistant principals, instructional leaders, and operations leaders. The session will take place virtually on Wednesday, March 12, from 12-1 p.m. Register here.
For more information, contact Francesca Smith, Multilingual Specialist, at Francesca.Smith@dc.gov.
*New* Join DC’s First-Ever Community of Practice for LEA Instructional Leads!
OSSE invites you to join the inaugural Community of Practice (CoP) for LEA Instructional Leads—a virtual space for collaboration, shared learning, and problem-solving.
Through this CoP, participants will:
- Build a strong network with fellow instructional leaders across DC.
- Exchange best practices to enhance curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
- Collaborate on real challenges and develop solutions to problems of practice.
Session 1: New Standards Implementation | Feb. 26 | 12 – 1 p.m.
Objectives of Session 1:
- Gain insights into key shifts in new standards and their impact on curriculum and instruction.
- Participate in interactive breakout sessions to share best practices.
- Explore OSSE resources, technical assistance, and specialized CoPs in Social Studies, Financial Literacy, and Social and Emotional Learning.
Don’t miss this opportunity to connect, collaborate, and lead change!
Complete this form to confirm your attendance. Please email Bryan.Sebobo@dc.gov for more information.
*New* Financial Literacy Friday – Office Hours
Do you have questions about financial literacy instruction? Do you need resources, strategies, or guidance on our new standards? Join our virtual office hours for educators and instructional leads!
When: Friday, Feb. 28, 12 p.m.
Where: Register here to join the virtual session.
Drop in to ask questions, explore best practices, and connect with peers committed to strengthening financial literacy education. Whether you're just getting started or looking for advanced strategies, we’re here to help!
Register now and let’s build financial literacy together! Please email Sean.Kimball@dc.gov for more information.
OSSE Secondary Transition Compliance Webinar - Feb. 26 (reminder)
In collaboration with WestEd, OSSE will host the 2024-25 school year secondary transition compliance webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 10 a.m. During this webinar, OSSE will provide guidance for both new and seasoned secondary transition specialists and LEA special education points of contact (LEA SPED POCs) on strategies to achieve 100 percent secondary transition compliance. This training will also provide an overview of how secondary transition professionals can prepare for upcoming secondary transition monitoring, as well as best practices to support high-quality, compliant secondary transition planning year-over-year.
While this event is optional for secondary transition specialists and LEA SPED POCs, participation is strongly encouraged. Please register for the webinar here.
If you have any questions about this webinar, please contact LaShonda Wilson Carter at LaShonda.Wilson@dc.gov.
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Local and Values-Based Purchasing Pilot Grant (LVPP) Applications - Deadline March 18 (reminder)
The competitive grant application for the fiscal year 2025 (FY25) Local and Values-Based Purchasing Pilot Grant (LVPP) was made available on Jan. 31, 2025, in the Enterprise Grants Management System (EGMS). This grant opportunity is available to public and public charter schools that currently participate in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and early childhood education (ECE) facilities that are currently licensed by OSSE and participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The overall goal of the LVPP grant is to build the capacity of child nutrition programs (CNP) to increase the quantity, variety and/or frequency of local foods served and increase the use of values-based procurement methods in purchasing locally sourced and unprocessed foods. This grant opportunity provides three funding tracks for applicants. Eligible ECE facilities and public and public charter schools may apply for tracks 1 and/or 2. Community-based organization (CBO) applicants may apply under track 3.
- Track 1: Eligible CNP applicants can apply to receive an additional 20-cent reimbursement incentive for serving locally grown/raised and unprocessed meal components in addition to the existing Healthy Schools Act (HSA) and Healthy Tots Act (HTA) 5-cent local incentive.
- Track 2: Eligible CNP applicants can apply to receive funding to purchase small kitchen equipment that can be used to process or cook local foods.
- Track 3: Eligible CBO applicants can apply for funding to provide technical assistance (TA) on local and values-based procurement to ECE facilities and public and public charter schools in DC operating CNPs as well as the food service management companies (FSMC) or school meal vendors under contract.
The deadline to submit applications is Tuesday, March 18. The award period for these grants is March 31 through Sept. 30, 2025.
For questions or additional information about the LVPP grant application, contact Melissa Gurevitch, Farm to School Program Specialist, at Melissa.Gurevitch@dc.gov.
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