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New: SY2024-25 School Health Profiles – Certified PDFs Now Available for Download
The School Health Profile (SHP) for schools in your LEA are ready for download. Please log in to the SHP application using the instructions below. Please note, all schools have been notified that the Healthy School Act of 2010 (HSA) requires each public and public charter school to post the information online if the school has a website and make the form available to parents in the school office.
Download Instructions:
- Log in to the SHP application using your existing user credentials.
- Click on "School Health Profile for current school year," which will show you a list of all schools within your LEA.
- To download an individual school’s PDF, click on the school name and then click on the blue download icon on the top right corner of the school profile page.
- Select "Certified Survey (PDF)," and the PDF will automatically download to your computer.
Please ensure the SHP is published by the end of day Friday, April 25. The SHPs for all schools are also published on the OSSE Healthy Schools Act School Health Profiles website as required by the HSA.
Please email OSSE.SchoolHealth@dc.gov if you have any questions or concerns.
Deadline Extended: Discipline Data Collection Feedback Survey Closing Friday, April 25
OSSE appreciates the time and effort LEAs put into the annual discipline collection and is looking for ways to improve our processes while maintaining compliance with local and federal legislation. To assist with this effort, OSSE would like to learn more about how LEAs are collecting and storing required discipline data prior to submitting to OSSE as part of the data validation process.
Multiple people from each LEA are invited to participate, as OSSE is interested in gaining insights from multiple perspectives. To participate, follow this link: Discipline Data Collection Feedback SY 24-25. The survey will remain open until Friday, April 25 to allow as many LEAs as possible to participate.
Additionally, OSSE will offer the opportunity to share feedback 1-on-1 or in a focus group. Please use the survey link above to indicate your interest in participation.
DC Health Measles Resources for Schools and Child Development Facilities (Reminder)
With measles cases reported in several states, DC Health has developed resources for schools and child development facilities including Frequently Asked Questions, a Measles Fact Sheet and a Letter to Education Partners that provides guidance and a form that schools and child development facilities can use to report cases of measles to DC Health. If you have additional questions, please contact the Immunization Division at doh.immunization@dc.gov or (202) 576-7130. For questions related to disease reporting and outbreaks, visit here.
Nominate an Outstanding DC Educator (Reminder)
OSSE is searching for outstanding educators from across the District to be considered for a variety of awards, including the 2026 DC Teacher of the Year and the DC Educator Talent Pool. We are seeking nominations for excellent educators who:
- Inspire and accelerate growth for all students
- Build strong partnerships with families and communities
- Champion the teaching profession
Administrators, colleagues, LEA and school staff, parents, students, and community members can all submit nominations. Self-nominations are also acceptable. Please complete the 2025-26 District of Columbia Outstanding Educator Nomination Form by Friday, May 23.
Nominees will be notified on a rolling basis. For a teacher to be eligible for consideration, they must be a current teacher in a DC public school or public charter school and must plan to continue as a teacher in DC for the 2025-26 school year. For questions, please contact Megan.Dumond@dc.gov.
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New: Center for Health and Health Care in Schools Focus Groups
Calling all DC public and public charter school behavioral health providers. As part of OSSE's Advancing the Recruitment and Retention of Our Workforce (ARROW) program, we are partnering with the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools (CHHCS) to create a school behavioral health provider peer mentor program.
CHHCS will hold two sets of virtual focus groups with early career and experienced school-based behavioral health providers to understand what structure, content, and skills would best support their career growth and development.
The first set of focus groups are targeted to early career school-based behavioral health providers (fewer than three years of experience) and the second set to experienced school-based behavioral health providers (three or more years of experience). If you’d like to participate, please click on your preferred date below to register.
Early Career School-Based Behavioral Health Providers
Experienced School-Based Behavioral Health Providers
Retention initiatives implemented through ARROW will support all DC public and public charter school-based providers through trainings, technical assistance, and mentorship and peer-to-peer support opportunities. As a valued member of the District’s school-based behavioral health workforce, your partnership and voice will aid OSSE in ensuring that all offerings meet providers’ needs and support the growth and development of our workforce.
New: April LEA Special Education Points of Contact Webinar, Wednesday, April 23
On Wednesday, April 23, from 10-11 a.m., OSSE will host the quarterly webinar training for all LEA Special Education POCs (LEA SPED POCs). During this training, OSSE will provide important information relevant to your role as the LEA SPED POC. The agenda will include the following:
- Policy reminders and updates;
- Special education monitoring reminders and updates;
- Teaching and learning reminders and updates;
- Special programs reminders and updates;
- Nonpublic placement reminders and updates;
- Transportation updates; and
- Reminders and announcements.
All LEA SPED POCs should plan to participate in each scheduled webinar, as well as share the content, updates, and announcements with relevant staff within your LEA. If you have not already signed up for the 2024-25 webinar series, please register here.
If you have any questions about this webinar, please contact LaShonda Wilson Carter at LaShonda.Wilson@dc.gov.
New: K-2 Evidence-Based Reading Instruction: Small Group Strategies for Multilingual Learners, Wednesday, May 14
In this session, kindergarten to second grade teachers will learn strategies for teaching culturally and linguistically responsive small group lessons to multilingual early readers. Participants will learn how to incorporate students’ language assets and needs into phonemic awareness, phonics, and decodable book instruction. Participants will also see effective and linguistically responsive reading instruction in action from a local teacher.
When: Wednesday, May 14, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Where: OSSE, 1050 First St. NE
Attendees will receive 2 professional learning units (PLUs) for their participation. Register here.
For more information, contact Francesca Smith, Multilingual Specialist, at Francesca.Smith@dc.gov.
New: K-2 Evidence-Based Reading Instruction: Small Group Strategies in Spanish, Wednesday, May 21
In this session, kindergarten to second grade dual language teachers will learn strategies for teaching culturally and linguistically responsive small group lessons to multilingual learners in Spanish. Participants will learn how to incorporate language acquisition and comprehension into early reading small group lessons. Participants will also see video examples of small group instruction from a local dual language teacher. The session will be facilitated in Spanish.
When: Wednesday, May 21, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
Where: OSSE, 1050 First St. NE
Attendees will receive 2 PLUs for their participation. Register here.
For more information, contact Francesca Smith, Multilingual Specialist, at Francesca.Smith@dc.gov.
New: Your Money, Your Life Financial Empowerment Summit, Wednesday, April 30
The DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB), OSSE, and the DC Financial Literacy Council cordially invite you to participate in the Your Money, Your Life Financial Empowerment Summit on Wednesday, April 30 from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (901 G St. NW). This event will empower District residents and educators with resources on how to sustain and grow wealth in DC.
DC educators and school personnel are welcome to participate in the event’s Educator Track, in collaboration with OSSE, in an effort to connect teachers to Financial Literacy resources and organizations. This event will be especially useful for educators who currently teach or are planning to teach Financial Literacy courses. Educators who attend the event are eligible for up to 3 PLUs. For questions, please contact Megan Dumond at Megan.Dumond@dc.gov.
Please register for the Financial Empowerment Summit at tinyurl.com/YMYL25.
New: Financial Education Panel Opportunity - Money Talks, Thursday, April 24
If you teach Personal Finance or Economics in the DC area, you are invited to join the Greater Washington Area Jump$tart for "Money Talks," an evening of dinner, discussion, and networking.
Learn from an expert panel of financial education professionals and dive into practical teaching strategies with hands-on demonstrations from Dr. Stephen Day from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and James Redelsheimer from The Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). Explore FEE’s award-winning Personal Finance curriculum, packed with engaging, ready-to-use resources that make financial education more impactful, relevant, and exciting for your students.
When: Thursday, April 24, 6-8:30 p.m.
Where: Mitchell Sandler Law Office, 2020 K St. NW
What: A panel discussion, lesson plans, and networking opportunities
Register here.
2025 Summer Institute for Garden-Based Teaching Application Now Open (Reminder)
The Summer Institute for Garden-Based Teaching is a four-day training from July 15-18 and consists of 30 hours of intensive in-person training for K-5 District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and public charter school teachers.
This training is free for all participants. Apply here.
Applicants will receive notification of acceptance on a rolling basis until the training is full.
For more information visit the Summer Institute for Garden-Based Teaching webpage.
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Community of Practice (CoP) for Educators and Instructional Leaders! (Reminder)
OSSE is excited to introduce a new Community of Practice (CoP) designed specifically to support teachers and instructional leaders in effectively implementing the DC K-Adult SEL Standards.
The SEL CoP will provide educators with a collaborative environment to exchange best practices, strengthen adult SEL strategies, address challenges through discussions of Problems of Practice, and enhance the integration of SEL in the classroom. This CoP will also help OSSE plan effective professional learning and provide appropriate resources.
CoP participants will:
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Beginning Wednesday, April 30, engage in three monthly CoP meetings scheduled for the last Wednesday of each month, from 4-5:30 p.m.
- Explore Problems of Practice and obstacles that school staff face with SEL integration.
- Learn about ongoing professional learning opportunities and resources to support school needs.
- Provide insights on OSSE SEL artifacts and resources to inform implementation support.
- Be part of a supportive network of instructional leaders that values equity, student success, and whole-child development.
Audience:
This professional learning opportunity is available to all teachers, instructional coaches, and educational leaders within public and public charter schools in the District.
To learn more about this opportunity, contact Marcus Hughes with the OSSE Division of Teaching and Learning (TAL) at Marcus.Hughes@dc.gov. If you are interested in enrolling, please complete the registration link.
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New: ESSER Annual Reporting Discontinued
The US Department of Education (USED) has announced that it has discontinued ESSER annual reporting. OSSE will not have to submit data this year or provide any ESSER reporting in the future. The USED announcement stated: “The U.S. Department of Education has discontinued annual performance reporting (APR) for ESSER and, as a result, we will not collect APR data for FY 2024 and any years after.”
OSSE has discontinued its corresponding LEA ESSER data collection. If your LEA received an email to submit corrections, please disregard. LEA leaders will no longer need to certify ESSER reporting data.
Thank you for your commitment to investing ESSER funds to accelerate student learning and for your partnership in providing the data for this collection over the last several years.
For questions, please contact the OSSE ESSER team at OSSE.ESSER@dc.gov.
New: FY24 ESEA Carryover Funds Now Available in EGMS, Submit Budget Amendments by Saturday, May 31
LEAs can now access their FY24 carryover funds on Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Titles I-A, II-A, III-A and IV-A grants via their FY25 ESEA Consolidated Applications (ConApps) in the Enterprise Grants Management System (EGMS).
All LEAs that had FY24 carryover funds awarded on one or more of the four Title grants should review their carryover amounts by clicking on the “Funding Distribution” tab in their FY25 ConApp in EGMS.
LEAs must submit budget amendments on their FY25 ConApp to reflect carryover funds by Saturday, May 31. Resources to support your grant application and grant program are available on OSSE’s ESEA website.
For questions or additional information about ESEA, please contact the team at Con.App@dc.gov.
SOAR Facilities Competition Now Open – Applications Due Friday, May 23 (Reminder)
The Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act Facilities Grant competition is now open for applications in EGMS. The request for applications (RFA) provides an overview of the grant, important dates, and application requirements.
The purpose of the funds is to support the improvement and expansion of high-quality public charter schools in DC. Applications must be submitted online in EGMS no later than 3 p.m. on Friday, May 23. Please see the RFA for more information on eligibility criteria.
Pre-application webinars were held on April 8 and 10. The recording and slide deck are now available on the SOAR Facilities webpage.
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April 2025
May 2025
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