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NEW: OSSE Seeks DC Educators for 2026–27 Statewide Assessment Development Opportunities
OSSE is seeking educators to participate in statewide assessment development activities during the 2026–27 school year. Educator expertise is essential to ensuring DC’s assessments are valid, fair, rigorous, and reflective of the knowledge and skills students are expected to demonstrate.
Selected educators may have opportunities to participate in activities such as item and content review, bias and sensitivity review, range-finding, data review, standard setting, and other assessment development work across English language arts/literacy (ELA), mathematics, science, alternate assessments, and English language proficiency assessments.
Educators from a range of grade levels, content areas, and professional roles are encouraged to apply. Prior assessment development experience is not required; selected participants will receive event-specific training and guidance. Individual events may require approximately three to five school days and may be held virtually or in person. Depending on the event, participants may be eligible for a daily stipend or Professional Learning Units (PLUs), and substitute reimbursement may be available to LEAs.
Educators interested in being considered for assessment development and standard-setting opportunities throughout the 2026–27 school year should complete the OSSE Educator Recruitment Application by Friday, Dec. 4. For additional questions, please contact Yolanda Barber at Yolanda.Barber@dc.gov.
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NEW: Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Instructional Community of Practice (CoP)
OSSE will continue its SEL CoP for the 2026–27 school year. These convenings will serve as the primary professional learning framework for the District of Columbia in advancing the integration of SEL across various academic domains.
Beginning in September 2026, the CoP will convene bi-monthly, bringing together instructional leaders from both LEAs and schools to enhance their capacity to incorporate SEL into literacy, mathematics, social studies, leadership practices, wellness strategies, and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS).
CoP participants will:
- Engage in bi-monthly CoP meetings scheduled from 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., held in person at the OSSE building located at 1050 First St. NE.
- Engage in evidence-based instructional models, practical tools, and exemplars suitable for direct implementation by educators.
- Explore ways to incorporate District-wide data sources, tools, and resources, such as DC Survey About Your School (DCSAYS) data.
To learn more about this opportunity, please click on the registration link for each session or contact Marcus Hughes with OSSE’s Division of Teaching and Learning at Marcus.Hughes@dc.gov.
NEW: Capital LEAF (Leaders in Environmental Actions for our Future) Webinar, Oct. 8
OSSE is pleased to relaunch Capital LEAF (Leaders in Environmental Actions for our Future) for the 2026-27 school year!
Capital LEAF supports schools on their journey to be green, healthy, and sustainable. This initiative provides schools with guidance, training, and technical assistance to increase sustainability and environmental education efforts and empower youth to take actions that will reduce environmental impact and improve the health and wellness of their school and community. Capital LEAF is a self-directed program with the flexibility to support the interests, time, and capacity of teachers, staff, and students.
OSSE will host an informational webinar on Thursday, Oct. 8 from 4-5 p.m. Teachers, staff, and interested students are encouraged to attend. Please register here or contact Grace.Manubay@dc.gov with questions.
NEW: OSSE and DC Health School Immunization Webinar, Oct. 14
OSSE and DC Health will hold a technical assistance webinar on implementing the School Year 2026-27 School Immunization Policy on Wednesday, Oct. 14, from 1 to 2 p.m. The webinar will cover October key dates for the current school year, performing immunization data entry and retrieval, sending warning notifications of temporary exclusion to all families of noncompliant students in key grades, and potential vaccine opportunities. This webinar is required for Immunization Points of Contact (IPOCs), and school nurses. LEA and school leaders and any other school staff involved in immunizations should plan to attend. Please Register here.
NEW: School Behavioral Health 101 for School Leaders, Oct. 28
How are you supporting mental health and wellbeing in your school? Join OSSE on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 1 p.m. for School Behavioral Health 101. This presentation is designed for school leaders and leadership teams in public and public charter schools in the District. It’s especially helpful if you are a new school leader, are looking for a refresher on school behavioral health, or want to learn about new tools being shared this year. Participants will learn about available resources for your school, professional learning opportunities, and best practices and practical tips for employing a strong comprehensive school behavioral health system.
Please register here to participate.
Questions? Reach out to Celeste Brown, School Behavioral Health Outreach Specialist, at Celeste.Brown@dc.gov.
Restorative Learning Fall 2026 Professional Development, Multiple Dates (Reminder)
This fall, Restorative DC is offering professional learning and planning opportunities to help DC educators in implementing restorative practices during the school year. Sessions will address building community, reducing chronic absenteeism, responding to student behavior, using data to inform practice, and sustaining a restorative culture. All sessions will be held in person at Charles Sumner School, with follow-up virtual coaching sessions provided.
For more information and to register, please visit the event website. For questions, please email Jessica.Dulay@dc.gov.
 NEW: FY27 SOAR Formula Application Now Available
The consolidated application for the fiscal year 2027 (FY27) Scholarships for Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Act Formula grant programs, which include SOAR Academic Quality and SOAR Early Childhood, is now available in the Enterprise Grants Management System (EGMS). The award period for these grants is July 1, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2027. All eligible expenses incurred during this period may be submitted for reimbursement after applications have been approved. The deadline for public charter LEAs to submit applications is 3 p.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 5.
LEAs are invited to attend a pre-application webinar at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8. Please register to attend here. The webinar will provide an overview of the purposes of the SOAR Formula grant programs and instructions on how to complete the application in EGMS.
For questions or additional information about the FY27 SOAR Formula Consolidated application, contact your LEA’s OSSE SOAR program contact.
FY26 SOAR Formula Reporting Template Now Available (Reminder)
As shared during the post-award webinar in April, public charter LEAs will submit only a final narrative report for FY26 SOAR Formula Academic Quality and Early Childhood grants.
The final report template is now available on the SOAR Formula webpage. The questions in the template are similar to previous years but were streamlined to reflect one summative report. The deadline to email the completed report to your LEA’s OSSE SOAR program contact is Friday, Nov. 20.
For any questions, please reach out to your LEA’s OSSE SOAR program contact or OPCSFS.Funding@dc.gov.
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September 2026
October 2026
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