From State to Student: The OSSE Blog

DC Student Sets Sights on Curing Sickle Cell Disease

OSSE — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:11:18 +0000

Michael Olujimi

Today, OSSE celebrates World Sickle Cell Day and recognizes the success of 17-year-old Banneker Senior High School junior Michael Olujimi who has sickle cell anemia. For Michael, sickle cell disease isn’t just a disease. The hereditary blood disorder is the motivation driving him to study cell and developmental biology this summer at Cornell University.

Michael’s participation in the six-week and six-credit program at Cornell is courtesy of an original initiative of OSSE: OSSE Scholars. Started in the spring of 2012, OSSE Scholars provides free early college exposure at Ivy League and top-tier universities to high-achieving, low-income public and charter school students in the District. Six other OSSE Scholars will join Michael at Cornell this summer and another 41 participants leave the District over the next two weeks for eye-opening experiences that aim to shape their futures. The other Scholars will attend programs at universities such as Barnard College, Boston University, Duke, Stanford and Emory.

After his study at Cornell and Banneker are complete, Michael sights are set on attending undergraduate and medical school at Johns Hopkins University. He says that college is something he needs to do, and he hopes to eventually become a hematologist – who finds the cure for the lifelong disease that affects 1 in 400 African American newborns.

DC Schools Featured in Dept. of Ed. Early Learning Video

OSSE — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:16:26 +0000

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education released a video on their website for early learning, which features three DC schools as shining examples of early learning. CentroNia, DC Prep, and UDC Early Childhood Lab School were highlighted in the 4-minute video about the benefits of sending your child to pre-school to build social and academic skills. You can view the video below:

For more information on early learning in DC and how to enroll your child in one of our many great schools, click here.

Resources

Gain Recognition for Your School through the HealthierUS School Challenge

OSSE — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:00:54 +0000

The HealthierUS School Challenge (HUSSC) is a voluntary certification established in 2004 to recognize those schools participating in the National School Lunch Program that have created healthier school environments through the promotion of nutrition and physical activity. Monetary incentive awards are available for each HUSSC award level. To date, HUSSC awards have been given to 6,521 schools in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Many schools find that applying for the challenge is a valuable learning process that helps their school wellness team focus on areas needing improvement. We hope your school will join us in this journey and we look forward to celebrating your progress. Find out more about HUSSC criteria and how to apply. If you are interested in applying or have any additional questions, please contact Sr. Program Specialist Noni Robinson.

Summer Meals Kickoff

OSSE — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 05:30:36 +0000

Students gathered at Elsie Whitlow Stokes Community Freedom Public Charter School for the Summer Meals Kickoff assembly where distinguished leaders from government and non-profits spoke about the importance of eating healthy and exercising this summer through the DC Free Summer Meal Program offered by OSSE.

Summer Meals Kickoff Gallery

DC Free Summer Meals Program

2 Years of Excellence: Superintendent Hosanna Mahaley Jones’ Achievements

OSSE — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 17:52:03 +0000

In just two years of oversight by OSSE, a historic milestone took place in the Division of Specialized Education and the Division of Student Transportation (OSSE-DOT). The division exited from Petties v. D.C., a 17 year-long court order, after turning around the student transportation division and meeting both timely transportation services and timely payments to non-public special education schools for our most vulnerable students with special needs.
Successfully exited the Blackman portion of the Blackman-Jones case; where OSSE achieved 90 percent timely administration of due-process hearings for children with special needs.
For the first time, OSSE demonstrated that Pre-K education is valuable to the District and how it has made an impact for students who participated in Pre-K programs and scored higher proficiency rates in the 3rd grade DC CAS in contrast to students who didn’t participate in
Addressed 100% of the 254 findings from past audits and monitoring reports from the U.S. Department of Education’s High-Risk Corrective Action Plan (HR-CAP) since taking over HR-CAP from DCPS and being established as State Education Office in 2007; we only have one outstanding issue to resolve.
Turned around the agency’s inability to disperse grant payments on a regular and timely basis with the establishment of a Grants Compliance Unit.
In FY12, OSSE established the Office of Data Management. Today, we are able to provide reliable data reports, we conducted our first mobility study, provided enrollment projection recommendations, and finally launched the State Longitudinal Education Data System (SLED).
Established the D.C. State Athletic Association (DCSAA) and held several first-ever statewide athletic championships, such as Boys & Girls Cross Country, Soccer, Indoor Track, Basketball, Boys Football, Girls’ Softball, and Boys’ and Girls’ Outdoor Track and Field.
With OSSE’s administration of the Summer Food Service Program, D.C. ranked first in the nation for student participation in breakfast and summer meal programs for the eighth consecutive year.
Administered the inaugural DC CAS for Health and Physical Education to over 11,000 students from 5th Grade, 8th Grade and High School; therefore, making the District the first in the nation to administer a standardized health education exam.
Established the Mayor’s Scholar’s Fund, a local a 100-percent-need-based grant program to provide financial support for low-income District students 18-24 years old currently attending D.C. colleges and universities. For the first time, students attending the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) and the UDC Community College (UDCCC) will also be eligible to receive funding.
Created the OSSE Scholars program – a summer enrichment program where students across the District of Columbia attend competitive summer academic programs at prestigious universities across the nation.
Commissioned an independent investigator to independently investigate the test integrity and security procedures of the annual D.C. Comprehensive Assessment System (DC CAS) administered statewide beginning with the 2011 DC CAS results and further modified the investigatory analysis methodology for the 2012 DC CAS results.
Developed the District of Columbia’s ESEA Waiver application, a Statewide K-12 accountability system, and successfully received the approval one month after final submission. OSSE was recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education for its expansive community engagement in the development of its ESEA Waiver application.
Developed and submitted the Early Learning Standards to the State Board of Education, which was approved by the SBOE in 2013.
Early adopter of Common Core Learning Standards; second in the nation to align reading, language and arts, and mathematics beginning in SY 11-12 and SY12-13.
Increased the number of slots for Pre-K 3 and 4-year-olds in community based organizations and schools, and vastly expanded Part C – Early Intervention, which translates to identifying the needs of more eligible children, providing services at an earlier age, and thereby improving potential for student achievements with service delivery.
Hired an exceptional leadership team, a large number of experienced professionals and reduced high vacancy rates.
Established the first OSSE kickball tournament; first annual parent summit; and expanded/enhanced communication with LEAs.

Congratulations to Our Green Ribbon Schools

OSSE — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 15:06:22 +0000

White House Council on Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Bob Persiacepe, and Deputy Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Janey Thornton joined U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter to congratulate the U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools and District Sustainability Awardees on their achievements at a ceremony in Washington, DC. At the event, 64 schools were honored for their exemplary efforts to reduce environmental impact and costs, promote better health, and ensure effective environmental education, including STEM, green careers and civics. In addition, 14 districts were honored for the first-ever District Sustainability Award. Washington DC’s Mundo Verde Public Charter School, Wilson High School, and Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School were among the awardees. OSSE’s School Garden Specialist, Sam Ullery, assisted the local teams in completing the applications.

You can find more about the Green Ribbon Schools and how you can help your school become more sustainable here:

Green Ribbon Award Ceremony

Thanks for Making Strawberries & Salad Greens Day a Success

OSSE — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 15:00:48 +0000

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) in partnership with food service vendors, DC government, and private organizations worked together to support schools on educating students about local produce and the farm-to-table process on May 29, 2013. A total of 176 schools in the District served locally grown strawberries and salad greens to their students during lunch as a part of the National School Lunch Program. Participation included all 119 DC Public School sites, 55 public charter school campuses and two private schools. Of those schools, 50 hosted educational activities ranging from food demonstrations to nutrition lessons in the classrooms. Local strawberries and salad greens were provided by farms in New Jersey, West Virginia, and North Carolina. All of which are local sources of produce for DC schools according to the D.C. Healthy Schools Act.

For more information, contact Erica Steinhart, RD, Farm to School Specialist via email at Erica.steinhart@dc.gov or phone at (202)262-0893.

Strawberries and Salad Greens Day Gallery

DC Schools Win Grant to Increase Physical Activity During the School Day

OSSE — Thu, 30 May 2013 15:54:17 +0000

A recent report published by the Institute of Medicine, Educating the Student Body: Taking Physical Activity and Physical Education to School, confirms the benefits of adding physical activity to the school day. In DC, the Healthy Schools Act provides funding for schools to increase their physical activity before, during and after the school day through the DC Physical Activity for Youth (DC PAY) grant program. Congratulations to the 2013 winners of the DC PAY grant! This grant cycle was extremely competitive; all applicants should be commended for focusing on the health and wellness of their student population. The 2013 grantees are:

Banneker High School
Beers Elementary
Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan
Community Academy – Butler, Community Academy – Amos 1
Deal Middle School
C Bilingual
Eagle Academy
EL Haynes PCS
Garrison Elementary
Jefferson Academy
KIPP WILL
KIPP – Benning Road
Mamie D Lee School
Marie Reed Elementary
Maury Elementary, Miner Elementary
Mundo Verde PCS, National Collegiate Prep
Potomac Lighthouse PCS
Raymond Education Campus
Shining Stars Montessori
Washington Yu Ying PCS
Watkins Elementary

Click here for more information about the DC PAY grant program.

DC School Gardens Bike Tour

OSSE — Tue, 28 May 2013 18:50:33 +0000

We hope you will join us for a beautiful day of school gardens and biking while helping out a local school garden in a tangible way! OSSE’s School Garden Program and BicycleSPACE will co-sponsor a bike tour around DC to visit some of our many school gardens. This is a great opportunity to learn about some of the wonderful school gardens in the city and help make a big difference for some lucky kids. Over the course of the event, we will eat a tasty breakfast generously provided by Whole Foods Market P Street and have the opportunity to transplant seedlings from Slow Food DC at one of the gardens. Additionally, we will learn from each school about a project they need to accomplish in order to make their garden an even better learning environment. As the tour goes on, we would like you to keep in mind which school inspires you the most, or looks to have the most potential. And, at the last school, over a delicious free lunch from Chipotle, we will request donations and then vote on which school’s project will receive all of what has been collected. You will decide which school will benefit!

Resources:

Produce Safety a Top Priority When Serving Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in DC Schools

OSSE — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:30:14 +0000

Increased funding through the USDA Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program and the Healthy Schools Act have increased farm-to-school initiatives, school gardens, and the amount of fresh produce being served in schools in DC. Along with all of the excitement about these initiatives has come concern about potential food safety risks associated with these activities. This prompted USDA to develop Produce Safety University. Erica Steinhart and Noni Robinson of OSSE’s Wellness and Nutrition Services Division recently attended Produce Safety University where they learned how to mitigate food safety risks in fresh produce. They have returned to DC prepared to pass this information along to the LEAs and to help them safely process and serve fresh fruits and vegetables in the schools. Visit OSSE’s website to learn more about the DC Farm to School Initiative and if you are an elementary schools that serves meals in the national school lunch program, apply for additional subsidies to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to your students.