2025-26 School Climate Enhancement Microgrant Application
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), in partnership with Ed Forward DC and the Flamboyan Foundation, is pleased to announce the upcoming 2025-26 School Climate Enhancement Microgrant. This grant will support schools in using data to establish or enhance a sustainable, school-wide approach to social and emotional learning (SEL), ultimately contributing to an improved school climate. By leveraging data-informed strategies, schools can make a meaningful and positive impact within their communities.
Preview application here: School Climate Enhancement Microgrant Application
School Climate Enhancement Microgrant Details
- Purpose: To establish or enhance a comprehensive approach to SEL and school climate that is integrated throughout the entire school community and designed for sustainability over time. This process will involve utilizing the DC Survey About Your School (DC SAYS) school climate data to identify specific areas of need and to drive targeted, meaningful, and systemic enhancements in policies, practices, and culture, in collaboration with key stakeholders. Priority points will be awarded to schools whose projects and initiatives are explicitly targeted at supporting middle school students, high school students, and/or students with disabilities.
- Eligible Entities: To be eligible for a grant, an applicant must:
- Be a school within a public or public charter DC LEA that participated in the 2023–24 DC SAYS and
- Not have previously been awarded a 2024-25 microgrant
- Application Window: TBD
- Award Amount: Up to $50,000 per school
- Funds may be used to: Review Allowable and Unallowable Funds Usage
- Grantee Requirements:
- Submit mid-year and final progress report.
- Track microgrant implementation progress and adjustments in accordance with OSSE.
- Participate in all microgrant meetings, including the microgrant launch meeting in September 2025.
- Schedule at least one monitoring visit conducted by OSSE.
- Send at least one school representative to the OSSE SEL Community of Practice bi-monthly meetings.
- Contribute to the Learning Brief, published in the summer 2026, by completing all requested surveys and focus groups in spring 2026.
Background
OSSE partnered with Ed Forward DC to select 2023-24 OSSE School Climate and Culture Advisory Cohort members, with microgrants to build the capacity of their school community to understand, utilize, and respond to the results from the spring 2024 Panorama survey administration on school culture and climate.
The following schools were grantees of the 2023-24 OSSE School Climate Enhancement Microgrant:
- Academy of Hope Adult Public Charter School
- Capital City PCS – High School
- District of Columbia International Public Charter School
- Brookland Middle School
- Cardozo Education Campus
- Columbia Heights Education Campus
- John Lewis Elementary School
- Lorraine H. Whitlock Elementary School
- McKinley Technology High School
- Powell Bilingual Elementary School
- Raymond Elementary School
- Stanton Elementary School
- Friendship Online Public Charter School
- Friendship Public Charter School – Collegiate Academy High School
- Friendship Public Charter School – Technology Preparatory Academy High School
- Maya Angelou Academy at Youth Services Center (DYRS)
- Maya Angelou Public Charter School High School
- Sela Public Charter School
- Washington Yu Ying Public Charter School
2024-2025 School Climate Enhancement Microgrant Learning Brief
In the fall of 2024, OSSE released the School Climate Enhancement Microgrant Learning Brief, which summarizes key insights from the microgrant projects. The brief offers strategies and practical examples to help all DC schools prepare, effectively address, and respond to their results from the statewide administration of the DC Survey About Your School (DC SAYS).
OSSE School Climate Enhancement Microgrant Learning Brief
For any questions or concerns regarding the microgrant or the application process, contact Marcus B. Hughes, School Culture & Climate Specialist, at [email protected].