The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is pleased to relaunch Capital LEAF 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. Participation in Capital LEAF can:

• Reduce schools’ and the District’s environmental footprint, conserve resources, decrease consumption and waste, and create green school settings, a healthy indoor environment, and a culture of sustainability;
• Appropriately connect curricula with operations and facilities management, encourage collaboration between teachers, administrators; and community stakeholders to improve students’ experiences and integrate learning-in-action; and
• Empower students to use the knowledge and skills gained through these experiences to make informed choices and generate positive change in their households and community.

By participating in Capital LEAF, schools implement activities and track progress on their journey to develop a green and healthy school environment. Schools engage students, staff, and the community to collect evidence, document changes in school culture, and celebrate successes. The program is designed to support requirements of the DC Healthy Schools Act, DC Environmental Literacy Plan, Sustainable DC 2.0, and the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.

How to Get Involved

• Register your school to participate
• Meet with OSSE to discuss your school’s current green school efforts and potential actions for the future
• Access resources below or connect with a provider for support
• Use the Capital LEAF Passport to track green, healthy, and sustainable activities students and staff complete during the school year (coming soon)
• In June, complete the Capital LEAF Yearly Update and share your school’s progress (link coming soon)

Eligible schools will be recognized for their achievements the following fall.

Resource Pages for Focus Areas
The following webpages include ideas for lesson plans, student audits and actions, celebratory events, and additional information for each topic.

• Energy: Measures and analyzes ways to conserve energy and reduce our carbon footprint, such as energy consumption, emissions, and climate change.
• Health and Nutrition: Promotes healthy lifestyles, including nutrition, physical activity, mental health, and school climate.
• Physical Environment: Identifies relationships between human health and buildings, such as indoor air quality, drinking water, and cleaning products.
• Schoolyard Habitat: Promotes watershed health and landscaping that supports biodiversity, while encouraging outdoor learning spaces.
• Transportation: Identifies and promotes safe and alternative ways to get to school.
• Waste: Promotes the “4-Rs” of refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle; also includes composting. 

Additional Information 

Capital LEAF was developed in partnership with the Department of General Services, the Department of Energy and Environment, DC Public Schools, and the DC Environmental Education Consortium. In 2020, six District schools piloted the application materials and the Environmental Literacy Leadership Cadre helped create the resource pages.