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DC Educator Workforce Summit

OSSE’s 2026 DC Educator Workforce Summit:
Innovating to Develop Excellent Educators

#GrowGreatTeachersDC

Interested in attending?
Register here.

About the Event

The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) in collaboration with the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME) will host the 2026 DC Educator Workforce Summit on Monday, May 11, 2026 at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library.

This year’s convening highlights innovations and inventive structures DC’s local education agencies (LEAs) and educator preparation providers (EPPs), teachers, school leaders and workforce development organizations are leveraging to develop and retain excellent educators. Through roundtable discussions, data-driven workshops, panels and networking opportunities attendees will engage in a series of interactive sessions covering the following topics:

  • New Teacher Pathways and Induction, highlighting innovative approaches to preparing, supporting, and retaining early career educators.
  • Instructional Excellence, emphasizing strategies that deepen teachers’ content expertise and address content-specific workforce needs across DC.
  • Leadership Pathways, showcasing staffing and development models that expand leadership opportunities for educators at all stages of their careers.
  • Positive Culture and Climate, promoting conditions for teaching and learning through positive, inclusive, safe and supportive school environments.
  • Strategic Staffing, uplifting how schools and LEAs strategically organize people, time, and resources to maximize student learning and strengthen school operations.

Agenda

9-10 a.m. | Check-In and Networking Breakfast
10-10:15 a.m. | Opening Remarks and Summit Goals
10:15-11 a.m. | Teacher Voice Panel
11:10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. | Concurrent Roundtables and Workshops
1:30-2:15 p.m. | Lunch
2:15-3:30 p.m. | Concurrent Roundtables and Workshops
3:40-4:30 p.m. | Whole Group Debrief and Closing Remarks
4:30-6 p.m. | OSSE Educator Awards Ceremony (This is a ticketed event. Please note interest when registering for the summit.)

Abuot OSSE’s 2025 DC Educator Workforce Summit

DC Educator Workforce Summit Banner GraphicOn Monday, June 2, 2025, OSSE hosted its first DC Educator Workforce Summit at University of the District of Columbia Student Center. This special-invitation event convened education leaders from to collaboratively address bolstering the local educator pipeline.

Together, attendees

  • Generated data-driven insights using OSSE citywide data to create a shared understanding of DC’s current educator workforce landscape trends and areas of opportunity.
  • Elevated preparation and mentorship by analyzing how to evaluate new teacher readiness and provide ongoing, embedded support structures such as mentorship, coaching, and targeted professional development.
  • Bolstered the pipeline of locally trained educators by discussing strategies to increase the number of DC EPP completers recruited and selected to teach in DC schools.

Attendees participated in the following interactive sessions:

  • Sustaining DC’s Workforce Diversity Through Inquiry, Innovation, and Partnership, focusing on the historical strengths and trends of DC’s educator workforce diversity, recruitment strategies, and opportunities for improvement and innovation.
  • Ready to Teach All: Rethinking Special Education Preparation for Today’s Classrooms, focusing on barriers, opportunities, and cooperative strategies for increasing the number of new teachers best prepared to teach students with disabilities in DC.
  • Preparing Candidates for Selection Season: Panel and Reflection, focusing on the cadence of hiring season, top priorities of hiring managers when evaluating candidates, and the competencies strong candidates and completers should be prepared to demonstrate.
  • What Does a Well-Prepared DC Teacher Know, Do, and Believe? Designing Quality Clinical Experiences, focusing on developing effective first-year DC teachers, growth areas for clinical experience, and opportunities for collaboration among EPPs, LEAs, and OSSE.
  • From Learners to Leaders: Building a Mentorship Pipeline Through Coaching and Connection, focusing on building a strong mentorship pipeline by recruiting alumni residents to support current residents.
  • From Within: Cultivating a Pipeline from One-on-One Aide to Classroom Leader, focusing on strategies and competency-based structures to support teacher candidates on their journey to becoming lead teachers.
  • From Learning to Leading: Empowering Assistant Teachers Through Training, Mentorship, and Collaboration, focusing on supporting assistant teachers’ professional growth toward classroom leadership through classroom training and guidance from lead teachers.
  • Building the Pipeline: How One LEA Expands Impact and Retains Top Talent, focusing on innovations to the traditional teaching role to afford the strongest teachers opportunities for increased flexibility and expanded impact beyond the classroom.

OSSE Educator Workforce Resources

Featured Speakers

Photo of Superintendent Mitchell

 

State Superintendent of Education Dr. Antoinette Mitchell

 

 

 

Deputy Mayor for Education Paul Kihn

 

 

 

 

Elizabeth Ross, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning
 

 

Contact

For any questions regarding this event, please email Dr. Caroline Decaire-Goldin, Director of Teaching and Learning, at [email protected].

For more detailed information about OSSE educator workforce programs, resources, and initiatives, please visit OSSE Educator Pipelines, Preparation and Supports page.

 

Related Content: 
OSSE Educator Pipelines, Preparation and Supports

More Resources