When is the application deadline?
The deadline for the first round of applications is March 16, 2018. After this date, applications will be reviewed on a “first received, first funded” bases until all available funds have been awarded.
What is the timeline for processing the application and scheduling the bus transportation?
Applications will be processed in 20 business days. Applications submitted with field experience dates within the 20 day window will be returned for a revised date.
What does the application look like?
The application is a simple, one-page online form that takes about 10 minutes to complete. You must be able to provide the following information:
- Name of school
- Mailing address of school
- Principal name, phone, and email
- Contact person name, phone, and email
- Name of the location of the field trip: this is your destination, such as “Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens”
- Destination address: this must be within 35 miles of Washington, DC
- Field experience date
- Is this program self-guided? If not:
- Name of program provider/partner, contact person name, phone, and email
- Have you confirmed the availability of date?
- Departure time from school (earliest time is 9:30 a.m.)
- Arrival time to school (return) (latest time is 1:30 p.m.)
- Discipline of the program the students will attend: choose the category from a drop down list that best describes the program:
- Air (includes air quality, climate change)
- Water (includes stormwater, rivers, aquatic wildlife)
- Land (includes plants, soil, urban planning, terrestrial wildlife)
- Resource Conservation (includes energy, waste, recycling)
- Health (includes outdoor physical activity, gardens, food)
- Other (please describe)
- Short description of the field experience
- Short description of how the experience connects with what students are learning in the classroom
- Short description of learning standards addressed with the field experience (at least one, no more than three)
- Short description of how students will reflect upon what they learned from the field experience, including how and when they will share the reflection
- Number of students attending the field experience (minimum of 20)
- Number of chaperones attending the field experience (no greater than 45 passengers)
- Have these students participated in an environmental field experience this school year? If yes, please describe.
- By typing your name and clicking “submit” below, you certify that you are the person to testify as to the accuracy of this application. You also agree that OSSE is not liable for damages or injuries that result from participating in this program, and will return the agreement within 10 business days of notification of acceptance.
My school received bus transportation assistance last school year (2016-17). Can we apply again?
Yes, all schools are eligible to receive transportation assistance for one environmental field experience per school year.
Someone else in my school already received bus transportation assistance for this school year. Can I apply too?
No. Each school can only receive transportation assistance for one environmental field experience per school year.
What qualifies as an “environmental field experience”?
Eligible environmental field experience sites will support Environmental Literacy Framework in the following areas:
- Air (includes air quality, climate change)
- Water (includes stormwater, rivers, aquatic wildlife)
- Land (includes plants, soil, urban planning, terrestrial wildlife)
- Resource Conservation (includes energy, waste, recycling)
- Health (includes outdoor physical activity, gardens, food)
- Other (please describe)
Experiences may include visiting a recycling center, an environmental research facility, or the site of an environmental restoration project.
Can we get assistance to travel to a destination outside of Washington, DC?
Yes, travel to a destination in Maryland or Virginia is permitted as long as the location is within 35 miles of Washington, DC.
We want to go on more than one field experience in 2017-18. Can we submit another application for transportation assistance?
No. Each school can only receive transportation assistance for one environmental field experience per school year.
How will we know that OSSE received our application?
Once you have successfully submitted your online application, a confirmation screen will appear.
How will we know if our application was approved or not?
The first round of applications closes on March 16, 2018. You will receive an email from OSSE within one week from this date telling you whether your application has been approved. After this date, applications will be reviewed beginning on April 2, 2018 on a “first received, first funded” bases until all available funds have been awarded. You will be notified within one week of submitting your application whether or not the application has been approved.
How do we get the money for the bus transportation?
OSSE’s Division of Student Transportation is providing the transportation shuttles. The school will not receive funds for transportation through a bus company that is not provided by OSSE.
We submitted our contract but have not yet received our payment. Where is the money?
OSSE reimburses the Division of Student Transportation directly. The school will not receive funds or reimbursement for transportation through a bus company that is not provided by OSSE.
Who arranges for the bus and pays the bus company?
OSSE arranges for the bus and coordinates payment. You must notify OSSE within 10 business days for any changes to the field experience schedule. Failure to do so may result in forfeiture of the transportation assistance.
Who can I contact for more information?
Grace Manubay (environmental literacy coordinator) via email at [email protected] or by phone at (202) 654-6116.