OSSE Announces My School DC to Receive Cafritz Award for Team Innovation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Fred Lewis

OSSE Announces My School DC to Receive Cafritz Award for Team Innovation

Today, the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) announced that My School DC, which runs the annual DC common school lottery for public and public charter schools at OSSE, will receive the Team Innovation Award through the Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation at the 18th Annual Cafritz Awards Gala on June 20, 2019.

The Team Innovation Award, established in 2016, honors the achievements of work units, groups or teams that develop and implement an ongoing customer-focused initiative that drives innovation in the public sector and produces measurable and sustainable results. The award comes with a $15,000 cash prize and a trophy.

“The My School DC team works year-round and constantly innovates to ensure that families are aware of the schools available to them throughout the city and help them make the best decisions for their children,” said State Superintendent Hanseul Kang. “The My School DC team is certainly deserving of this prestigious award and OSSE is enormously proud of the team’s accomplishments.”

The My School DC team runs the annual school lottery, which has determined placement for new students at all DC Public Schools (DCPS) schools and almost all public charter schools in the District of Columbia since 2014. To help families prepare for the common lottery, the team holds community outreach events and operates the My School DC Hotline, which answers questions about how the lottery works and provides direct support to non-English speakers by way of bilingual staff and interpreters. The team also organizes the annual DC EdFEST, a citywide fair that brings together hundreds of public and public charter schools under one roof so families can explore the city’s public school options, from pre-K to high school, and find the best school for their children.

“Each member of the team believes deeply in the power of a great education to enhance a child’s life, and we believe in the potential of all DC students,” said Catherine Peretti, executive director of My School DC. “While we are a small team, we know our role is impactful and so we focus on great customer service that is responsive and consistent, and developing technology that is on-point to deliver accurate, timely results and actionable data for schools.”

DC is unique in that there are more than 200 public schools and free, universal pre-kindergarten classrooms that are accessed by lottery. Before the My School DC program existed, families seeking to choose a school had to navigate the disparate applications, timelines, and processes of many schools. My School DC helps solve those challenges by making it easier for families in DC to learn about and fairly access their school options.

The My School DC team, which was named a finalist for the Team Innovation Award for the 17th Annual Cafritz Awards, includes Executive Director Peretti, Amy Lerman, Aryan Bocquet, Michele DeSandro, Antoinette Williams, Patricia Etienne Payano, Lisvette Garcia Acosta, and Michelle Yan.

In addition to the My School DC team, Grace Manubay, environmental literacy coordinator in OSSE’s Division of Health and Wellness, was named a finalist for the individual award, which is designed to recognize and reward outstanding performance and exemplary service by DC Government employees.

Click here for more information about My School DC; click here for more information about the Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Awards for Distinguished DC Government employees.

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