This Month at the DC Alliance
September 2026
SY2026-27 is now in full swing and the DC Alliance is here to support you and your teams this year. Below is a list of our programming this month. Please contact the POC listed if you have any questions or would like to be added to the invite.
Sept 8, 11am: Informational Session on the DBH School-Based Behavioral Health Program Rollout for SY26-27, with a focus on the clinical models and what these changes mean for schools. POC: Michele McKenzie
Sept 10, 1:30pm: DCCSA and PCSB co-hosted bi-weekly Safety calls resume with MPD, DMPSJ, DME & Metro Transit. POC: Michele McKenzie
Sept 11, 11am: Grant and Development Leaders Meetings resume. POC: Rachel Johnston
Sept 17, 9am: SBAC Interim Assessment Session #1. Full series details here. POC: Noah Dougherty
Sept 22, 11am: Next monthly Finance leaders meeting, POC: Rachel Johnston
Sept 30, 11am: Call with DC Health, DC PCSB, and OSSE for each agency to share relevant school health updates and for school leaders to have a space to ask questions. POC: Rachel Johnston
Sept 30, 1pm: Quarterly Academic Leaders Meeting. POC: Noah Dougherty
Council returns from their recess on September 15. The first education-related hearing is on Thursday, September 24 at 10am. The Committee on Health is holding a hearing on three bills related to student health certificates. For more details on the bills and to register, click here. The DC Alliance will distribute talking points via email.
Councilmember Lewis George is hosting ward-based listening sessions to hear directly from DC residents about what's going well in DC, what could be better, and what the DC government could be doing better. This is a chance to make sure public charter voices are heard as she continues shaping her thinking on education policy and leadership in DC. The link to talking points, a list of dates and registration links are here.
And lastly, check out the new or recently updated resources in the Member Portal
Charter Insights Dashboard (only for LEA Leader access): This will be updated with FY26 Q4 Financial Data and CAPE data by mid-September
Changes to SNAP and the impact on Schools & Families (under the Student Support content area): This resource has been updated with the information about the recent US Dept of Homeland Security Public Charge ruling
Get Involved
There are many ways to get involved, whether you are looking for opportunities to advocate for your students and community or collaborate with other LEA leaders and the DC Alliance team. Here are some great ways to get started:
Check out our meeting spaces list for opportunities to connect, share, and grow with leaders from LEAs across the sector.
Head to the advocacy page for opportunities to get involved and resources to help. Or get started with these:
Navigation
Watch the video tutorial for a quick tour of the website
All resources are provided through clickable links that will take you directly to the listed resource. Each resource is categorized by type of resource. Here is a quick breakdown of all resource types with a brief description:
Use the navigation menu in the top right to:
return to the home page
navigate between specific content area pages to see announcements, upcoming opportunities, and content-area resources
return to this help section
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Help & Navigation
Help
Reach out to Rachel (rjohnston@dccharters.org) if you have any questions or are having any issues with the Member Portal.
I’m not sure who to reach out to with a question:
If you can’t find a resource you’re looking for or have a separate question, you can see to whom to turn and reach out directly.