January Newsletter

In this newsletter you’ll find:
*Annual Report: My 1st Year On the SBOE
*SBOE Update
*News You Can Use
*What’s Happening in Ward 7: Upcoming Community Events & Info
*Grants & Community Resources
*Catching Up in the Community

I look forward to continue working with the Ward 7 Community to continue supporting our students, families, and schools. I hope the resources and updates below are helpful.

Please reach out to me at eboni-rose.thompson@dc.gov if there are resources you’d like to share in future newsletters or if there are questions and concerns.

Yours in Service,

Annual Report

Thank you for the privilege of serving Ward 7 as your State Board of Education Representative. There is a lot we have done together, and a lot more to do.

I am humbled to share my inaugural year in review report. I look forward to continuing to serve and welcome your feedback on my first year.

Email me to set up a 1 year check in meeting.

Check It Out

Nominate a Ward 7
Future History Maker!

Every February we celebrate Black History Month, elevating achievements by African Americans and recognizing their central role in history.

In Ward 7, we have young people achieving great heights everyday, and they deserve to be elevated.
Please take 3 mins to nominate a young person who either lives or attends school in Ward 7 to be recognized during the month of February. Self nominations are welcome.

Each Friday, I will highlight Future Black History Makers on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

“Find the good, and praise it.” -Alex Haley

Nominate a Ward 7 Future History Maker

SBOE Updates

Earlier this month, the State Board unanimously voted to request OSSE review the DC School Report Card & STAR Framework. If OSSE follows the recommendation, the vote removes the STAR rating from the report card.

The board also elected new leadership.
It is my honor to serve alongside President Jessica Sutter and Ward 6 Representative in my new role as Vice President of the State Board of Education for 2022.

Full Agenda & Reports

To watch the January meetings or sign up to testify at future meetings visit our website.

Visit DC SBOE Here

News You Can Use

Learn More

DC has new COVID Centers, including one in Ward 7.

At the District’s COVID Centers, individuals will have access to vaccinations, boosters, and take-home rapid antigen tests as well as a new walk-up testing opportunity which will allow residents to administer and register a PCR test themselves.

Ward 7 location:
3935 Minnesota Avenue NE

More Info on COVID Centers

Upcoming Education-related DC Council Hearings
Lend your voice and insights at up coming DC Council hearings:

*DC Council Special Education Hearing 2/2
* The education agency oversight hearing on 3/2
* The education agency budget hearing on 3/28
* A hearing about special education on 2/2
* A hearing about Center City MS on 3/10
* A hearing about school attendance on 3/11

Click here for info on ways to testify.

Visit: https://www.myschooldc.org/

What’s Happening in Ward 7

W7EC General Body Meeting – Thu Feb 3
The Ward 7 Education Council will be celebrating Black History Month!

Email ward7ed@yahoo.com to attend.

Sign the Petition to Fix Marvin Gaye Playground

Children deserve safe, clean places to play. Especially children in the eastern end of Ward 7, where play spaces for children are few and far between. Yet, one of the gems of our community, the beautiful Marvin Gaye Playground(6100 block of Banks Place) at the end of Marvin Gaye trailhead, with slides, swings, a smaller kids area and a splash park, all themed to our very own legend Marvin Gaye, is in complete disrepair. The playground has a broken slide, broken landscaping, a missing section of fence, a rusty drain, a completely destroyed play surface, and a general design that needs some upgrades to make the area more safe.

FIx it!

Miner Mutual Aid

From January 31-February 4, Teaching for Change’s D.C. Area Educators for Social Justice will host the fifth annual D.C. Area Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action. This local week of action is part of the National Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action and Year of Purpose campaign taking place in cities across the U.S. to promote a set of national demands based in the Black Lives Matter guiding principles that focus on improving the school experience for students of color.

Black Lives Matter Week At School

Yoga

Nats Academy Field of Greens

Community Pantry

Grants & Community Resources

Marion Barion Summer Youth Employment Program

Registration is now open through February 28th!
https://summerjobs.dc.gov/

OSSE Dual Enrollment Program

Jeremy Black Scholarship Fund

Are you or do you know a high school senior in Wards 5, 7 and 8? The Jeremy “Jerry” Black Scholarship Fund at the TraRon Center honors Jerry Black whose life was taken prematurely due to gun violence. Scholarship Amount: $4,000 To apply: http://traroncenter.org