Principal's Bulletin

Dear Ross Roadrunner Families,

DCPS released FY24 initial budgets last week. The Ross allocation is linked here and you can learn more about school budgets at https://dcpsbudget.com/

Unfortunately, like many DCPS schools serving lower-risk populations, we have experienced funding cuts which will require us to make difficult decisions regarding staffing and programming. This is one of the most challenging budgets I have had to manage during my tenure at Ross. We have been funded at 95% of last year’s allocation despite a projected enrollment increase and increases in positions costs. The Ross LSAT held an initial budget discussion meeting last week and will convene tomorrow in a closed session to advise on budgeting aligned with our DCPS and Ross priorities. Once our FY24 budget has been submitted and approved, I will schedule a meeting with the school community to review/discuss.

In the meantime, please reach out with any questions related to the budgeting process.

Warm Regards,

Holly Searl, Principal

holly.searl@k12.dc.gov

2022.23 DCPS Calendar

2022.23 DCPS Calendar Spanish

Wednesday, March 1: MySchoolDC lottery deadline for PK3-Grade 8 applicants

Thursday, March 2: BINGO Night at Foundry United Methodist Church (pizza and games)

Friday, March 3: Parent Coffee at 8:30am in Ross Cafe (Literacy Focus: Science of Reading)

Monday, March 6: PK4 GOLD Reports sent home

Thursday, March 9: NO SCHOOL, Parent/Teacher Conferences

Friday, March 10: NO SCHOOL, Teacher PD Day

Saturday, March 18: Ross Annual Auction Fundraiser (Save the date and book your babysitter)

Sunday, March 26: Politics and Prose Library Fundraiser

There is NO SCHOOL on Thursday, March 9 for Parent/Teacher Conference Day. There is NO SCHOOL on Friday, March 10 for a Professional Development Day. Teachers will share conference sign-up links in their weekly updates this week.

To accommodate larger class sizes, teachers in Grades 1, 2, 3 & 4 will offer additional conference times to ensure all parents have a conference opportunity. Conferences will be in-person at Ross with an option for a virtual meeting.

Ross has partnered with Politics and Prose for a library fundraiser. Visit any of their three stores on March 26 from 10:00am--7:00pm and be sure to mention Ross Elementary. We will receive a percentage of all sales. Online orders do not apply. Visit Comet Pizza before or after shopping and mention Ross and we will also receive a percentage of those sales.

The MySchoolDC Lottery is now open. www.myschooldc.org

Learn about middle school programming and feeder patterns here.

• If your child is currently at Ross, you DO NOT need to do the lottery if you plan to return to Ross next year.
• If you have a younger sibling of a current Ross student at home, please note that you must enter the lottery for PK4. All PK spots in DCPS are awarded via lottery.
• If you have a current 5th grader at Ross, you have a right to our two feeder schools, Cardozo or Francis-Stevens, or the school assigned to your address or you may enter the lottery for other possible options.
• March 1 is the lottery deadline for all PK3--Grade 8 applicants
• Please check out the Parent Guide, Feeder Pattern, Middle School and High School Booklets all found here on the DCPS Enrollment Website. Please contact enroll@k12.dc.gov with any questions or concerns.
  

The next Ross Open House for prospective families is Thursday, February 9 at 9:00am. Please encourage your friends and neighbors to attend.

In case of delayed openings or school closings due to inclement weather, DCPS will communicate in the following ways:

@dcpublicschools social media accounts: All inclement weather announcements are shared on

three primary social media accounts: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
o Dcps.dc.gov website: All DCPS inclement weather decisions will be posted to both the DCPS website in

our Emergency Banner, as well as on DC government websites.

Once the announcements are made by DCPS, Ross will follow up with a message through the Remind App and on S'more,

Email: holly.searl@k12.dc.gov or graciela.segovia@k12.dc.gov

Website: http://rosselementary.org/
Location: 1730 R Street Northwest, Washington, DC, USA
Phone: (206)-673-7200
Twitter: @rossesdc