As we continue to move through the school year, we know that some of your students, families, and employees may have experienced challenging events. We wanted to let you know that if you become aware of certain severe situations, the Academic Operations and School Support (AOSS) Manual includes suicidal threats. For detailed protocols, please review the AOSS Manual.

The Tom Lee Poetry and Spoken Word Prize contest is a new opportunity for SCS secondary teachers and students. Participating high school students and teachers are eligible to win prizes. A direct mailing of posters and flyers for the poetry contest will be sent to HS English Department Heads. These mailings of poetry resources will begin to arrive in all SCS high schools starting the week of February 14. The Tom Lee Poetry and Spoken Word Prize is sponsored by Memphis River Parks Partnership and the Mellon Foundation.

Memphis-Shelby County Schools would like to recognize the top-performing zone, schools, and students for meeting district goals. The 3rd annual incentive campaign officially kicks off this month! 

Need help implementing Ready books to support the work of the grade? Check out these articles on Ready Leadership Resources, and review the above PD schedule for sessions on Ready print.

SCS District i-Ready Session Late Jan-March 2022

The Mathematics Department of Curriculum and Instruction is excited to share with you upcoming professional development and open lab opportunities to support blended learning and the use of the Eureka Math and Savvas digital platforms in our district! Information is available on the attached flyers. 

• Eureka Math Open Lab
• March PD Flyer
• Savvas Open Lab

To assist with teacher and student absences, please review processes at your site: 

• If it is a planned absence, the teacher must provide specific work for that day for the substitute teacher aligned to the curriculum map/pacing guide/prescription.
• For unplanned absences, a substitute folder must be updated quarterly with work aligned to the curriculum map/pacing guide/prescription for the current quarter. Teachers should have a subfolder with at least five workdays for unplanned absences.
• For student absences, students are allowed to make up work regardless of an excused or unexcused absence. Please review Policy 6014 (link).

It has come to our attention that illegal substances that contain cannabis and THC (illegal substances within marijuana) are now being explicitly manufactured to capture the attention and entice our younger populations. Packages are beginning to take on the appearance of fruit candies and other snack flavors that are nearly identical to regular snack packages. It is now more critical than ever before that administrators take proactive strategies to alert our students and parents to the detrimental effects, discipline penalties, and existence of these camouflaged illegal substances. 

 Proactive strategies from school administrators are not limited to but may include:

• Intercom Announcement reminders
• Student assemblies
• Memos to parents and students

Please see the images to familiarize yourself and the school population with this new trend. The use, possession, and distribution of drugs remain a state-mandated 180-day suspension offense.

Contact SEED at 901-416-6007 if you need further discipline guidance. 

Please remember to alert SEED if you have hired new attendance and behavior support staff (i.e., clerical, monitors, behavior specialists, assistant principals, etc.). It is paramount that we identify these individuals to provide tailored training and support. 

Please contact Dr. Blocker (Manager of Equity Discipline & Attendance) at blockerj@scsk12.org when needed.

View the list of Attendance & Discipline Analysts-School Assignments

Review the MANDATORY Discipline Training on Threats & Fights  (i.e., Counselors, administrators, teachers, etc.). 

Memphis-Shelby County Schools has partnered with Methodist Lebonheur Healthcare & BookNook to offer FREE virtual after-school tutoring. Our 1st cohort of 1st-3rd grade students began in December 2021. 

Registration is reopening for more students to take advantage of this opportunity. Our goal is to enroll at least 5,000 students as outlined in the Connected Literacy Grant. Please encourage families with students in 1st-3rd grade to register. Flyers have been provided to each elementary school to distribute to families with the registration link and QR code that will activate Friday, February 18. Please contact LaTosha Wiseman at wisemanlk@scsk12.org & Janel Bonds at janel@booknooklearning.com for questions and/or concerns. 
 

As Memphis-Shelby County Schools continue to Reimagine 901, the City of Memphis has worked diligently with the District to ensure that students in the specialized CCTE track are eligible to earn an industry certification and/or licensure hours and a Work-Based Learning credit. Memphis-Shelby County Schools/CCTE has partnered with the City of Memphis' Office of Youth Services to offer the six-week MPLOY Summer Youth Experience. Participants will have the opportunity to earn up to $1,600 through a paid internship and attain valuable workforce experience.

The City of Memphis selected possible applicants through a lottery. The attached spreadsheet only includes the students' names who specified "CCTE" on the MPLOY application. The selected students have been invited to proceed in the application process by submitting copies of specific documents that include:

• Copy of State Issued ID (Unexpired State ID, Driver's License, or Passport)
• Copy of Social Security Card
• Copy of Proof of Education
• Copy of Proof of Residency

The MPLOY Verification Drop-Off is scheduled for Saturday, February 26, at the Pipkin Building (940 Early Maxwell Boulevard). The MPLOY team will keep all of the documents, so the students must make personal copies before arriving at the drop-off.

Action Item: Each school is requested to submit the name of one designee to Cherith Minnis at minniscl@scsk12.org, CCTE Work-Based Learning Coordinator, by Tuesday, February 15.

Each school designee will:

• Assist with making copies of the verification documents for the students.
• Update the CCTE Lottery spreadsheet to indicate if students have copies of the required verification documents

Verification Check-In Days: Friday, February 18 & Thursday, February 24

If you have additional questions, contact Cherith Minnis at minniscl@scsk12.org, Work-Based Learning Coordinator with CCTE.

CLICK HERE FOR RELATED DOCUMENTS
 

Due to weather-related school closures, February LDW sessions were rescheduled. Agendas can be found here. 

• Wednesday, February 16 Assistant Principals  (choose either a.m. or p.m. session) TLA Auditorium
• Thursday, February 17 ILT Teacher Content Leaders 4-6 via Microsoft Teams LIVE Event

March Leadership Development Week is scheduled for March 7-11.  

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools Operations Institute is June 21-22.

The Midsouth Leadership Symposium June 14-16.

Our next District Learning Day will be held on February 21 at various locations throughout the district.  Please review the February 2022 DLD Guidebook for locations, session and registration information.  

Please ask teachers to bring a fully charged device as they will need it to engage in the learning fully.

The Midsouth Leadership Symposium Call for Proposals is now open. Check out the full details here!

Second-semester honors documentation is due for all honors teachers on Friday, February 18. Each teacher should submit three pieces of documentation for each honors course taught:

• Honors Cover Page
• Task Instructions from an Honors Project
• One Student Sample from the Honors Project

Email communication has been sent to each school's honors admin/designee and all honors teachers outlining the requirements for this process. This email also includes links to the templates that are needed as well as links on where to upload all the documents.

Make-Up Teams Training

Because trainings were canceled for Feb. 3 and Feb. 8, we plan to offer one additional Honors Compliance Training before documents are due. This training will take place at 3:45 on Tuesday, Feb.15, via Microsoft Teams. We will award PLZ credit based on the Teams attendance and you can join the session via this link: Honors Compliance Training - 2/15
 

Honors Canvas Cadre Trainings

Please share the training opportunities below with any honors teachers that may be new to teaching honors or just may need additional support as they work to meet the rigorous demands of honors coursework. Teachers can register for these asynchronous opportunities through PLZ.

• CADRE1171 – Honors Policy Compliance Training
• CADRE1173 – Honors-Level Student Products and Tasks
• CADRE1175 – How to Utilize the Backward Design and PBOs for Honors Courses

If you or any teachers have questions, please feel free to contact Terriny Lloyd or Travis Lockhart for additional support.

It is time to thoroughly review and process your Optional students’ Renewal Applications for Optional Schools. To maintain the integrity of the Optional Program, you must follow the renewal requirements as stated in your school’s flyer and criteria card for grades and conduct. Please keep in mind that we must provide grace in the area of attendance due to the ongoing pandemic and quarantining of students. If you wish to deviate from your stated requirements, please send me a written request with a justification.

All students who are currently enrolled in your Optional program will need a Renewal Application for Optional Schools. Renewal Optional out-of-district applications with dispositions are due in our office by Friday, February 18.

Remember, every Optional school has someone responsible for entering the renewal status for all of your Renewal Applications in PS. The powerpoint information that Barbara Michalchuk presented with step-by-step instructions is linked below. You will need to process the Renewal Applications at the school level. After entering the status, you will then forward the pink original of the completed Renewal Application along with a copy of the current report card to us at the Board of Education (C106) for review.

PPT - Processing Renewal Applications

Students on probation for the 2021-22 school year

Please process the Renewal Applications of probation students who are maintaining the requirements in the order in the Renewal Processing PowerPoint. If a student is currently on probation and not maintaining the requirements, please deny the student’s application immediately. By denying the student’s Renewal Application for Optional Schools now, the student will have the opportunity to apply for a General Choice Transfer for the 2022-23 school year. If at the end of the second semester, the student improves and meets your school’s renewal requirements, you may change the disposition to approved. If this occurs, please fax or mail Jennifer Boland a copy of the Renewal Application for Optional Schools with the new disposition and the new report card.

Remember, if a student is on probation for the 2021-22 school year, the school may not place the student on probation for the 2022-23 school year. You may refer the students to our office, but please communicate these situations to us beforehand. We will hear appeals as needed in the summer.

** No student is approved on probation until the end of the school year. **

Thanks for making sure we are very accurate this year. If you have any questions, please call or email Jennifer Boland or myself at 416-5338.

As we continue to progress toward more equitable outcomes for all students, you are invited to participate in our Equity Retreat Part 2. We will be harnessing the power of collaboration to design or implement structures to increase shared ownership across schools. Participants will have a focus on improving school attendance, creating a great place to work, and disrupting the path to student exclusion. 

If you would like to participate, please view this document to select the sessions you would like to attend. All sessions will be held in the TLA – Multipurpose room. 

Beating the Odds in conjunction with Spotlight 901 is designed to recognize and share promising practices across Memphis Shelby County Schools. Each quarter, schools are recognized for the accomplishments they are making in teaching and learning, climate and culture, or systems and operations.

This quarter, schools were recognized for having high approval ratings on the Fall Insight survey in the following domain areas: Academic Expectations, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Instructional Planning and Student Growth.

Please join an esteemed panel of principals on February 17 at 4:30 p.m. and hear about their achievements in one or more of the domain areas. 
 

Please click here to join! See you soon! 

Virtual ACT Family Night is Thursday, February 17 at 6 p.m. This event will provide SCS families an opportunity to learn more about ACT preparation strategies to meet or exceed the test readiness benchmarks. Registration is available here.