As it pertains to Bullying, Harassment, Title IX incidents, and students' safety, all staff members are mandatory reporters. All allegations must be investigated within 48 hours of an administrator being notified, and that all other staff members once informed, have 24 hours to report an allegation to their administrator.

Please remain vigilant as we get closer to the end of the school year. Finally, be mindful of the hot spots on your campus. These are usually the areas where incidents most often occur.

An action does not have to be continuous or repeated actions to be considered bullying. A single incident or act may be considered BULLYING and must be investigated immediately.   

If you have any questions or need assistance, contact Mr. Cory Dickerson dickersoncl@scsk12.org, 416-7374, Dr. Alvin Harris harrisae1@scsk12.org 416-7391, Chanda Jones Donald jonesdonaldcr@scsk12.org, 416-9848, and District Title IX Coordinator Mary Tucker, tuckermh@scsk12.org, 416-5417 

All newly hired attendance staff (GOSs, Attendance administrators, receptionists, etc.) who are responsible for reconciling attendance should make every attempt to attend the SEED PowerSchool Attendance Trainings that are listed in PLZ. In addition to these ongoing supports, SEED will provide individualized PowerSchool Attendance one-on-one sessions specifically for newly hired staff who were onboarded after January 1. New hires should email Cheryl Leger (Attendance & Discipline Advisor) at LEGERC@scsk12.org to schedule one-on-one sessions if needed. These sessions are deliberately being held in person and away from the school, to allow for uninterrupted training time.

SESSION DAYS: Tuesdays & Wednesdays

• February 22 (Tuesday)
• February 23 (Wednesday)
• March 1 (Tuesday)
• March 2 (Wednesday)

TIME: 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. (hourly slots per individual)

Employees can also visit the SEED SharePoint Attendance Matters Folder to utilize other materials and to view available pre-recorded training sessions.

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.

Thanks to each elementary school for encouraging parents to sign up for Cohorts 4 & 5 BookNook Virtual After School Tutoring that will begin March 21. For those students already enrolled in Cohorts 1,2, and 3, it is imperative that you continue to encourage parents to ensure all students logged on at their designated time every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. 

We want to ensure that we reach our goal of having at least 5,000 students enrolled in this great learning opportunity in order to strengthen early literacy. If you have any questions, please contact LaTosha Wiseman at wisemanlk@scsk12.org and Janel Bonds at janel@booknooklearning.com. 

Thank you for attending the first two Instructional Practice 3 sessions with Chief Carson.  

A link to the OneDrive folder to access the presentation, facilitator guide, and IP3 norming lesson video is below. There are session materials for the You Do in Pairs and You Do Independently phases of gradual release using the norming video that we discussed during December, January, and February LDW sessions. The expectation is for school admin teams to redeliver the Instructional Practice 3 content to their building faculty by March 11.  

The expectation is that school admin or zone level supports redeliver this content to your teachers.  If your school admin or zone team does not have the capacity to redeliver this content, please complete this form for support from Professional Learning and Support. 

Please download all materials before editing. IP3 for Leaders Session Materials

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

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.

Please review the March Leader Learning Flyer here.

As you know, Memphis-Shelby County Schools is committed to ensuring a strong academic partnership with our parents and community. And in order to Reimagine 901 successfully, there must be a shared mission with families and partners supporting the same goals.  

Family Data Night is an opportunity for each school to do just that - support our shared mission and goals by delivering consistent messages to parents regarding student assessments, guidance on accessing data, interpreting results, and a host of other timely information from departments across MSCS. 

This year, schools will host Spring Family Data Night during the week of March 28-April 1. Please use the following link to identify the date and time you plan to host the Spring Family Data Night by Friday, March 4: Spring Family Data Night.  

Schools will determine the structure of their Spring Family Data Night. To assist schools with planning this meeting, the Office of Academics will provide resources by March 9. Please reach out to Director Monica Jordan, Ms. Latosha Wiseman, or Ms. Audra Smith if you need additional assistance.

SEL4US and The Urban Assembly are celebrating around the world in the third annual International SEL Day on Friday, March 11. This year, Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) will be participating in SEL Day 2022 and the theme for this year is Finding Common Ground, Pursuing Common Good. The toolkit provided from SEL4US, and the Urban Assembly has been modified to include additional resources that have been provided by the MSCS SEL team. The provided resources focus on all areas of social emotional learning. The attached document is the toolkit for SEL Day2022.

Additionally, the ReThink K-12 Scope and Sequence has been added as a resource. 

This event will feature Everybody Eats by African American author Jasmine Crowe. This book focuses on food insecurity, homeless, and hunger. Families are invited to join us online for this book reading with the author, Jasmine Crowe, who will read portions of the story as well as interact with students. Students will also receive a copy of the book while supplies last. This event will be streamed on Facebook @FACESCS and Microsoft Teams. 

• Join here:https://bit.ly/SCSEverybodyEats
• Date: Feb. 28, 6 p.m.

Participating families may sign up using this link to receive a copy of the book to add to their home libraries.

The Secretary of State’s office is launching the Anne Dallas Dudley Gold Level and Silver Level awards for Tennessee high schools which meet student voter registration thresholds.

• Gold Level: 100% of eligible students, 18 and older by the next election, are registered to vote. The Secretary of State’s office will present the school with a commemorative plaque and present certificates to Student Ambassadors.
• Silver Level: 85% of eligible students, 18 and older by the next election, are registered to vote. The Secretary of State’s office will mail certificates to Student Ambassadors.

The award is named in honor of renowned Tennessee suffragist Anne Dallas Dudley.

•  Learn more about Anne Dallas Dudley and Women's Suffrage in Tennessee on the Tennessee Virtual Archive.

All Tennessee public, charter and private schools as well as home school associations are encouraged to participate in the Anne Dallas Dudley Award program. Tennessee law allows students who are either 18 years of age, or 17 years of age and will be 18 by the date of the next election to register to vote.Completed applications will be accepted until March 31.

• https://sos.tn.gov/civics/services/anne-dallas-dudley-award

Memphis-Shelby County Schools has been provided resources to deliver continued support and services to our students and families regarding mental, social, and emotional health in an after-hours clinic. This year, we are fortunate to be able to open three Family Wellness Centers as we Reimagine 901. The centers will be located within three of our schools: Cordova Middle School, Booker T. Washington, and Manassas High School. The first center is set to open at Cordova Middle School. 

These centers will provide students and families with the opportunity to receive extended mental, emotional, and social support services along with workshops and trainings. The services provided will be at no cost to the students and their families.

A unique feature of the center is connecting with the parents. Parent/Caregiver workshops will be available while they wait on their students. Multiple sessions on how to better understand and support their student, adverse childhood experiences, and additional SEED, Mental Health and Wellness options will be offered.

The ribbon cutting ceremony for the Family Wellness Center is on Wednesday, March 2 at 12:30 p.m.