All teachers must make a written contract with the director of schools or board of education at a fixed salary per month before entering their duties in any public elementary or high school. The contracts shall be in such form as may be furnished by the commissioner of education and shall be signed in duplicate, each party holding a copy. Failure to comply with this section by either party shall subject the teacher and the director of schools or board of education to a fine. 

Per State Code, Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) Teacher contracts will be available on Monday, May 2nd, for teachers who taught with MSCS during the School Year 2021-2022 and are returning to a teaching role for the School Year 2022-2023. Teachers must sign the contract electronically through the iCIMS applicant tracking system by Friday, May 13th. Details on accessing, reviewing, and signing contracts will be emailed to the address on record linked to the iCIMS profile. Teacher contracts will be sent to the following roles: Classroom Teacher Agriculture 12-month, Classroom Teacher Home Economics, Classroom Teacher ESL, Classroom Teacher K-3, Classroom Teacher K-5, Classroom Teacher K-8, Classroom Teacher Pre-K, Classroom Teacher Secondary, Classroom Teacher Special ED, Classroom Teacher Special Skills, Classroom Teacher-Vocational, Instructional Facilitator, Interventionist, Librarian, Professional School Counselor, Instructional Curriculum Coach. Please utilize the MSCS Contract Support Link for assistance with troubleshooting contract issues.

• April 29 - 100% TEM Observation Completion                              
• May 13 -  100% Professionalism Completion           
• May 13 -  100% End of Year Conference Completion 

REMINDER:

If professionalism is not finalized by both the administrator and the educator, the educator WILL NOT receive an LOE for SY2021-22.

If you have completed your NIE Goal Setting Conference and Mid-Year Conference, be sure that you have finalized ALL components to generate the overall green check. If the green tab does not appear, a part may be incomplete.

NIE Partial Plans 

Please ensure that the Goal Setting Conference is completed within 30 working days of the hire/contract start date. The Mid-Year Conference is not required for NIE partial plans and will not appear as a container to complete.

Questions? Contact Employee Performance and Support: eps@scsk12.org | 901.416.2475

The deadline to certify as an NIE Evaluator for the 2021-2022 school year is April 29! Anyone seeking NIE Certification after April 29 will be required to wait until the next NIE Certification process which begins in June 2022 for SY2022-23.  

More details regarding the SY2022-23 NIE Certification/Recertification process are forthcoming. 

Please be reminded of the following: 

• If you have completed your NIE Goal Setting Conference and Mid-Year Conference, be sure that you have finalized ALL components to generate the overall green check. If the green check does not appear, a component may be incomplete!
• NIE Partial Plans –Please ensure that the Goal Setting Conference is completed within 30 working days of the hire/contract start date. The Mid-Year Conference is not required for NIE partial plans and will not appear as a container to complete.

NIE DEADLINES

End of Year Conferences 

• Schools - May 20
• Central Office - June 17

Have you completed at least 2 courses within the STAR12 platform? If not, don’t miss out on the thousands of FREE e-learning professional development courses offered by STAR12!  

Please Note: Access to certain learning courses will depend on your STAR12 account type.  

• If this is your first time logging in OR you do not remember your login password:
• Go to MySTAR12.com
• Enter your SCS email address, then
• Click “forgot password.”
• As Access accounts are limited, inactivity may result in loss of STAR12 access.

Questions? Contact Employee Performance and Support: eps@scsk12.org | 901.416.2475 

In the event that a student accident (medical non-emergency) occurs at your school, please contact the individuals in the AOSS Manual. For your convenience, we have enclosed a copy of the Protocol on Non-Medical Emergencies that you can share with your team.

Save the date for the Principals' Business Meeting on May 10.

Please register in PLZ using Course #61758.

This summer, secondary literacy training (SLT) will be offered for 6th-12th grade MSCS teachers in all content areas. Teachers who complete Courses 1 and 2 will be eligible to receive a $1000 stipend. 

Course 1: Asynchronous

• This course is set to be released on April 29. Teachers may use this link to access Course 1: https://bestforall.tnedu.gov Course 2: Face-to-Face
• Please encourage 6th-12th grade teachers to apply for this week-long, in-person training using the following link: https://bit.ly/TDOESummerSLT Training Dates/Times: 
• June 13-17, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.  
• June 2 – July 1, 9 a.m. -4 pm 
• July 5 - July 8, 9:00 am-5:00 pm 

To be eligible for the $1000 stipend, teachers must meet the following criteria: 

• SLT Course I asynchronous learning modules will launch on April 29 on TN Best for All Central. *Participating 6th-12th grade teachers include ESL, SPED, Library, Speech, Guidance Counselors, Instructional Coaches, Interventionists, etc. The educator must complete Course I and Course II to be eligible for the stipend. 
• Space is limited. Interested 6th – 12th-grade teachers should sign up TODAY using the link on the flyer. 
• SLT Course I satisfies the licensure requirements of the Tennessee Literacy Success Act. 

Questions? Email ci_ela_team@scsk12.org. 

https://bit.ly/TDOESummerSLT 

Take a moment to review the April Edition of Curriculum Connection. 

Please take a moment to review the following re-delivery guidance provided to principals by Chief Carson on April 24.

The Department of Curriculum & Instruction, RTI2 Team appreciates your support with the re-delivery of this content to ensure all school-based staff stays abreast of how MSCS is supporting students with characteristics of dyslexia while adhering to the “Say Dyslexia” bill (Public Chapter 1058 of the Acts of 2016). As a follow-up to the Characteristics of Dyslexia content shared on April 12, please take a moment to review the attached Principal Re-Delivery Guidance. Additionally, submission of the re-delivery date is due Friday, April 29. 

Feel free to reach out to Dr. Amy Maples, RTI2 Manager, or your assigned RTI2 Advisor with any further questions.

CoD Redelivery Principal Letter 4.22.22[1].pdf

We are excited to share that all MSCS 7th grade middle school students will have the opportunity to take Algebra I during the 22-23 school year. To facilitate this opportunity, all 7th-grade students will need to take the Algebra I placement test in May. 

To ensure state testing has concluded, we have set the Algebra I placement testing window for the week of May 9. The test will be administered in Mastery Connect and students will take it online. 

We will hold a virtual meeting for principals and Building Testing Coordinators to outline this process on May 3 at 4 p.m. We look forward to meeting with you then. 

Meeting Link: https://bit.ly/ALG1PlacementExam 

The spring window for the i-Ready diagnostic runs May 9 - May 5. For more information on best practices for Diagnostic Administration, check out the following pages on i-Ready Central.

• Get Good Data: Get Organized, Prepare and Motivate Students, Actively Proctor, and Track Completion
• Preparing Students for the Diagnostic 
• Proctoring Guidance for the Diagnostic

i-Ready Incentive campaign 

• April winners will be announced the week of May 2, and grand prize winners will be the week after that! 
• Remember, the campaign is all about engagement, specifically i-Ready Personalized Instruction minutes, pass rates, the percentage of the student engaging, and teacher use of the Toolbox. 

All students in the District who meet the eligibility criteria may attend the week-long learning experience from June 6-10 for FREE - including a t-shirt, a water bottle, free lunch, and a day trip to Union City, TN, to attend an exploration at the Discovery Park of America! Registration has been extended for this exciting opportunity until May 4. All questions should be directed to the CLUE office at clue@scsk12.org.

For more information, read our FAQ.

ESL Technology Inventory-All ESL teachers and BTCs of schools with an ESL program will receive a form on Monday, May 2, by email to record their technology items issued by the ESL Department.  Please make sure that this form is submitted by Friday, May 13.  

Questions can be directed to Dr. Abasi McKinzie, mckinzieah@scsk12.org.

As the end of the school year is upon us, the Department of Professional Learning & Support would like to provide an update for the June DLD. Teachers will be required to complete their final 3 district hours by registering and completing the Canvas course: CADRE1249 in PLZ. The course will open on May 1 and close at 11:59 p.m. on May 20. Registration is open and will remain open until the course closes. Course credit will appear on teachers’ transcripts on May 25.  

The remaining 6 hours are to be completed at the school level. Please use the link below to provide your school’s professional learning plan for Professional Learning sessions designated for June 2. Plans will be reviewed and shared by Professional Learning and Support. When submitting your plans, please make sure that teachers will earn 6 hours of credit. School’s professional learning plan form should be submitted by COB Thursday, May 12.  

https://forms.office.com/r/Y9hwt2hzhu

Professional Learning and Support will be offering Building Bridges Saturday Camp during May for core content teachers in K-12; using a collaborative, hybrid learning model, teachers will build on their learning from the 2021-22 school year around Blended Learning and the Station Rotation Model so that as they plan over the summer months for the coming year, they will be able to develop and facilitate lessons in their classroom.  
 

Teachers can read more about specific details and sign up using this link.

Registration will close on Friday, May 6, at noon.

Please register for the 2022 Operations Institute to be held at the University of Memphis on June 21-23. 

 If you have questions, please contact Director Charles Newborn, newborncm@scsk12.org.

Professional Learning and Support has developed an FAQ regarding the professional development hours requirement for the 2021-22 SY. If you have questions please contact Racheal Addison, at addisonrd@scsk12.org. 

Over April, Emerson Collective, a social impact organization, is excited to launch a special initiative focused on funding hundreds of community gardens and school gardens around the United States, driven by a belief in and appreciation for the importance of nature for healthy individuals and the wellbeing of communities.

Emerson Collective is inviting proposals from 501c3 nonprofit organizations and schools ready to build, improve, or expand community or school gardens across the U.S. Selected organizations will receive a one-time grant to transform or renovate spaces into gardens for the shared benefit of the community or school.  Please share this information with your teachers, faculty, and staff.  

If interested, you can find additional information at this link. The application is due April 30, and any questions can be directed to GardenOpportunity@emersoncollective.com. https://lnkd.in/eXZYjHqv
 

During the week of May 16-20, MSCS students will be allowed to engage in the District-Wide Days of Service campaign as we look to close out this school year in the spirit of serving others. The Days of Service campaign will encourage students to give back to the community. This initiative will promote “agents of change,” where students will have the opportunity to serve and engage in activities that leave a lasting impact. Your school's participation in this campaign is voluntary.

The theme of this event will be Beautifying Your School Community. 

Schools will be encouraged to engage students in activities that will beautify their school campuses. However, schools will have the autonomy to choose their activities. You may also want to expand their services to neighboring areas around the school or expand their efforts throughout a broader radius of the school area. Some suggestions include: Campus Clean-Up, Planting Flowers on Campus, or Cleaning Local Areas Near the School.  

Use this form to indicate your school's participation. Please return the form by noon on May 6. Also, please remember to take lots of pictures and videos of your students' involvement in the District-Wide Days of Service. We look forward to your participation!

View the flyer here. 

Check out what’s happening in our employee and school-based clinics. Student Support Services will offer The Clinic View newsletter each month.

• FCC NEWSLETTER May 2022(4).pdf
• SBC NEWSLETTER May 2022(4).pdf

Memphis-Shelby County Schools is partnering with Methodist LeBonheur and Shelby County Health Department to provide immunizations free of charge to students. See flyer for details.

For more information, please call 416-6432 for more details.

Training and Support Resources

• Check out our latest video trainings on the new SLA Eligibility, Summer School,  Feeder Pattern, and Tutoring reports!
• Check out our latest walkthrough guides on SLA Eligibility and Clearing Browser Cache! 

PowerBI Dashboard Updates

The SLA Eligibility page within the 3GC dashboard has some BIG changes. Here are some new things to check out:

• Updated column to denote SLA registration status
• Updated column to denote Held Harmless status -Shows if a student was “held harmless” based on Illuminate Fastbridge Lexile scoring changes.

In addition, a Held Harmless flag has been added to the Student Report in 3GC as well.

 DAIM Hub and Data Quality Alerts

• Does something in a dashboard look wrong? Check the DAIM Hub and our Data Quality Updates.
• And check out the rest of the  DAIM Support Sharepoint site, complete with additional video tutorials, walkthrough guides, and more!

The state’s Ready Graduate Appeals window is open for students scheduled to graduate in 2021. This process is lagged by one year to allow sufficient time to collect any relevant documentation. 

The state and the Assessment and Accountability Department have already identified a number of students who meet the criteria to be a Ready Graduate. However, other students may meet the requirements based on additional documentation that schools have. Our department has been as comprehensive as possible in collecting and summarizing the relevant data. If you have evidence that a student not currently identified as a Ready Graduate should be a Ready Graduate, we ask you to send that evidence to Assessment@scsk12.org. Please note that cases will only be appealed, which would move a student into the Ready Graduate category. If you have new evidence for a student, but that student would still not be a Ready Graduate (e.g., a new ACT score report indicating a Composite score of 20), that evidence should not be submitted.

Details about the process and accessing the list of students with their current status (Ready Graduate or not) were included in an email to BTCs and ACT Coordinators on April 7 and an email from Dr. Whitelaw to principals on April 8. If schools have additional documentation that would result in a student being reclassified as a ready graduate, we ask that you send that documentation to Assessment@scsk12.org by May 13.

The Academics Team has established virtual office hours to support schools with questions regarding the 3rd Grade Commitment. Please click the link for more detailed information, 3GC Chat: Virtual Office Hours. 

Contact Director Monica Jordan, Ms. LaTosha Wiseman, or Ms. Audra Smith if you have any additional questions.
 

• Northeast Schedule
• Northwest Schedule 
• Southeast Schedule 
• Southwest Schedule