Professional Learning and Support is excited to highlight New Teacher Support Offerings!
See the flyer for upcoming sessions. Please register in PLZ.

Insight Teacher Survey Dates: 

• Monday, October 25 – Friday, November 5 (Extension to November 12, if needed)

Principal Request – Approve your Insight Teacher Roster:

• We want to provide all principals the opportunity to review teacher rosters prior to the Insight survey so you can flag any needed changes and ensure that all of your teachers receive the survey link. In order to do this we will be granting all principals access to the response rate dashboard, which contains school rosters. As an added benefit, you will be able to monitor your own response rates throughout the survey!

Principals will receive an email with directions on how to check rosters. You will be directed to fill out an Excel sheet and email the completed document by EOD Tuesday, October 19.

Professional Learning and Support is excited highlight the New Teacher Supports for the upcoming week. As a reminder, please register in PLZ for all upcoming course offerings!

According to the 12-month hourly work schedule, Specialized Education Assistants (SEAs) are scheduled to work the entire week of Fall Break unless days off have been requested and approved by school administration. SEAs should follow the guidance as outlined below:

• Support with the Fall Break Academy at their respective school location. 
• If there is no Fall Break Academy at their location (school site), SEAs should still report to their location (school site), and complete any tasks as outlined by the Early Literacy Department and their school's administrator.
• If SEAs plan to be off during the Fall Break Academy, they should follow the request for vacation policies as outlined by their school's administrative handbook.  If an SEA takes vacation, the SEA is not required to complete professional learning assignments on the days approved for vacation.
• If an SEA is not taking vacation days and the SEA's school is hosting Fall Break Learning Academy, the SEA is expected to support Fall Break Learning Academy as needed.  If an SEA is needed to support Fall Break Learning Academy, the SEA is not required to complete the professional learning assignments Monday-Thursday; however, the Friday assignments must be completed.

 During Fall Break, there are professional learning assignments due DAILY. Please see assignments here. SEA Fall Break Work Expectations - 09292022.pdf Each day's Bridge to Practice link will be available specifically on that day from 8a-5p. SEAs will not be able to complete tasks late or before its due date.

Any questions regarding professional learning tasks or assignments, please call or email the Early Literacy Office at 901.416.4801 or EarlyLiteracyDept@scsk12.org. 

For technical issues, please contact IT 901.416.2700.

The District now utilizes a centralized withdrawal process to monitor and track students. These withdrawals are currently being handled by the SEED Office. To ensure office staff is fully knowledgeable, please review the FACT and step sheet to better understand the process.  

As a reminder, e-mail addresses have been created for all schools to communicate real-time student requests with principals, VPs, APs, Counselors, GOS, Records, and Financial secretaries, if applicable.

Attendance:

1. Teachers should mark attendance daily and grades should be updated in PowerTeacher Pro
2. All attendance should be processed and reconciled daily by the attendance designee
3. On-going attendance clean-up sessions will be conducted by zone within the coming weeks

 Please email studentservices@scsk12.org for questions.

As a reminder, state law requires all districts and schools to implement the truancy intervention process with fidelity. Per state law and MSCS Policy 6016, schools must ensure that truant students with five (5) or more unexcused absences receive a Student Attendance Review Team (SART) meeting. Failure to conduct a SART meeting impedes the truancy process and can result in truancy cases being dismissed from court. Please refer to Truancy Flow Chart to ensure each step of the SART process is completed. All truancy actions must be documented in PowerSchool, and the PSAP be entered in BrightBytes. 

Several trainings will be offered this semester around the SART process. School clerical and administrators responsible for attendance and truancy should attend. The dates are listed below. Participants should register in PLZ using course code #31824.

• October 4
• October 27
• November 15
• December 1

Your assigned truancy specialist can provide onsite support and additional training. Contact Thomasena Stuckett at stucketttd@scsk12.org or Gail Cotton at cottongd@scsk12.org if you have any questions or need further information.

It has come to our attention that some schools have been utilizing self-made/unofficial forms of suspension. Please remember that schools are mandated only to use the District’s standardized official suspension letter. Suspensions must be entered in Incident Management within 24 hours of the incident (business days). NO EXCEPTIONS.

Please see the steps for printing an Official Letter of Suspension. Also, OSS: must be entered first in the Title Field for the suspension to print. Moving forward, only principals, assistant principals, vice-principals, and select central office staff from the SEED department will have the ability to enter suspensions. 

If you have questions regarding discipline data entry, contact June Nickols, Discipline Advisor, at NICKOLSJL@scsk12.org. If you need additional clarity regarding TCA-related obligations concerning discipline implementation, contact Dr. JB Blocker, Manager of Equity Discipline & Intervention (EDI), at BLOCKERJ@scsk12.org or 901-314-9157.

It is important to remember that the KID Team staff is limited and serves all of our elementary school populations. The KID Team protocols require that Tier 1, 2, and 3 supports are exhausted before one of the three KID Team specialists is deployed for one-on-one student support. Please review the attached KID Team manual before making KID Team referrals. 

For additional guidance or KID Team assessment, contact Pamela Jones, Advisor JONESP@scsk12.org, or at 901-416-8343. 

Please review the KID Team manual.

Click here: The Way to ReThink.

Please encourage your high school math teachers to take advantage of the upcoming graphing calculator professional development opportunities on October 18 and November 10 at White Station HS.

Participants will know and understand how to use the graphing calculator as a tool to enhance student learning and explorations of math concepts by learning effective strategies to support the implementation of technology in the math classroom. 

Please see the flyer here: https://bit.ly/Q2CalculatorPD 

Please see the October Professional Learning Catalog here.  If you have questions, please email professionallearning@scsk12.org.

Please use the equity rubric as a newly developed resource for all school instructional leaders. We are here for professional learning and support as we introduce this tool.

This rubric is a tool for reflection and ongoing development—and it's intended to push the conversation about equity.

Below are a couple of recommendations regarding how to use this tool.

1. Engage with this tool in bite-sized chunks: Reflect on one domain at a time. Following the Rubric is a tool to support your reflection. 
2. Use this tool in community: with a Professional Learning Community (PLC), or a coach, mentor, or trusted administrator.

Click here to access the rubric.

Child Abuse School Coordinator and Co-Coordinator: The state requires each school to designate a Child Abuse Coordinator and Co-Coordinator. For Memphis-Shelby County Schools, each Principal will serve as the Coordinator and will identify one Professional School Counselor to serve as the Co-Coordinator. The Coordinators' names must be reported to the Department of Children's Services for each school annually. Also, a Refresher Training will be scheduled soon.

Please complete the link below by Tuesday, October 25. If you have any questions regarding this law or any DCS-related issue, please contact Dr. Rhonda Hill, hillre@scsk12.org or Dr. Angela Hargrave, hargraveal@scsk12.org.

 Link: School Child Abuse Coordinator and Co-Coordinator Form 2022-23

As your students and schools continue to participate in athletic contests and events, please review the information in the AOSS Manual regarding school Athletics and share it with your teams.

Every year, MSCS makes the financial commitment to College Board to maintain our district membership so that our schools may offer Advanced Placement courses, obtain opportunities for professional development, and have school access to APRO which allows us to support your schools, teachers and students. Based on this data, the district can provide the enrichment that is needed for students, teachers and administrators. Through your hard work and these efforts, we have seen an increase in the number of students participating in Pre-AP and AP classes. 

Thanks to the ESSER funding, we have expanded support services for teachers, including in-person, off-site and mentoring. Also, we have increased funds for specialized materials and supplies and enrollment in AP Saturday Review Sessions, as well as Summer Camp opportunities. We are offering an AP Virtual Academy, so more students have access to AP courses throughout the district.  

If you have any questions, please contact James L Smith, smithjl@scsk12.org  or Linda N. Sklar, sklarln@scsk12.org.  

Thank you for your efforts in implementing the Fifth Grade Enrichment initiative. Project-based enrichment materials for the second quarter are available and should be implemented beginning on Monday, October 17. These materials are accessible via the following link: www.tinyurl.com/5GEmaterials. This information will be emailed to your enrichment teachers and administrators.

Enrichment implementation fidelity checks will be initiated this month. Please contact Dr. Katrina Taylor if you have questions or need support.    

School Leaders, we look forward to you joining us October 17 - 20 for October Leadership Development Week. Please wear colors to honor Breast Cancer Awareness (pink), National Bullying Prevention (orange), World Mental Health Awareness (purple), or Red Ribbon Week (red).

Participants (PLC Coaches/Instructional Facilitators, ILT, DLA, Professional School Counselors) should register in PLZ using the course codes below. Please bring a fully charged laptop to all in-person sessions. 

Access October LDW Agendas HERE.

PLC Coaches & Instructional Facilitators

• 10/17 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m., TLA Auditorium
• PLZ Course Code: 32159

ILT Teacher Content Leaders

• 10/17 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., Virtual
• Access ILT TEACHER CONTENT LEADERS Meeting Link
• PLZ Course Code: 32160

Principals

• 10/18 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., TLA Auditorium
• TASL Credit will be applied following the meeting.

K-2 Specialized Education Assistants

• Kindergarten: 9/13 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., Virtual
  • Meeting Link will be distributed via email.
• 1st Grade: 9/14 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., Virtual
  • Meeting Link will be distributed via email.
• 2nd Grade: 9/15 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., Virtual
  • Meeting Link will be distributed via email.

Digital Learning Ambassadors

• 10/18 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. OR 10/20 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., TLA Multipurpose Room
• PLZ Course Code: 32161

Vice Principals & Assistant Principals

• 10/19 8:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. OR 12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m., TLA Auditorium
• TASL Credit will be applied following the meeting.

Professional School Counselors

• 10/20 8:00 a.m. - 11:45 a.m., TLA Auditorium
• PLZ Course Code: 32163

Virtual Education & Logistics and The Department of Information Technology will be entering our last phase of 1:1 teacher device distribution. There are two action items that schools must complete prior to making final device requests and by October 24. Please note that after this final distribution of devices, schools will make any future purchases for teacher and staff laptops as needed.

Action Item 1: Complete the 1:1 Extra Teacher Device Inventory Report (CLICK HERE) to document any extra 1:1 teacher device that you have in your building. If you do not have any extra devices, you must still submit the survey form to indicate that you do not have extra teacher devices.

Action Item 2: All teachers and staff who currently have a 1:1 device must complete the Computer/Device Checkout Form (CLICK HERE) and attach the PDF file to the 1:1 Extra Teacher Device Inventory Report (CLICK HERE).  Verify that individual forms are complete prior to submission.

Remember that teachers should be required to turn in their devices at the end of the school year and if transferring to another work location at any point during the school year. That device should then be assigned to the incoming person filling the vacancy, and that person should also complete the Computer/Device Checkout Form.    ​ 

Please submit all requested documents by Monday, October 24 by COB.   

Mark your calendars for Open Enrollment and the upcoming Benefits Fair

We are excited to announce that our Annual MSCS Open Enrollment for active employees will begin Monday, October 31st through Friday, November 11th.  Great news, there will be no premium increases to your medical, dental and vision coverage for 2023! 

During this time, you can:

• Review your life insurance coverages and beneficiary information
• Enroll, change, and review core plan options.  Any changes will take effect as of 1/1/2023.

Important Reminders during this Open Enrollment period:

• If you are an FSA participant, you must elect your coverage levels for 2023

• Health Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account
• You must enroll into any new plans and opt-out of any plans you no longer wish to participate in for 2023

Click here to access Bentek (our online enrollment system). The 2023 Benefits Guide will be available on the website soon, click here to view benefits information. 

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Confused about your benefits?  Help is on the way!

MSCS will host a Benefits Fair on Thursday, November 3rd from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m. in the Board Auditorium to help employees understand what is available during Open Enrollment and answer any questions.  Vendors will be on-site with information and giveaways for all MSCS employees.  Please come out and enjoy this event!

Additionally, representatives from Cigna (our plan provider) & Bentek (our online enrollment system) will be on-site and available to answer questions as well as to assist with enrollment and changes on the following dates:

Memphis-Shelby County Schools

160 S. Hollywood St. – Barnes Building

Memphis, TN  38112

• Tuesday, November 1st – 9:00a – 12:00p – Barnes Auditorium
• Tuesday, November 1st – 3:00p – 6:00p – Barnes Auditorium 

• Wednesday, November 2nd – 9:00a – 12:00p – Barnes Auditorium
• Wednesday, November 2nd – 3:00p – 6:00p – Barnes Auditorium

The window for completing Growth and Achievement selections is October 1 -31.  

• Please find the guidance for Teachers and Evaluators which can also be found under PLZ Resources for completing the selections for Growth and Achievement. 

Legislative Changes Impacting Evaluation

• Please note, in the 2022 legislative session, three laws impacting evaluations were passed. Click here for important updates.  

2022 LOE Weightings:

Note: The state weighting includes percentages that encompass 3 components as it relates to the TEAM Evaluation Model.  

MSCS uses the TEM Evaluation Model to conduct evaluations which include weightings for five components: Observations, Professionalism, Student Perception, Growth, and Achievement.  

Questions? Reach out to the EPS office: Phone: 901.416.2475 l Email, eps@scsk12.org. 

The deadline to complete ALL NIE Goal-Setting Conferences in PLZ is Friday, October 28. Employees MUST select their evaluator for the evaluator to access their evaluation. ALL fields should be completed in their entirety before finalizing. 

The following links are available as resources for completing the Goal Setting Conference and can also be found in PLZ under the "Resources" tab:

• NIE Goal Setting Conference Tutorial
• NIE Step Guide (Evaluator Perspective)
• NIE Step Guide (Employee Perspective)

Questions? Please reach out to eps@scsk12.org.

ALL content teachers will require two informal observations in PLZ. One informal observation should be recorded in PLZ EACH semester. The first informal observation in PLZ should occur before beginning formal observations.

Please note: When uploading a file, each field must be completed. Observers can enter “See Attachment” in the fields when they attach the document.

As a resource, please click the links below.

• SY22-23 Informal Walkthrough PLZ Guide - ADMINISTRATOR
• SY22-23 Informal Walkthrough PLZ Guide - TEACHER

Registration is now open for SY22-23 Professionalism Training. To find out more information, click here.

The TEM TEACHer Training Series is now open for ALL teachers. The series aims to identify teacher and student actions that guide effective instruction at performance levels 3-5 of the TEACH indicators. Register in PLZ, course #26177.

The MSCS Compass is a new one-stop shop for all your PowerBI reports, including the new and improved Student Profile, which is now called Student Data 360. Watch our introduction and navigation video here - Intro to MSCS Compass

IMPORTANT NOTICE

• Due to ongoing technical difficulties, several reports refreshes were delayed in the MSCS Compass, starting 10/4. All reports should be updated by EOD, Friday (Oct. 7th). Please check the Data Quality Alerts page for any updates or changes.

Need to Give Someone Access to PowerBI?

• Principals can give school staff members access through the PowerBI Access App. If you see someone in the Access App that should be removed from your school, contact DAIM Support (DAIMSUPPORT@scsk12.org) and we can assist. 

NEW Feature – Literacy Commitment ASP List

• You can now pull a list of students to create ASPs for Literacy Commitment using i-Ready data. Check out our user guide and video for more info.

NEW Feature – Bi-Weekly Data Tracker

• We have a new tool to support Principals to efficiently locate data for the bi-weekly data tracker. The tool contains links to each required data point (where available in PowerBI). While visuals may appear blank, data will populate upon following the link. We recommend Principals subscribe to this report ahead of the bi-weekly deadline.
   
• NOTE: The following data points are unavailable in PowerBI at this time but will be released in the coming weeks (stay tuned to Leaderboard for updates): Tutoring Enrollment & Attendance, i-Ready Health Ratings, Instructional Practice Walkthroughs, TEM Observations, Teacher Vacancies, SOAR Cycle, RTI Progress Monitoring, and Failing Grades in Teacher Gradebooks.

Support and Trainings

• Virtual Office Hours is canceled for this week (October 11th and 13th) for Spring Break. VOH trainings are normally every Tuesday and Thursday at 3:30 PM. Sign Up for Virtual Office Hours here→ Virtual Office Hours (sharepoint.com)

ATTENTION: School Clerical Staff

• During the week of October 18th and 20th, we will move VOH to 10 AM on both days and go over the Attendance Reconciliation Report. Sign up today!

DAIM Support and Data Quality Alerts

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

Throughout the school year, MSCS offers free health screenings for Pre-K, K, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 9th grades. Screenings consist of vision, hearing, blood pressure, height, weight, and scoliosis. Please see calendar for your school dates of elementary and K-8 only. If your school is not included, it will be included for next semester. For more information please call 416-6432. 

Please check out our screening video to see what to expect.

• English Video
• Spanish Video

FLU season is in! We are encouraging students to get their flu vaccination. For an appointment please call 842-2379 or you may text “SCS901” to 91999. Please note that when parents text, it will take 24-48 hours to a return their phone call to set up and appointment. Clinics are open from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. For more information please call Health Promotions at 416-6432.

FLU season is in! Please get your flu vaccine. Our FLU Shot campaign begins October 6 - November 18. Please see flyer for details. 

Clinic hours during fall break are Monday-Friday Flicker St. Clinic is 7 a.m.- 5 p.m. and Winchester Clinic is 7 a.m. -2 p.m. Please call 416-6079 for your appointment today. 

For additional information, please call Health Promotions at 416-6432.

The Grounds keeping Schedule is a communication and service tool designed to provide administrators and staff with valuable information regarding the timeframe that your campus will be cut and maintained. The District is broken into four Zones based on the school’s location (Southwest, Southeast, Northwest and Northeast).  

For more information and to view your school’s grounds keeping schedule for the month please click here.