The November session for the Central Office Professional Learning Series will be held on November 2nd. Central Office managers, directors, executive directors, assistant superintendents, and chiefs are encouraged to register in PLZ using course #31731 for either the morning or afternoon session for the November 2 training.

October TDW will be held on October 24th, 25th and 26th at Teaching & Learning Academy. Please ensure that your designees attend on the appropriate date for your grade band. 

Monday, 10/24: Elementary Schools

Tuesday, 10/25: Middle and K-8 Schools

Wednesday, 10/26: High Schools

The agenda can be accessed here.

Also, be sure to confirm a date and time for redelivery between October 31st - November 17th. Teachers will have 24 hours from their time at TDW to upload the date and time.

If you have questions, please email Geneva Gordon at gordong@scsk12.org.

The New Principals' October Meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 25th. Check out the flyer for more details. If you have questions, contact Dr. Tameka Lewis, at lewistd@scsk12.org.

PL&S is excited to offer virtual professional learning for teacher assistants in partnership with Curriculum and Associates staff.  Please share the following information with teacher assistants in your building who support students and teachers using Ready Reading, Ready Math, or Teacher Toolbox.  All sessions will be offered virtually via Microsoft Teams during the school day.  If you have questions, please contact Emily Vuoso, at vuosoeb@scsk12.org. 

Please share this professional learning needs assessment with all teacher assistants in your building.

The purpose of this is to collect information from teacher assistants regarding their professional learning needs for the 2022-23 school year which will inform professional learning opportunities that are available to them for the remainder of the school year.  The form can be submitted here.

The form will close on Friday, October 28th at 5:00 p.m.

If you have questions, please contact Emily Vuoso, at vuosoeb@scsk12.org.

The PL&S Leadership Advisors will be delivering content for all PLC coaches and instructional facilitators on real-time feedback, based on the book, Get Better Faster, by Bambrick-Santoyo. Please be prepared to be enlightened and engaged. We look forward to seeing you next Thursday, October 27th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. via TEAMS (link below)! 

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_NjQ1Y2E0N2QtN2Q5Yy00MmUyLWJjZmQtZDNiNTFkOTA5YjU1%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%222b291c94-5eb0-44b7-89ea-4baf16ecc4a9%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22caa289b9-46e9-4335-a79f-737f2e688797%22%7d

Please share the flyer upcoming professional learning sessions for new teachers.

Our 1st parent attendance event for the year is scheduled for Thursday, October 27 at White Station Middle School from 5:30-6:30pm. The Office of Student Equity Enrollment & Discipline (SEED) and Family Community Engagement (FACE) will be co-hosting this session aimed at students who are chronically absent. There will be numerous district and community partners represented to assist with issues such as utilities, housing, health, and other community supports.  In addition, district departments and social emotional learning supports will be available to help eliminate barriers to school attendance. 

 We are asking your Attendance Lead to identify ten students within your school building who are chronically absent and/or truant whose parents would benefit from this meeting.  Please contact SEED at 416-6007 for questions.

Please CLICK HERE to complete the following form for classroom teachers who were not assigned a 1:1 device in the spring or had not been previously requested. This opportunity will be extended to ALL ELA, MATH, Social Studies, Science, ESL, Foreign Language, Exploratory, Music, Art, and Physical Education. A request may be submitted for Professional School Counselors and Librarians; however, those positions will receive a device if inventory allows. Request for a device will not be processed for administrators or clerical staff. The DEADLINE for submissions to be considered for additional 1:1 teacher devices is Friday, October 28, 2022.

• It is important to note that after this final distribution of devices, schools will make future purchases for teacher and staff laptops as needed.
• Do not submit a request for a teacher device if one was previously submitted in August 2022.
• Make sure to complete the two required Action Items before requesting additional teacher devices
  • Extra Teacher Device Inventory Report. CLICK HERE
  • Collected, Scanned, and Uploaded all Computer/Device Agreement Forms for teachers who were previously issued a 1:1 Teacher Device during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 school years. CLICK HERE

A growing body of research shows that students of color do better when they have at least one teacher of the same race. These teachers can be role models for students of color, and they have been shown to have higher expectations and a better cultural understanding of these students.

With too few men of color going into K-12 education, see how MSCS is working to diversify AND retain our educators and address teacher shortages. We are learning about teacher observations and what to look for and how to score their highest on all measures of our evaluation process, and we are working to recruit, retain, and support teachers to best support our students.

This Secure the Chalk session will work on retention strategies for our Men of Color.

Click here to view the Secure the Chalk flyer!

The November DLD will take place on Tuesday, November 8 for a total of six (6) hours of professional learning.  All attendance will be credited in PLZ by November 14, 2022. Registration in PLZ for November DLD will open on Monday, October 24, 2022 and will close on Monday, November 7, 2022. Details will be available in the DLD Guidebook October 27th.

K-12 ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies, and ESL teachers will report to their school of record and engage in planning as outlined on individual school agendas from 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. School administrators are asked to submit a school agenda by Thursday, November 3rd as to how this time will be spent in grade level, content, vertical planning, or a combination, applying to practice learning that has been provided to date. Submit agendas here for your school by Thursday, November 3rd.  

All K-12 teacher types regardless of content or department must complete the TDOE required Dyslexia Training via Canvas. Register in PLZ to gain access to this three-hour course. Time is allotted on November 8th to complete the course from 12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. unless otherwise noted for a department, but the course will officially close on Thursday, November 10 at 11:59 p.m. to ensure that all teachers have ample time by which to complete the modules.

Non-core content teachers will meet as outlined in the DLD Guidebook which will be published on October 27th. 

If you have questions, email Emily Vuoso, vuosoeb@scsk12.org.

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

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 Releases and Features

• Student Surveys contains historical Panorama survey data on student perceptions of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion). Other survey data coming soon. To access the user guide, click here.
• Student Enrollment has two new reports including a No-Show Report and Withdrawal to Charter Report. For the No-Show Report user guide, click here. For the Withdrawal to Charter Report user guide, click here. 

Under Construction

• Several reports are currently being updated and redeveloped and will be temporarily unavailable – RTI-A (specifically Fastbridge and i-Ready), Third Grade Commitment, Instructional Practices, and Ready Grad.

Is a Report Not Working Correctly or Running Slowly?

• We are working on optimizing performance on as many reports as possible and your feedback is crucial. Please reach out if you experience any issues so that we can identify major pain points. Email us at DAIMSUPPORT@scsk12.org.

Support and Trainings 

• Virtual Office Hours for this week (October 25th and 27th) will be about Student Enrollment (No-Show and Withdrawal to Charters). The session will be at 3:30 PM both days. Recordings will go out to anyone on the calendar invite and will be available on our Support Page. 
• Here’s the video from our training last week on the Attendance Reconciliation Report.
• Sign up at this link today!

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. 

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!

Greetings, 

To make possible, easy, and accurate reporting, the Office of Asset Management is requesting that all departments that have made any equipment purchases of non-capitalized or capitalized equipment (a single item totaling $5000 or more) since July 1, 2022, please submit that information utilizing the Asset Disposition Form link below. 

Please complete the form in its entirety including quantity, description, serial number, manufacturer, and cost. 

Please submit this information to our office at AssetManagement@scsk12.org as soon as possible but no later than the EOB Friday, October 28, 2022. 

The MSCS Inventory Procedures Manual is also linked below for your reference.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call our office at 416-2830.

Asset Disposition Form.pdf

MSCS Inventory Management Procedures-Revised 4.5.22.pdf

Please send all transportation complaints to TransAdminSupport@scsk12.org or call the transportation office at 901-416-6077 to ensure all complaints are addressed accordingly.

The deadline to complete ALL NIE Goal-Setting Conferences in PLZ is Friday, October 28th. 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.

The Fall Student Perception Survey is vastly approaching.  Site Coordinator Training will take place virtually from October 18th- 24th.   

All Site Coordinators should register for one of the sessions in PLZ. Course #32320  

• Survey​ Opens: November 7 
• Survey Closes: November 18 

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

The window for completing Growth and Achievement selections for the SY 2022-23 is October 1st -31st.  

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.  

Memphis-Shelby County School uses the TEM Evaluation Model to conduct evaluations which include weightings for 5 components: Observations, Professionalism, Student Perception, Growth, and Achievement.  

Should you have any questions, please reach out to the EPS office: 

Phone: 901.416.2475 l Email: eps@scsk12.org. 

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.

Registration is now open for SY22-23 Professionalism Training. Click here for additional information, including how to register.

As regular season winter contests begin, please be reminded: 

• Staff, students, and families should be reminded of MSCS event security procedures.
  • Post signage around your venue entrances and notify attendees to alleviate confusion at ticket gates.  
  • To the extent possible, ask your players to avoid bringing backpacks to the games.
  •  Refresher Video: MSCS Event Security Procedures Video
• Volunteer coaches should have completed the background check process with FACE.
• Unauthorized people should not be allowed in team areas i.e. sidelines, benches, locker rooms etc.… 
• Children that are not participating are not allowed on sidelines and benches.
• Behavioral expectations should be announced to all players and visitors prior to any athletic event. 
• All MSCS Employees should be reminded to observe the MSCS Employee Standards of Conduct at events via Employee Handbook.
• Each participating school must have an administrator or designee present at every athletic contest and identify themselves to any officials directing the game.  
• An administrator or designee should accompany visiting teams upon arrival and departure from the facility. 
• The host school is responsible for the safe passage of game officials upon arrival and departure from the facility. 

Please contact the Athletic Department if you have questions or concerns at weaveri@scsk12.org.

All Fall PowerSchool entries should have been completed by August 30th.  Winter Sports Power School entries are due by November 28th.

Please inform your Athletic Directors to pay close attention to the following details when entering rosters to avoid the tedious process of correcting mistakes. If you have any questions or need help, reach out to Reed Willis or Amy Thornton before entering rosters. 

• Be sure to select the correct sport when entering rosters.
  • If you do not select a sport, your rosters will not show up in the right location.
• Enter the correct start and end dates from the information sheet linked below. 
  • Do not leave the end date blank. The end date for all sports for the 22-23 school year should be July 30, 2023.
• When entering rosters be sure to select "Deselect All" before entering your roster.
  • If you do not, the entire list of students will be added to the roster and YOU will need to delete each entry one by one.

Please contact the Athletic Department if you have questions or concerns at weaveri@scsk12.org.

As a next step regarding our voter registration and mobilization project and a continued step in our partnership with the ‘I am a Voter’ (IAAV) Collaborative, we will provide a voting field trip for eligible student voters in your building at no cost to families on Tuesday – Thursday, November 1-3, 2022. Please respond to this email with the preferred date for your school no later than Tuesday, October 25 by 4PM. 

Please submit your response following the example below: 

NAME OF SCHOOL 

VOTER REGISTRATION/ MOBILIZATION LEADER 

PREFERRED DATE 

Please submit a confirmed list of participants by Wednesday, October 27, 2022. 

We will schedule bus transportation to the early voting site closest to your building. Voter registration leads and an appropriate number of chaperones may accompany students to the voting site and back to school. As a reminder, to vote, registered voters must present a form of ID. Details are listed below:  

What IDs are acceptable? 

Any of the following may be used, even if expired: 

• Tennessee driver’s license with your photo (A real ID is not required to vote.) 
• United States Passport 
• Photo ID issued by the Federal or Tennessee state government 
• United States Military photo ID 
• Tennessee handgun carry permit with your photo 

What IDs are not acceptable? 

College student IDs and photo IDs issued by other states or cities cannot be used. 

We look forward to hearing back from you soon and supporting our students.

The Department of Student Affairs is asking that all students in grades 4-12 complete the Student Voice Survey 

October 24 - November 4, 2022

Learning, Leadership, and Life Student Voice Survey link: https://forms.office.com/r/3jhxwiW92n

The purpose of this survey is to provide students with an avenue to share perceptions and voice their opinions of their learning and overall school environment. This makes the process of teaching and learning more reciprocal and can address issues of inequity by allowing students to participate in and influence decisions that will affect their lives and those of their peers. 

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. 

Are you a highly impactful certified teacher? If so, your talents are needed to provide after-school tutoring and homework help for elementary, middle, and high school students Monday-Thursday each week from 4 p.m. - 8 p.m. 

Again this year, we have partnered with Homework Hotline to offer tutorial and homework support via the telephone and internet for K-12 students. If you are interested in serving as a teacher in this program, please review the linked Job Description. The application deadline is Friday, November 4, 2022. If you are contacted for an interview, please be prepared to take and pass an ELA and math skills test to tutor students.

If you have questions about this opportunity, please contact Dr. Erin Luster at lusterey@scsk12.org. If interested, please email a resume to Homework Hotline at aldridgea@homeworkhotline.info.