Memphis-Shelby County Schools will host a Job and Career Fair for families Thursday, November 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the McFarland Community Center (4955 Cottonwood Rd, Memphis, TN 38118). 

The purpose of this fair is to provide our parents/guardians with opportunities to chart their own career paths with companies that are able to invest in their futures. 

We know that during these challenging economic times, many of our local residents are job-seeking, interested in career-changes, and exploring opportunities to gain additional educational experience and career certifications. 

Do you need coats and other winter clothing for your students? If so, please complete the survey linked below to provide information about your students’ needs by Monday, November 14. 
 

Each school is asked to designate one person to serve as the coordinator for this effort. That person will be responsible for providing size information for up to 10 students and picking items up on the day of distribution in December.  Requests will be filled based on availability, and an MSCS FACE team member will contact the coordinator to confirm a pick-up time for each school.
 

Link to Submit Coat Requests: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/OWH22

In efforts to increase awareness and support for the District's Literacy Commitment, the Family and Community Engagement team has partnered with the University of Memphis Women's Basketball Team to provide an engagement opportunity for students and families. 

Coach Katrina Merriweather has committed to literacy, and our students and families are invited to join us for a basketball game Saturday, November 12 at 12 p.m. when the Memphis Tigers take on the Howard Bison at the Elma Roan Fieldhouse. 

Families are asked to sign up for tickets online using the link below. 
 

Link to reserve tickets: https://bit.ly/MSCSNov12

The 5th Annual School Choice Showcase has been rescheduled and will now be held Saturday, January 28, 2023, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m from Hickory Ridge Town Center. We will follow the previous year's set-up, which includes a vendor/expo-style table space for each school.  

Over the coming weeks, you will receive information from our team about the set-up for the event, opportunities for student performances, and new event features for school principals. For now, we want to gather information from you and/or your school’s PRO about your school’s marketing materials. Please complete the information on the survey linked below.  

School Choice Showcase Marketing Materials Survey 2022 

In the meantime, here are a few notes to help you get started with planning.  

Tabling and Booth Information: 

You’ll need 4 people max at your table for the duration of the event. Suggested people include: an administrator, a student, a teacher (or teacher type) and a parent. Create a shift schedule to ensure constant coverage.  

You will have a 10 ft. space with a 6 ft. table and 2 chairs. Electrical outlets will not be provided. Table décor is encouraged, but helium balloons are not allowed. 

Printed Materials 

Each school is responsible for developing and printing any marketing materials needed for the event. All flyers, brochures, or marketing materials MUST be printed in color. Please work with your School PRO on determining which materials you will be taking to the event and ensuring you bring at least 300 copies ready for distribution. 

You will be receiving regular updates and more details over the next few weeks. If you have any questions, please let me know.  

• Looking for online instruction data to monitor for fidelity? See attached guidance doc, which shows how to easily gather data from within i-Ready on: 

•  % of students active on instruction 
•  Avg minutes per student (per week/subject) 
• Average pass rates 
•  How to calculate “Health Rating” if needed/interested 

• RTI and At-Risk Reading Report Groups have been built out in the i-Ready platform, meaning school leaders now can view these specific students in the Personalized Instruction Summary Report as well. 

• Check out the latest i-Ready/Toolbox Professional Development schedules attached! 

• All i-Ready/Toolbox Professional Development schedules are attached! 

• Spotlight Sessions: 
  • Nov 10 and Nov 15 - Using Multiple Data Sources to Drive Instruction 
  • Nov 17 and Nov 29 - Standards Mastery Assessment(s) and Analyzing Standards Mastery Results

Finalized PD Plan August - November 2022

How To - Pulling Personalized Instruction Data in i-Ready 22-23

MSCS - Extended Learning PD 

MSCS - Revised 10.23.22 Teacher Assistant - Virtual Sessions

SPED i-Ready PD Schedule

Greetings Principals,

As we prepare for the possibility of inclement weather, we wanted to provide you with a copy of the Emergency Closing of Schools Procedure.

The Office of Equity and Access has partnered with the HBCU Awareness Foundation to enhance college access for our Memphis-Shelby County Schools students. 

The Fall 2022 HBCU College Fair (Ends Nov. 5) is underway! There are over 30 schools participating in this event. 

For more information contact: info@hbcuawarenessfoundation.org

View the flyer here!

Awesome Principals,

Second-semester Eureka Math textbooks have been delivered to all K-8 schools. The textbooks were ordered based on your actual enrollment. Please ask your textbook coordinator to verify the quantities and to report any discrepancies to Meryl Isabel, textbook manager no later than November 16, 2022.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about your textbooks. As always, thank you for all that you do for our students each and every day.

Please click the links for the standards to be tested on the second Common Formative Assessment.

ELA

MATH

SCIENCE

Memphis-Shelby County Schools is committed to ensuring a strong academic partnership with our parents and community. There must be a shared mission with families and partners supporting the same goals. Family Data Night is an opportunity for each school to 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 Fall Family Data Night during the week of November 14-18. Schools will determine the structure of their Fall Family Data Night.

To assist schools with planning this meeting, the Office of Academics has provided sample documents and resources using the following link: Fall 2022 Family Data Night Folder.  Schools should download the items prior to making any adjustments. Please reach out to LaTosha Wiseman or Audra Smith if you need additional assistance.

Mandatory training will be held for all new behavior support staff on November 15-16 at Central Office Grays Creek. The following staff must attend:

• New Assistant Principals, Vice Principal and Principals (0-2 years)

Other Behavior Support Staff hired after July 1, 2022

• New ISS, Campus and Hall Monitors
• New Behavior Support Specialist (school hired and district hired)

Participants should sign-up for one of the available Progressive Discipline: New Behavior Support Staff Training courses in PLZ. Emails will be sent to all new identified staff.

Routes to Restorative Wellness Center:

Principals, we would like to thank you for your patience as the SEED Department has navigated through the logistics of developing our Wellness Center disciplinary referral protocols. Please reference the following links when seeking non-exclusionary options and responding to student misbehaviors.

Early Return Process.pdf

Restorative Routes to Wellness.pdf

Referral to Wellness Center Discipline Form. NOV3 FINALdocx.pdf

Kindergarten Expulsions:

As a reminder, school administrators should never levy expulsions for kindergarten students prior to consulting the SEED Department’s KID Team. Kindergarteners are not allowed to attend the alternative school setting and will fail if they are expelled. For guidance on dealing with Kindergartner misbehaviors, please email the KID Team at kidteam@scsk12.org. Additional KID Team info can be found by clicking the following links:

Revised KID Team Information Session_8-2022.pptx

KID Team Booklet copy

Notification of Appeals:

Please be sure that NO student is expelled without having entered the suspension into the Incident Management section of PowerSchool. All students and parents should receive the Official Letter of Suspension, generated from PowerSchool, in hand when receiving suspensions/expulsions. Schools should not recreate their own Official Letters of Suspension. Parents should be notified of their right to appeal expulsions immediately.

For additional clarity regarding disciplinary processes, please email Dr. JB Blocker, District Manager of Equity, Discipline & Intervention at BLOCKERJ@scsk12.org.

Please mail, email, or deliver your PSAT 8/9 invoice to Ms. Kristi Watson, Optional Schools and Advanced Academics, Room 106, Coe Building. If you have any questions, please contact James L. Smith. 

The AP exam ordering deadline is November 15.  This is the final deadline to submit an exam order for all full-year, and all exam-only sections (AP Virtual Academy and AP Access for All) without incurring additional fees. Exams can be ordered or canceled after this date, although a fee applies in some cases. (See page 22 in the 2022-23 AP Coordinator's Manual, Part 1).

If you have any questions, please contact James L. Smith. 

Q1 Failure Supports: The Virtual Schools and Online Learning Department has developed a dashboard to help high school leaders identify school-level Q1 failures and virtual interventions in which those students are currently enrolled.   

The "VSOL Failure Supports" dashboard can be accessed in PowerBI (CLICK HERE).

 A short video tutorial of the dashboard is also available to view (CLICK HERE). 

Please contact Rochelle Griffin at griffinrj@scsk12.org if you have any questions or suggestions.  We value your feedback. 

Digital Device Ambassador Training:  In-person training and onboarding for NEWLY appointed Digital Device Ambassadors will occur on Tuesday, Nov. 8, from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm at the VEL Center (3237 Knight Road, Memphis, TN 38118). 

For questions regarding the upcoming training, please email device_support@scsk12.org.

1:1 Device Exchange and Replacement Event (High School ONLY):  Parent/Guardians of students with a damaged or lost device will have an opportunity to complete the ECF Self-Certification Waiver, exchange a damaged device for a replacement, and satisfy any fees for device accessories. Parents/Guardians must present government issued ID and be listed as the custodial parent/guardian in PowerSchool to complete the ECF Waiver. 

Flyers will be sent to Digital Device Ambassadors and directly to parents of students without an operable device. 

Schools should also share this information with students and parents via robocall, flyer, text message, school website, etc.

• November 14th I Virtual Education & Logistics Center I 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
• November 15th I G.W. Carver College & Career Academy I 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
• November 16th I Southwind High School I 10:00 am - 6:00 pm

The DLD sign-in link and DLD Exit Survey information was shared with principals via email on Monday, Nov. 7 and should have been shared with educators who engage in the school-based agenda DLD activities on Tuesday, Nov. 8.  Educators who took part in learning offered by other departments were supposed to receive their sign-in link and exit survey information during their session.

Attendance will be credited for November DLD in PLZ by Monday, Nov. 14.  

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

Professional Learning and Support is excited to announce the PAEMST Awards is now accepting nominations! The flyer linked above includes information on how to nominate exemplary Math and Science educators!

Throughout the school year, Shelby County Schools 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. See calendar for your school dates of elementary, middle and high school. Please note: due to a full calendar, we have little to no room to reschedule, however we will do our best to accommodate your school. For more information please call Health Promotions at 416-6432 or you may email Latasa Gates at gateslw@scsk12.org. We are encouraging you to send communication home to parents (i.e. robo calls, emails, text messages). Check out our screening video to see what to expect in ENG: https://youtu.be/A4wbLuXB4wI and SPA: https://youtu.be/Hgsfj9AL-vI

Check out what’s happening in our employee Family Care Center (FCC) and school-based clinics (SBC). Student Support Services will offer the “The Clinic View” newsletter each month.

https://scsk12-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/edwardst1_scsk12_org/EcGuHl2liepDkRsKPmd9ymMBbuWVd5hk7ZpbScv6ukBkLg?e=mj7fKb

https://scsk12-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/edwardst1_scsk12_org/ERTMvP3zXslCqupvjERMtkUBjQ9ghy4r7X9a7sF9O7GWAg?e=19NU0y

The Fall Student Perception Survey is vastly approaching.  

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

Questions? Please contact the Employee Performance and Support office | eps@scsk12.org

The window for completing Growth and Achievement selections for the SY 2022-23 has been extended to November 9th.  

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.  

School Year 2022-23 LOE Component Weightings 
 

"LOE component weightings for teachers with individual growth scores Chapter 991 of the Public Acts of 2022, decreases the observation score weighting for 2022-23 to 40% and increases the achievement score weighting to 25% for teachers with individual growth measures. The growth component weighting remains 35%".

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.

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 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.

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 Grades: Q1 grades are now available in the Student Grades dashboard
• Observations HR Dashboard: Now accessible through the MSCS Compass. All Principals, Assistant Principals, ILDs, and select Central Office staff have access to this report. Contact eps@scsk12.org for additional support if needed. 

Under Construction

• Several reports are currently being updated and redeveloped and will be temporarily unavailable – RTI-A, 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.

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!