CCTE Spring Certification Consultations
The Division of College, Career, and Technical Education will be hosting Spring Certification Principal Consultations the week of February 6th. All Middle and High School Principals with CCTE course offerings are expected to sign up and attend the consultation session. Please utilize the link below to schedule your day and time.

CCTE: Spring 2023 Certification Consultations: Spring 2023 Certification Consultations Sign-up

Certification Help Desk
As we begin our certification kick-off, please review the revised industry certification testing schedule to ensure that teachers are meeting their 100% certification goal. An Industry Certification Help Desk, supported by CCTE Advisors, will be available each Thursday from 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm for schools that may need additional support.

Certification Help Desk Link: Certification Help Desk Link

SSQI Submission
SSQI documentation is a state requirement and must be completed by all CCTE educators.
Documentation from the following indicators should have been uploaded in the SSQI portal.
1.1 – Program of Study
1.2 – Class Rosters
1.3 – Fall Advisory Council Mtg.
1.5 – Jobs for TN Data
2.1 – Guest Speaker
2.2 – Unit / Lesson Plan
2.3 – Industry Tours / Visits
3.1 – Teacher License
3.2 – Teacher Earned Industry Credentials

Please reach out to your school's Advisor for any questions.

Please see the updated card calendar tool to use when calculating suspension days. This calendar correctly reflects January 2 as a day of absence, as opposed to its previous format. If you have questions regarding date calculations, please reach out to June Nickols, Discipline Advisor at Nickolsjl@scsk12.org.

ALL students are required to complete online registration for 2023-24 school year.  

• Online Registration will launch Tuesday, January 17, 2023, for all new and returning students in Memphis Shelby County Schools.
• School Choice (General and Optional) application will open Tuesday, January 31, 2023, at 10 a.m.
• Enrollment, Registration and Attendance training will be offered to school staff during the month of January and February.
• Students who do not register will not be considered enrolled for the 2023-24 school year.
• Yearly updates to demographic data, opt-in/out, and health information are required for all students.

Greetings Principals,

Every school should have a strategy to respond proactively to a loss that may impact students and staff.  For a detailed step-by-step guide, please review the Death of a Student or Staff Member and Memorial Protocol.

We've got exciting news! Rethink has refreshed some of its January lessons. Click here to access the most updated scope and sequence.

The SEL Team would like to spotlight Lauren Hobson. Lauren has brought to life the 5 SEL strategies, established by SEED’s SEL team to empower students with strategies to address their Social Emotional Learning needs. Click to view Student Spotlight Document.

Please complete Wellness Center Referral Form and email it to wellnesscenter@scsk12.org to notify pertinent individuals of students who are referred for alcohol and drug counseling or who are referred to the Wellness Center. 

REMEMBER to click the identified behavior/purpose of the referral.

Elementary School Principals, please view the oratorical contest information in order to submit a 5th-grade participant for this year's contest.  Information pertaining to this year's Oratorical Contest sponsored by the Memphis Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., can be viewed using the following link:  Oratorical Contest Link.

High School Principals, please share the Maggie McDowell Scholarship Application with high school students.  All documentation must be submitted by Thursday, February 9, 2023.  Information pertaining to the scholarship can be viewed using the following link:  Maggie McDowell Scholarship Application Link.

MSCS Literacy Commitment 3rd Grade Mandatory Parent Meeting: 

All elementary and K-8 schools will host a mandatory 3rd grade parent meeting during the window of January 23- February 3, 2023.

The TN Department of Education requires that parents are informed by February 1 if their child is “at risk” for retention as outlined by the 3rd grade retention law. This includes any student below the 65%ile on the I-Ready Assessment.

The “at risk” letter has been provided in the MSCS Literacy Commitment Resource Folder 2022-2023 along with PowerPoints, parent acknowledgment page, and other pertinent resources to share.

Please ensure that you provide the Academic Team with the date and time that your school plans to host the mandatory meeting so that it can be shared district-wide by using the Literacy Commitment Parent Meeting Link no later than Thursday, January 19.

• The i-Ready/Diagnostic Universal Screener Winter Window is open through 1/20
• View status with the Diagnostic Status Report (Reports > School/District > Diagnostic > Diagnostic Status)
• View growth with the Diagnostic Growth Report (Reports > School/District > Diagnostic > Diagnostic Growth)
• Diagnostic Administration Best Practices are here: https://i-readycentral.com/articles/get-good-data/
• For other tips, visit i-Ready Central - https://www.i-readycentral.com

The provisions of Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 49-5-415(a) states “training for school personnel in the assistance with self-administration of medications shall be repeated annually, and competencies shall be documented in the employee personnel file.” 

Currently, recommendations are to have at least two individuals trained to administer medications at each school location. 

As a result, Medication Administration and School Care Immunization classes will be offered by Exceptional Children & Health Services. During the first portion of training, individuals will become familiar with School Care and the process to enter immunizations into the electronic reporting system. The second portion of the training will be for individuals who have been designated to provide medication administration.

The following dates have been scheduled in PLZ for staff interested in attending the training. If you have questions regarding upcoming classes, contact Nursing Services at (901) 416-6700.

• February 17 – 8:30 am and 12:30 pm
• April 21 – 8:30 am

Please click here to view class information.

New administrators and behavior support, if you have not received Discipline Training. Please click here to view course and sign up via PLZ.

The January session for the Central Office Professional Learning Series will be held on January 25th. 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 January training.

Access Flyer Here: Central Office Flyer Jan. 2023.jpg

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Tari Harris, Director of Program Leadership (harristc1@scsk12.org).

Third quarter project tasks for the Fifth Grade Enrichment initiative are available in the following folder: Fifth Grade Enrichment Materials. Please contact Dr. Katrina Taylor in Optional Schools and Advanced Academics if you have questions or need implementation support.  

Optional principals and coordinators:

Optional renewal forms are now available in the PowerSchool parent portal. Please remind parents to complete their child’s renewal applications as soon as possible. Contact Jennifer Boland if you have questions or need support. 

In preparation for the TCAP/EOC Practice Test scheduled for Jan. 25, we are asking all K-8, middle and high schools to PowerUp! one week prior to the practice test on Wednesday, January 18th at or about 9:01 a.m.  VEL will send out communication to parents via texts, robocalls, and posts on social media outlets encouraging students to bring their fully charged devices to school on Device PowerUp! Day.  We will also meet with K-8, MS, and HS Digital Device Ambassadors to provide details about tasks your homeroom or English teachers can do to check student devices. This will provide DDAs with time to have devices repaired by IT or receive a replacement device prior to the TCAP/EOC Practice Test. 

 Based on pilot schools who participated in mock online testing, the best option is for students to use their 1:1 device versus an in-school device. Although all middle school students are still slated to receive a new laptop device prior to the testing window, participating in PowerUp! and the practice test allows the District to test the network and collect other data to refine our practices as we gear up for widespread online testing. 

Digital Citizenship Training: Digital Citizenship month is finally here! We want your students to be equipped with the knowledge to navigate this digital age. Our digital citizenship course provides an overview of knowledge, skills, and best practices to engage safely and responsibly in a digital environment. These skills are important for students to protect themselves from harmful content, cyberbullying, privacy risks, scams, viruses, and more.

Click the link Digital Citzenship (1).pdf to see how students will access the course, complete the acknowledgment quiz, and how you can monitor progress through completion for your school. The courses will be open in Canvas for all grade bands beginning Tuesday, January 17th. For questions or concerns, you can contact members of the Blended Learning team at dlambassadors@scsk12.org.

Throughout the school year, Memphis-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 the 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

• ENG: https://youtu.be/A4wbLuXB4wI
• SPA: https://youtu.be/Hgsfj9AL-vI

https://scsk12-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/edwardst1_scsk12_org/Ebdy0k3HzthPv47lBbpOR1QBEwCKhgJPReVNVgBu_-GOaw?e=mO5dYt

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/EbPo_Wmxa3RMrV5KchL6kVIBQTl8STsmqUcCV2XCy3jn-A?e=e6nOCV

https://scsk12-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/edwardst1_scsk12_org/EXJ0hbrR1MtAt6AcsbTIHEgBlv37ScyqLgUPEQFkEzH3Mg?e=tOxhQx

In accordance with IRS guidelines, W-2 forms will be distributed to employees by January 31.  

Active employees will be able to access their W-2 forms through the employee portal, while individuals who worked for MSCS in 2022 but are no longer with the District will receive their forms by mail.  

These forms will be mailed on or before January 31.  An update will be sent once the forms have been posted to the employee portal.

The window to complete all NIE Mid-Year Conferences in PLZ is now open! The deadline to finalize ALL NIE Mid-Year Conferences is February 17th.  

Important Reminders:

• ALL required fields should be completed in its entirety before finalizing.  
• Need a refresher? Please see the resource links below.
  • NIE Mid-Year Conference Tutorial
  • NIE Step Guide – Employee 
  • NIE Step Guide – Evaluator

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

Principals, be on the lookout for an email from the District URS-AGM lead, Ayodele Hall.  The email will contain teachers who have been rostered as the ELA Teacher of Record for KK-2nd grade classrooms to use as their final Student Growth score for SY22-23.  You and/or your designee, will review the roster and submit any corrections or deletions by Friday, January 20, 2023. 
 

Click here for guidance on the usage of the Universal Reading Screener as the Growth Measure for KK-2nd Grade ELA teachers.  

The deadline to complete ILD Cycle 1 observations is January 13, 2023.

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 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
 

What’s in PowerBI? Check out all of the reports we have available, here.

NEW Releases and Features

• Check out our release plan, available here!
• Reports that are now available:

• Ready Graduates: Industry Certifications
• Literacy Commitment: See the User Guide available here!
• 1:1 Devices
• Early Literacy (Central Office Staff Only)
• Student Data 360: Students Assessment: SPL Report
• Feeder Pattern: District Quick Report
• System Optimizations: Student Data 360 reports have been optimized to load at a much faster rate. These include:
  • Student Attendance
  • Student Assessment
  • Student Discipline
  • Student Enrollment
  • Student Grades
  • Student Immunization
  • Student Snapshot
  • Student Surveys

Under Construction

• Ready Grad - ASVAB – Coming Mid-January
• Digital Citizenship – Coming Early February
• Advanced Course Scheduling – Coming Mid-February
• 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
• Does something in a dashboard look wrong? Check our Data Quality Updates.

ATTENTION Counselors – We need your help! Please go in and check your intervention plans in BrightBytes and remove the “Protected” access flag. This is very important and impacts the ability to see accurate RTI-B compliance and Progressive Discipline information in PowerBI.

For more information on how to remove the Protected flag, look here.

Trainings 

• Virtual Office Hours: This week (1/17 and 1/19), we will discuss the new Literacy Commitment dashboard. Next week (1/24 and 1/26), we will have another Open Floor Q&A.
  • VOH is held every week on Tuesday and Thursday at 3:30 PM
  • The format alternates every other week between an Open Floor Q&A session and an overview of a new and/or relevant report.
  • Recordings of any tutorials go out to everyone on the calendar invite and will be available on our Support Page.
  • Sign up at this link today!

Support

• Power BI Access: 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.
• Support Resources: Check out the DAIM Support SharePoint site, complete with additional video tutorials, walkthrough guides, and more!