• Data Chats – We believe data becomes much more powerful when leaders, teachers, and students engage with the data and have “data conversations” or “data chats.” During these conversations, leaders and teachers identify strengths, areas for growth, goals, and specific actions. For leaders and teachers, these conversations help unpack what the data means and decide what to do about it. For students, these conversations increase student engagement and promote student ownership over their own learning.
  • Click here for a link to the School Admin Data Chats with Teachers
  • Click here for a link to the Teacher Data Chats with Students

From C&I Science: 

Starting February 6, all MSCS Biology EOC students will be timed for 75-minutes as they complete a 55-question assessment provided bi-weekly to build good habits and for us to measure how they will perform on the upcoming T-CAP EOC April 17. We are asking Principals and teachers to provide space and time for our students to complete this MOCK assessment uninterrupted. 

Teachers will receive the assessments through the Mastery Connect Trackers. Schools will have one week to administer the assessment to their biology EOC students before the next one is provided.   ​

LET'S GO!

MOCK Biology EOC Assessments Flyer

Contact: Mcchristontj@scsk12.org Terilyn McChriston

Just as a reminder, if a parent/guardian does not attend the scheduled SART meeting, schools must conduct a follow-up SART meeting by phone (or in person if the parent agrees to come to an in-person meeting). When you conduct a follow-up SART meeting after a No Show, please implement the following:

• Enter the SART meeting in PowerSchool with the date the SART meeting was held
• Remove the No Show log entry
• Enter the PSAP in Incident Management

If you are still unable to reach the parent, the meeting remains a No Show and no PSAP is completed.

If you have any questions or need support, please email Thomasena Stuckett at stucketttd@scsk12.org.

We've got exciting news! The EDI Team has a newsletter “Disciplining with Dignity”. Keep up with “News You Can Use" and more.

We will continue to report suspensions (i.e., ISS, OSS and EXP) in Incident Management.

However on occasion, you will need to document the specifics of Bullying, Harassment or Title IX related allegations that do not necessarily rise to the level of suspension. To ensure that we collect the federally mandated  info connected to these types of events, we will report these particular incidents in the Bullying Log Type within Log Entry as in the past. 

This DO NOT affect or remove any other additional reporting requirements for Bullying, Harassment, Intimidation or Title IX incidents. Follow your Harassment checklist found in the Discipline Guidelines Bullying section for additional clarity.

If you have questions pertaining to log entry, please email Dr. JB Blocker at BLOCKERJ@scsk12.org. If you have questions regarding other bullying reporting requirements/steps, email Dr. Alvin Harris at HARRISAE1@scsk12.org.

Please provide the parent with the Official Notice of Out of School Suspension along with DHA Request Link or tell the parent that they can contact the SEED Department at 901-416-6007 and clerical personnel will email the parent the link upon request.

Parents are being told they have 10 school days to request a DHA hearing, that is NOT correct. Parents must request a hearing within 5 school days of the suspension. If they request a hearing after the 5th day, we will encourage them to contact the Alternative School Office to begin the orientation process at 901-416-2200.

Please ensure completion of a centralized withdrawal form for expelled students (11 days or more) and note the school reviewer and checklist sections have been completed by schools for final approval by SEED.

Students will remain active on your school’s roster until notification of centralized withdrawal form approvals and students have enrolled in alternative schools.

The Tennessee Department of Education is excited to announce the 2023 Reading 360 Virtual Summit. District leaders, school building leaders, teachers, support staff, and community partners are all invited to attend the summit on February 9 – 10, 2023.

There are over 40 sessions designed for you and your team by colleagues and community partners from across the state! Sessions begin both days at 8:00 a.m. CT. 

A general flyer, a leader flyer, and a teacher flyer are attached for you to share. Registration and TASL/PDP information are included in each flyer.  We hope that you and your team will be able to drop in and join us February 9th and 10th!  

Click the following links to access the flyers:  

General Flyer

Teacher Flyer

Leader Flyer 

The WIDA ACCESS window will open on February 13. We ask for the support of building leaders with efforts to prepare for and schedule this state-mandated assessment.

As a reminder, results from this assessment are included in the state’s accountability model. In preparation for testing, the following WIDA-related items are due to ESL Instructional Advisor next week:

• Schoolwide WIDA Assessment Schedules are due Monday, February 6.
• Signed WIDA Materials Packing Slips are due Wednesday, February 8.

-ESL Department 

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.  Information pertaining to the scholarship can be viewed using the following link:  Maggie McDowell Scholarship Application Link.

Please see the February Professional Learning Opportunities presented by PL&S.

Week One

Week Two

Week Three

The deadline to register teachers for job-embedded training is quickly approaching. Please use the link to complete the form by February 8th with the names of 2-3 ELA teachers who will attend.

https://forms.office.com/r/N2qkY12UCB

Title: February Teacher Development Week

February TDW will be held February 14-16 at the Teaching & Learning Academy. Please ensure that your designees attend on the appropriate date for your grade band.

• Tuesday, February 14th Elementary School Teachers
• Wednesday, February 15th Middle School & K8 Teachers
• Thursday, February 16th High School Teachers

School Leaders, we look forward to you joining us February 7-9 & February 13 for February 2023 Leadership Development Week. Please wear red in recognition of American Heart Month.

Please pay attention to rescheduled dates, which are highlighted in yellow.

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. 

Click HERE to access February LDW Agendas.
 

PLC Coaches & Instructional Facilitators

• 2/7 8:00 a.m. - 4:45 p.m., TLA Auditorium
• PLZ Course Code: 32159

ILT Teacher Content Leaders

• 2/7 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., Virtual
• Access ILT TEACHER CONTENT LEADERS Meeting Link
• PLZ Course Code: 32160

Principals

• 2/13 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., TLA Auditorium
• TASL Credit will be applied following the meeting.

K-2 Specialized Education Assistants

Kindergarten: 2/7 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., Virtual

• Click here to join the meeting

• PLZ Course Code: 31857

1st Grade: 2/8 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., Virtual

• Click here to join the meeting

• PLZ Course Code: 31859

2nd Grade: 2/9 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., Virtual

• Click here to join the meeting

• PLZ Course Code: 31860

Digital Learning Ambassadors

• 2/7 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. OR 2/9 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m., TLA Multipurpose Room
• PLZ Course Code: 32161

Vice Principals & Assistant Principals

• 2/8 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. OR 12:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., TLA Auditorium
• TASL Credit will be applied following the meeting.

Professional School Counselors

• Middle & High Schools - 2/9 8:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m., TLA Auditorium
• Elementary - 2/9 12:30p.m. - 4:30 p.m., TLA Auditorium
• PLZ Course Code: 32400

Greetings Principals,

As we continue to ensure the safety of our students, faculty, and staff, we wanted you to be reminded of the important information contained in the Safety-Crisis Response Procedures found in the AOSS Manual. Please review this information with your team.

Spring 2023, Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) High and Middle School Administration:

Memphis-Shelby County Schools will administer the High School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) before spring break (late February through mid-March) to District-managed traditional, alternative, and CTC schools. We will administer the Middle School YRBS to District-managed traditional and alternative schools after state testing in May.  

Your school’s participation is crucial to the success of the survey. The YRBS provides our district with vital information about our students' health risks and protective factors.

By Thursday, February 9th, please complete this two-question, online questionnaire that provides more information about the survey administration and asks you to designate a non-instructional staff member to be a YRBS School Contact for your school.

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: 

• In Student Attendance, the PSAP compliance report has been updated, along with a new Grade Level Table in District Quick Reports. 
• Digital Citizenship: See the User Guide! 
• Absent Rates are now available in Student Attendance – Overview, District Quick Report, and Raw Data. 
• Literacy Commitment: See the User Guide and Training Video! 
• With this report (on the Overview page and the ASP Compliance report), you can identify 3rd graders falling below the 65th percentile on i-Ready and are at-risk for retention. 
• Overage for Grade filter within Student Data 360 reports. 
• Tutoring Growth Tracking report within Tutoring Dashboard 
   

Coming Soon! 

• RTI-A – Updates to 
  • Characteristics of Dyslexia Compliance Report 
  • Benchmarking Next Steps Report- (New report) 
  • Written Expression Winter 2023 Results 
  • Student Progress - (New report) 
• Instructional Practices – IP 4 Report  
• Advanced Course Scheduling 
• OAG Compliance report in Student Grades 
• Ready Grad – updated ASVAB data 
• Student Surveys – Insight Report 
   

System Optimizations: Student Data 360 reports have been optimized to load at a much faster rate. These include: 

• Student Attendance – Current Load Time: 00.05.42 seconds 
• Student Assessment – Current Load Time: 00.05.89 seconds 
• Student Discipline – Current Load Time: 00.07.68 seconds 
• Student Enrollment – Current Load Time: 00.06.47 seconds 
• Student Grades – Current Load Time: 00.07.39 seconds 
• Student Immunization – Current Load Time: 00.04.85 seconds 
• Student Snapshot – Current Load Time: 00.03.63 seconds 
• Student Surveys – Current Load Time: 00.04.40 seconds 

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 

Trainings: 

Virtual Office Hours

• This week (2/7 and 2/9), we will hold an Open Forum. Please bring any questions you may have. 
• Next week, on February 14th and 16th – we will have a team member from BrightBytes lead a refresher training. 
• 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! 

 
Under Construction: 

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. 

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! 

Please make sure to update basketball scores after every contest. Unfortunately, the MSCIAA does not have the personnel to ensure scores are recorded daily. Coaches should begin to receive missing score notifications via our new website. Please work to ensure submissions are accurate, championship seeding is based off this information.

Please View the Missing Scores here. Click on the desired level and then find your school. For example, click on “Basketball Varsity Girls” and then click on desired High School.

Directions on How to Enter Scores. If you do not have a login, please contact the coordinator of that sport.

You can always find scores/standing by visiting ‘SCIAA.org’ then go to ‘Scores/Standings.’

Spring 2023 Student Perception Site Coordinator Training Dates: The Spring Student Perception Survey is vastly approaching.  Site Coordinator Training will take place virtually from February 9 - 15.   

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

• Survey​ Opens: March 6
• Survey Closes: March 24