While we anticipate receiving Ready Read student workbooks for all students, at this time teachers will need to access the materials digitally. To ensure ease of access we have updated the Q1 Reading Prescriptions by hyperlinking the student resources to the Ready Read weeks included on the elementary and middle schools’ Reading Prescriptions. Please note, that teachers can also access the Ready Read lessons by means of the iReady Teacher Toolbox. Additionally, to encourage technology integration, teachers can share the student resources with their students digitally. Included below is a resource with technology integration ideas compliments of our Blended Learning Team. 

Ready Reading Support Guides: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WR7xmviPEs-pa3CZLu5kY8Pp_PfexEW6?usp=sharing
 

Please address questions to ci_ela_team@scsk12.org.
 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PujrY-Z0bk7nf2uIRNWOPvXDggBWSL3W/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=110047789935292811903&rtpof=true&sd=true 

You are receiving recognition for the positive trends found in your end of year 2022-23 discipline data and because of your strides towards implementing restorative practices! 

• Hollis F. Price MS (Principal, Sandra Barnes)
• Dunbar ES (Principal, Lawanda Shaw)
• Newcomer International Center (Principal, Gabriela Torro)
• Trezevant HS (Principal, Eric Brent)
• Ridgeway MS (Principal, Katrina Raggs-Washington)
• Hickory Ridge MS (Principal, James Gordon)
• Brownsville Road ES (Principal, Velvet Jeter)
• Downtown ES (Principal, Brandye Williams)
• Windridge ES (Principal, Todd Shaffer)
• Westside ES (Principal, Kimberly Adams)

The EDI (Equity, Discipline & Intervention) office has identified you as one of the highlighted 10 schools who will receive television broadcast recognition on WKNO!  Please see WKNO Schedule of school visits. 

Please keep up the good work…and know…your hard work is noticed and appreciated!

You now have the option to select Stay Away Agreement in Incident Management. When selecting Local Action Codes, Stay Away Agreement is in the list of drop down options. 

The district is beginning the testing process for Civics for the 2023-2024 school year. In accordance with usual procedures, we are asking building leaders to use the following form to designate a Civics Lead for your school to serve as the main point of contact for all Civics exam procedures and updates.

https://forms.office.com/r/7Qtdpw768d

Please contact Dr. Brian Davis, 9-12 Social Studies Advisor at davisbc@scsk12.org if you have any questions.

Greetings, School Leaders:  

I hope you are having a wonderful day. As we continue to remain informed and diligent about the health and well-being of our students, we wanted to provide you with a useful resource related to COVID-19.  The attached Updated Guidance for COVID-19 in Schools contains the helpful information and reminders below. Please take a moment to read it and share it with your faculty and staff.   

• The federal mandates related to COVID-19 were lifted in May 2023.
• Mandated reporting is no longer in effect.
• Keep anyone sick separate from well students and staff in a safe area until the sick person can return home.
• Individuals who test positive for COVID-19 are to follow the advice of their health care provider.
• Follow-up with the parent/guardian on the students return date.
• The CDC encourages everyone to remain up to date with all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses.
• Anyone with symptoms of COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, is encouraged to get tested.

Health situations are evaluated on an individual basis. Principals are encouraged to contact the MSCS Department of Exceptional Children and Health Services at 901-416-2424 for any specific health guidelines and follow-up instructions.

Moreover, if you are searching for a COVID-19 vaccination site nearby, you can look up vaccines.gov, text your ZIP code to 438829, or call 1-800-232-0233.  

If you require further assistance, please don't hesitate to email me at jacksonrd@scsk12.org or get in touch with Dr. Patricia Bafford in Health Services at baffordpd@scsk12.org.  

Thank you for taking care of yourself and those around you! 

• School administrators must ensure teachers record attendance daily in PowerTeacher Pro beginning the first day of school. Do Not use paper forms.
• School office staff should process and reconcile daily attendance codes submitted by teachers. 
• If your school is without a dedicated clerical, please identify a back-up person and contact the SEED Office for appropriate district training.  
• Each school should have an attendance administrator who can assist and verify the accuracy of attendance data.   
• Drop all NO-SHOWS and if attendance has been taken, please remove attendance before dropping the student. 

• All 5-year-old Kindergarten students must be registered and enrolled by Monday, September 18, to be eligible to attend school for the 2023-24 school year. 
• Students who are not 5 years old by August 15 and did not pass the Early Kindergarten Entry Screening are not eligible to attend school this year. 

(This does not apply to homeless, migrant, or foster care students.) 

• School support staff can withdraw students from school for the first three weeks of the school year if they have not attended any classes.  Again, no-shows should be dropped dated back to the first day of school. Withdrawals are only completed if a student has attended school this school year. Truancy will need to be cleared if a student has not attended school by August 21.
• Review your projected enrollment list and students who have not registered/enrolled at your site. Contact these parents to register/enroll. Assign staff during regular school hours to assist parents who are registering late.

School Counselors are required to submit OAG requests using the OAG/Grade Placement survey form in PowerSchool SIS.

Attendance training will be offered on multiple dates. Assigned staff who support attendance can visit PLZ to register.  Participates will review district and state mandated guidelines surrounding attendance, and learn the tools needed to successfully carry out day-to-day attendance responsibilities.  Please Bring Your Laptop.

• Course #: 32108 (Elementary and K-8)
• Course #: 32114 (Middle and High)

This course is designed for staff who enroll students, approve registration, and process student withdrawals at the school level (Administrators, GOS, Financial Secretaries, Enrollment staff and Clerical Assistants).  Participants will learn how navigate PowerSchool SIS via a training database and navigate the online platform and view real-time data.

• Course #: 34911 (Elementary, Middle, and High)

RTI-2B District Leadership Team has identified the following schools to pilot our RTI-2 Alignment Initiative. Your schools were chosen because the team believes that you currently already have most of the components in place to satisfy the Alignment Rubric. The identified pilot schools (both cohorts) will meet in-person to receive detailed information on what’s to come from Victoria S. Perry, Director, Tennessee Supports Center. 

Location: TLA- (TBA tentatively W115-16)

Time: 9:00am-2:00pm

Date: August 29, 2023

Each participant will need to register by August 24, 2023. Please use this REDCap survey to register Registration Link.

SCHOOLS COHORT (A)

Dexter K-8 - Principal Patrick Certion

Cordova MS - Principal Christopher Hardiman

Cordova HS - Principal Barton Thorne

SCHOOLS COHORT (B)

Hamilton K-8 - Principal Quay Jackson-Porter

Woodstock MS - Principal Willie Bolden

Southwind HS - Principal John Bush

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to Dr. Amy Maples - MAPLESA@scsk12.org - RTI-2 Co-Chair (Academics) or Dr. JB Blocker - BLOCKERJ@scsk12.org Dr. JB Blocker - RTI-2 Co-Chair (Behavior)

The Council is accepting nominations for the Queen Smith Award for Commitment to Urban Education, a $5,000 award honoring an urban school teacher. The award will also be presented at the Council’s Fall Conference in San Diego, October 2023. More information is attached, and nominations must be submitted online using the following link.  The deadline to apply is COB, Friday, August 25. 

https://tinyurl.com/2023QueenSmith

Click here for more information. 

This year’s theme is, “Aligning to Re-Think...Re-Thinking to Restore!”  The state is requiring that we align our district-wide Response to Intervention (RTI) Academic and Behavioral efforts, so it is crucial that appropriate district staff receive the mandated updates and expectations. 

As you might remember from past years, school leaders are required to send:

• RTI-2B Tier (1) & (2) Coaches
• At least one school counselor
• District assigned RTI-2 behavior specialists (school hired are also encouraged to attend)
• SEED leadership will select specific Mental Health staff who will attend.

Please forward this email to the appropriate individuals at your school and have them access the link below to view the RTI-2 Showcase Agenda and to register for the event.

https://ncyionline.org/memphis-shelby-summit/

Date: September 1, 2023

Time: 7:45am- 3:00pm

Location: University of Memphis Center 

Parking is Free: Zach H. Curlin Street 

The Keynote Speaker will be Dr. John Hodge

We are providing one Complimentary Bookstore Voucher to be used for selecting resources at the NCYI Product Showcase – compliments of Memphis-Shelby County Schools and our sponsoring vendors who are listed on the website. The voucher will be provided to the first school representative upon sign-in.  Please note, participants must sign in and out to receive PLZ attendance credit.

See tentative schedule for your review! Please have staff register by September 1, 2023.

Elementary Principals,   

Please be on the lookout for an email from Chief Page on Monday regarding the implementation expectations of the Fifth Grade Enrichment initiative for 2023-24. In the meantime, please share the folder of enrichment project materials with your enrichment teachers. If you have questions, contact Dr. Katrina Taylor.  

Project tasks: Fifth Grade Enrichment Materials

Secondary School Principals: Tuesday, September 5, 2023, is the last day to enroll students in MVS OL courses for semester 1. Your professional school counselors already know the protocol to enroll students. Contact Director Rochelle Griffin (griffinrj@scsk12.org) to start a discussion of a Special Project class is desired for your school. 
 

Thank you!

 Attention: Building Leaders

The Division of Virtual Education and Logistics would like to thank all building leaders and their leadership team for collaborating with our office to complete the 1:1 Classroom Teacher Device Reconciliation Project.  The completion rate for the Teacher’s Device Reconciliation Project was over 82% for the district.  Our office has received several requests for additional 1:1 classroom device for teachers and eligible staff. We would like to extend the opportunity for building leaders who completed device reconciliation last school year to request additional devices as needed for eligible staff who did not previously receive a device. Requests will not be processed for schools whose reconciliation is currently “In-Progress”.  Please contact Mrs. Lisa Fletcher at fletcherl1@scsk12.org if there are any questions regarding the reconciliation status for your school.   

Please complete the FORM to submit a device request.  Remember that administrators, clerical staff, educational assistant, CCTE, PreK, or SPED are not eligible roles. Please be prepared to attach a current 2023-24 staff roster (teachers’ name/grade/subject) when completing the request form.

 Thank you for your support!

 Attention Building Leaders:

Please return previously assigned devices to the same teacher from last year if they are still serving in an eligible position. Ensure that each teacher completes the Computer/Device Checkout Form upon device assignment or redistribution. Scan all completed forms as one PDF file and attach the file HERE.  An Ivanti workorder should be submitted for any devices with physical damage or a technical issue. Physically damaged devices are covered under the accidental protection plan, and claims will be filed by IT Field Support. Please follow MSCS district policy for reporting lost or stolen/unreturned devices.

Thank you for your support!  

The DAIM Team is pleased to offer PowerBi Training for New Users.  Learn more here. If you have questions, please email DAIMSupport@scsk12.org.

Please see the agenda for the August Principals' Meeting.

The 23-24 Instructional Practice Classroom Walkthrough Tools are available here.  You can use this link (bit.ly/2324Walkthrough) to submit your walkthrough tool which will feed data to the PowerBi on the Instructional Practice Dashboard.  Please note that the submission link will not be active until Monday, August 21st. You should download a PDF copy of your entry for your records.

One Informal Observation must be completed in PLZ prior to completing the Formal TEM Observation. The step sheet on how to upload to PLZ the PDF from what you submitted in the Microsoft Form is linked here.

If you have questions regarding the 23-24 Classroom Walkthrough Tools, the submission link for the walkthrough tool, or the PLZ step sheet please email professionallearning@scsk12.org.  For TEM questions, please contact eps@scsk12.org.

This year, there have been revisions and improvements made to the Foundational Literacy Laureate Initiative.  An interest meeting is planned for all "prospective" Laureates who desire to serve in the role during the 2023-2024 school year.  Please send your "prospective" Laureate to join us at the interest meeting on August 24 @ 4:30PM at the TLA in rooms W115-W116.   

NOTE:  At the end of the interest meeting, "prospective" Laureates will be provided the Laureate Agreement and Stipend Guidelines forms to sign and garner the Principal's signature. Each elementary and K-8 school can designate a Laureate to support early literacy instruction in K-2 classrooms.

If you have questions, please contact the Early Literacy Office via email at EarlyLiteracyDept@scsk12.org or call 901.416.4766.