The third quarter ended Friday, March 8, 2024. Q3 report cards will be distributed to students, as well as, parents will be able to view the report cards in the portal after 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27, 2024. The Q3 Report Card Checklist is available on SharePoint. This document outlines the teacher, principal/principal designee, and district office (SIM) responsibilities for finalizing Q3 grades and report cards.

The Family and Community Engagement (FACE) Department is helping schools recruit volunteer proctors for TCAP testing. 

It is ideal test security protocol to have a second adult (proctor) in each testing room such as a second teacher or a volunteer proctor who assists the test administrator. If you cannot cover every testing room with a second adult, you should have a second adult that proctors multiple rooms by traveling from room to room. 

Volunteer proctors cannot handle test materials but can help the test administrator monitor the room during testing. Although the FACE department is helping schools recruit volunteer proctors, most schools will also need to work on directly recruiting volunteers. 

In many cases, FACE will not be able to recruit as many volunteer proctors as a school needs. If your school wants to request help from FACE, you can use this link to provide details about the volunteer proctor support needed for testing. 

FACE asks that you complete the survey by Monday, March 25, 2024.

Join us for “The Willie Spears Experience” as he presents "Unleashing the Promise and Potential of All Students"

Date:  April 4, 2024

Time: 3:00 - 5:00 pm

Location:  Memphis Sports Events Center

                995 Early Maxwell Blvd.

Credit: 2 hours

Number of Participants: 300

Registration Deadline:  March 27, 2024

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FLYER

Register in PLZ

Course #36191

Section #73010

Willie Spears, M. Ed., is a critically acclaimed author, highly sought after speaker, educator, evangelist, and award-winning teacher and coach. Coach Spears has taken the country by storm with his passionate, energetic, and hilarious approach to teaching life management skills to students, teachers, business leaders, organizations, and teams.

His strategies and principles have turned around schools and communities. His twenty years in education have served as prerequisites to motivate, inspire, and remind educators of their value and significance. 

Date: Thursday, April 4

Time: 3:00 - 5:00 pm

Location: Memphis Sports Events Center
                995 Early Maxwell Blvd.

Credit: 2 hours

Registration Deadline: Wednesday, March 27

"Unleashing the Promise and Potential of All Students"

Register in PLZ
Course #36191

Section #73010

Willie Spears, M. Ed., is a critically acclaimed author, highly sought after speaker, educator, evangelist, and award-winning teacher and coach. Coach Spears has taken the country by storm with his passionate, energetic, and hilarious approach to teaching life management skills to students, teachers, business leaders, organizations, and teams.

His strategies and principles have turned around schools and communities. His twenty years in education have served as prerequisites to motivate, inspire, and remind educators of their value and significance.

Kudos to this year’s highlighted WKNO Recognition Schools for maintaining Positive School Cultures! Each of the following were aired on WKNO’s Television channel. Please view the by clicking this link https://youtu.be/5d7eZ0PfC2M.

If teachers need Personal Finance certification, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Memphis Branch is providing Personal Finance Training for high school teachers who need to meet certification.  The training is 14 hours on Zoom, and is provided free.  For more information please see the attached flyer or email Jeannette Bennett at jeannette.n.bennett@stls.frb.org.  This is the last training offered until August 2024.
 

Click below for flyer:
Personal Finance Training Spring 2024

The Student Technology Xpert Program (Tech Xpert) is delighted to invite you to our technology conference on Thursday, May 9, 2024, from 9:00 am-1:00 pm at Memphis Sports and Events Center located at 995 Early Maxwell Blvd, Memphis, TN 38104.   This one-day student conference, I AM THE FUTURE Tech Xplosion 2024, will allow middle school students, teachers, and school leaders the opportunity to explore new technologies specifically in the areas of eGaming, game design, virtual/augmented reality, coding, robotics, drones, aerial photography, and 3D printing. This conference also includes a keynote speaker, live performance and lunch.

 This exciting event will allow students to:

• Discover new technologies through hands-on student workshops and live demonstrations.
• Engage with representatives from MSCS high schools with STEM and coding programs.
• Learn about post-secondary options and career opportunities through our keynote speaker and various tech companies.
• Gain exposure to local colleges with course offerings in the field of technology such as game design, software engineering, aviation, information technology and more.

We formally invite your school to participate in the event by sending 2 teachers and 25 student representatives, preferably those who excel in Science and Math and who are highly interested in technology. We are proud to offer this conference at no cost, however your school must provide transportation to and from this event. We look forward to your participation. Click here to view the flyer. Click here to scan the QR Code.  

 Confirm your school's attendance in 2 easy steps:

1. Complete the school confirmation form by Friday, March 22, 2024.
2. Reserve transportation for your school by Friday, March 29, 2024. *Due to the capacity of the event, we strongly suggest securing your bus as soon as possible.

Attention: Middle School, K-8, & High School Principals

Please CLICK HERE to review a list of students enrolled at your school without a 1:1 device.  Currently, students without a 1:1 device owe a fine for a previously lost or damaged device or accessory. Digital Device Ambassadors should continue to work with parents to complete waivers and satisfy fines to ensure that all students have their personal device in time for testing.  During check-ins, please ask your DDA to provide the number of parents they have connected with to ensure that parents of students who are Direct Certified have been notified of their eligibility for a Device Cost Relief waiver. Waivers can be used to cover the cost of lost or damaged devices only. Forms must be completed in their entirety to ensure grant compliance.  Please email device_support@scsk12.org with devices related questions.

Attention Building Leaders: 

The last 9-week grading period is underway, and we wanted to remind school leaders that virtual resources are at your disposal.  Enrollment in MVS OL courses and Project Graduation classes has concluded.  However, Grade Results is still available.  All district Professional School Counselors were given access to Grade Results at the beginning of the school year.  PSCs can enroll students in Grade Results for 3 reasons: 

1. To help support a teachers' Grade Repair plans for that student. (Open enrollment- Students can complete lessons until the last day of the quarter following the one being repaired.)
2. To allow a student to asynchronously complete a failed credit through Credit Recovery. (Open enrollment until the last day of school.) 
3. To allow a student to asynchronously complete new coursework through Credit Accrual. (Criteria and deadlines below.)

Reminder: Students can only be enrolled in Grade Results Credit Accrual for the following reasons:

If you have questions about Grade Results, please contact Sr. Advisor Wanda Hunt at 416.7040 huntwk@scsk12.org. 

Attention K-12 ELA educators! 

We want to hear from you! We value your feedback around the semester 2 ELA curriculum resources as well as your input around other resources needed to further support your planning. EVERY educator who completes the survey will win MSCS Swag! Additionally, be on the lookout in the upcoming weeks for your opportunity to be a part of the LIVE in-person and/or virtual ELA Curriculum Reviews. Please help us serve you better by clicking on the appropriate link to complete a short survey for the grade band(s) you support.

Survey Links:

 K-2   

 3-5    

 6-8 

 EOC

Questions? Email ci_ela_team@scsk12.org.

We're excited to present our March Newsletter!

Restorative practices have been proven effective in reducing misbehavior, bullying, violence, and crime among students while improving the overall climate for learning in schools. This training by the SEED Office will cover the basics of restorative practices. Teachers will know and understand how to use classroom circles as a restorative practice. Teachers will also participate and practice utilizing classroom circles with peers during this session.

#31872 Introduction to Restorative Practices   

Dates, Times, Location and Sessions:

Thursday, March 28th - 1:30pm - 4:30pm 

Teacher Learning Academy - W115-116

#72278 Introduction to Restorative Practices

Thursday, May 2nd - 1:30pm -4:30pm 

Teacher Learning Academy W115-116

#72279 Introduction to Restorative Practices

Let's continue to successfully implement our Rethink curriculum and provide our students with the social emotional skills needed for success. Please preview the Rethink Scope and Sequence for the upcoming months. The last days to complete any lessons for each month are as follows: 

• Data for March collected Friday, March 22, 2024 EOD. 
• Data for April collected Friday, April 19, 2024 EOD.
• Data for May collected Friday, May 17, 2024 EOD.  

• Please note that the district’s Centralized Withdrawal form will be closed when school is not in session. The upcoming dates are as follow: 
  • March 29th (Good Friday/ Spring Break II)
• Please contact Justin Doss at 416-6007 with any questions.

Please read guidelines for the Centralized Student Withdrawals End of Year Procedures

• Third Grade: As part of our ongoing commitment to third-grade learning initiatives, students in third grade will be allowed to retain their devices over the summer break.
• Registration Requirement: To facilitate summer device retention for third grade, registration is mandatory. Students are required to register by May 3rd.
• Device Collection: All devices assigned to students in grades Kindergarten through Eleventh Grade, excluding third grade, must be returned to the school prior to the official end of the school year. Specific details regarding the collection process will be communicated separately.

• All rescind requests must be submitted by May 3, 2024. Please note that submissions received after this deadline will not be accepted.
• Rescind Request Link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=lBwpK7Bet0SJ6kuvFuzEqS9JchfmIJpJqRBRxFHAOltUMkxENVI2M1k2R0lZQTJLSFA0TVRIMUpISS4u
• We encourage you to submit your request as soon as possible to ensure it is processed in a timely manner.
• If you have any questions regarding the rescind process, please contact Doris Rice at 416-6007.

• The SEED Department is thrilled to recognize our outstanding Attendance Engagement Specialists (AES) for their unwavering dedication to students, families, and schools across MSCS. Their tireless efforts have been instrumental in significantly reducing chronic absenteeism. Please join us in celebrating their achievements! Read and share the linked article below highlighting their impactful work.
• http://www.scsk12.org/nr/?PN=article&aid=2289

Diversity welcomes innovative perspectives, Equity creates a fair environment and provides opportunities where needed, and Inclusion supports a sense of Belonging and understanding.  In this quarterly Equity Newsletter, learn about DEIB and why it’s necessary for maintaining a positive working and learning environment and more!

Please click on this link to view the Equity Newsletter - Looking Through an Equity Lens. 

Greetings Principals,

As we welcome Spring, we wanted to provide you with helpful information that may be useful to you and your school teams. Please familiarize yourself with AOSS protocol 6.6 Allergy and Asthma Emergency Protocol.

Join our Aspiring Leader Fellowship Programs offering two distinct tracks:

Track 1: Assistant Principals

• Ideal for educators aspiring to become Assistant Principals
• Minimum of 3 years of certified school experience required

Track 2: Aspiring Principals

• Designed for Vice/Assistant Principals aiming for Principal roles
• Minimum of 2 years of vice/assistant principal experience required

General Eligibility Criteria:

• Current employment as school-based or central office staff in MSCS
• Possession of an active TN Instructional Leader License (ILL)
• Hold a Master's Degree in Education, Educational Administration, or a related field

Informational Sessions:

In-Person: Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at 4 pm at the Teaching and Learning Academy

Virtual: Monday, April 1, 2024, at 4 pm. Session link: https://bit.ly/2425ALFPINFO 

For Track 1 inquiries, contact Tari Harris at harristc1@scsk12.org. For Track 2 inquiries, contact Chemella Branch at branchcm@scsk12.org

Our next PowerUp Day will be Tuesday, March 26th, 2024. During this time, ALL TEACHERS and STUDENTS (K-12) will participate in a Remote Learning Drill to test our virtual preparedness throughout the district. Under the new state law, we must verify our ability to conduct remote learning for students in grades K-12 during testing periods or in situations involving severe weather, significant health outbreaks, or other emergencies. Remote instruction is defined as “instruction that takes place when a teacher does not provide in-person instruction to students within the traditional classroom setting”. To assess our preparedness, teachers, and students should follow these steps:

1. Log in to Clever.
2. Access Canvas.
3. Choose the '23-24 District Power Up' course from your dashboard.
4. Complete the course, ensuring you fill out the survey at the conclusion.

Again, all schools, K-12 will participate in PowerUp and the Remote Learning Drill to ensure readiness for all upcoming state assessments and possible remote learning. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Dr. Robert Davis II at davisr6@scsk12.org.

We are excited to announce the next session of Professional Learning & Support’s Central Office Learning Series for the 2023-2024 academic year. 

Session Details: 

Date: Wednesday, April 3, 2024 

Time: 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM 

Topic: Placing More Value in Evaluations 

Presented by: Dr. Michael Lowe (Note: This session is a repeat from February.)

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Tari Harris Director, Leadership Development Programs,  harristc1@scsk12.org

Please remember when entering a discipline incident to enter the number of days in the Title Field. Example: OSS: 5 Days – Disruptive Behavior

The NIE End-of-Year Conference container is now open in PLZ! The DEADLINE to complete ALL NIE End-Of-Year Conferences are as follows:

• School-Based – May 17th

Central Office – June 14th

IMPORTANT REMINDERS:   

• The Goal Setting Conference AND Mid-Year Conference should be completed in its entirety BEFORE completing the End-of-Year Conference in PLZ.

Note: Staff who have not completed the Goal-Setting Conference will need to do so.

• The Mid-Year Conference is NOT required for NIE Partial plans and will not appear as a container to complete.
• Need a refresher? The following resources are also found in PLZ under the Resources tab. 
  • NIE End-of-Year Conference Tutorial
  • NIE Evaluator Step Guide
  • NIE Employee Step Guide

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

PEER REVIEWERS

The TN Department of Education's Educator Effectiveness Team is seeking to contract portfolio peer reviewers from across the state to review and score submitted portfolio collections. Final aggregated portfolio scores determine an educator’s effect on student growth and represent 35% of a teacher’s overall Level of Effectiveness (LOE) score. 

In order to qualify to be a Peer reviewer, one must:

• have demonstrated content area, grade level, instructional experience, and effectiveness.
• be detail-oriented and demonstrate a rich understanding of standards
• be familiar with scoring student work
• be comfortable using and have access to technology
• be able to articulate confidence in the portfolio model to demonstrate student growth
• be available to conduct peer reviews throughout the scoring window, May 28 - June 14
• commit to confidentiality

Applicants must meet all requirements of the solicitation and submit an application no later than 5 p.m. CST on March 29, 2024. Applications will be scored on a rubric aligned to the information shared above.

Please reach out to Portfolio.Questions@tn.gov with questions.

Non-Tested Grades and Subject Teachers.  Please encourage your teachers to log into their Portfolium Account to select their model and collections for SY2023-24. The NTGS Educators listed below will submit Student Growth Portfolios for SY23-24:

• Fine Arts
• Physical Education (Elementary)
• Pre-K
• World Languages (French & Spanish)
   

While there is no deadline for Point A Submissions, educators are strongly encouraged to submit their Point A and B Submissions before the 5 p.m. local time, May 6, 2024, deadline.  
 

*Please note:  Per the State, no further submissions will be allowed after the deadline.  Any Portfolio missing any of the four collections will be marked Incomplete (I) and an LOE (Level of Overall Effectiveness) score will NOT be generated for the 2023-24 school year. 

QUESTIONS/SUPPORT

If any NGTS educator is having issues accessing the platform, has general questions about submissions, or has had job/role changes that do not require Submission of the portfolio, please contact the District Portfolio Lead, Ayodele Hall, at hallam@scsk12.org . 

New Releases:

Literacy Commitment – 3rd Grade Exemption Tracking Report in Power BI and the standalone screening app for inputting exemption requests is now available. See the user guide for the Power BI report here and the guide for the app here!

The Tutoring: 4th Grade Tracking Report now has updated Promotional Outcomes data. See the user guide for more information!

1:1 Devices has been updated and is now available! See the user guides for more information!

Summer School Eligibility Report is now available! This report has a new location in Student Grades. Also new for this year is the inclusion of OAG Summer School Eligibility! See the user guide for more information!

MasteryConnect Report and MasteryConnect Participation is available for the Spring Window in Student Assessments! See the user guides (MC Report, MC Participation) for more information!

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Coming Soon:

• District 360: Pre-K Enrollment and Attendance

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Monthly Newsletter:

Check your inbox! On the first Wednesday of every month, the DAIM team sends out a monthly newsletter to all Power BI users. 

In it, you will find more information on upcoming trainings, new releases, and how-to guides.

To see this month’s edition (and all archived editions), visit our support page.

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Training and Support Resources:  

This week (3/26 and 3/28) we’re discussing the new 3rd Grade Exemption App and the accompanying dashboard in Power BI. 

Sign up today! For more information on Virtual Office Hours, check out this flyer! 

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Check out our new page of all updated features and recent releases on our DAIM Support Page!

You can reach out to us at DAIMSUPPORT@scsk12.org if you need support.  

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Power BI Access:

Principals can give school staff members access through the PowerBI Access App. For more information about how to use the app, see this user guide!