The Fall i-Ready Diagnostic Assessment window will be open from August 12 - August 30. Please prepare and motivate students to participate in the Fall screener.

Please contact professionallearning@scsk12.org if you have any questions. 

The Keeper of the Dream Award, sponsored by the National Civil Rights Museum, is a public recognition of selected youth in grades 6-12 that celebrates and recognizes the students' commitment to civil rights. The nomination deadline is September 13, 2024. 

Are you a school-based staff member or central office personnel passionate about enhancing educational opportunities? Join the Professional Learning Experiences Team and help shape the future of our districtwide professional learning initiatives.

As a committee member, you'll collaborate with like-minded professionals to plan in-service events and contribute to our annual Leadership Institute. To express your interest, please complete the interest form by accessing the link: https://bit.ly/PLETeamInterest

For more information, Click here or contact Racheal Addison at addisonrd@scsk12.org or call 901-416-9233.

Got questions? We’ve got answers! Check out our Frequently Asked Questions on curricular usage and planning expectations as you dive into the new school year.

Enhance your professional growth and address your students' literacy needs at the Fourth Annual Memphis Literacy Conference. For more information and to register, please refer to the flyer.

Contact Joyce Harrison at harrisonjr@scsk12.org or Dr. Tiffany Boyle at boyletd@scsk12.org if you have any additional questions. 

In October, the 2024 AP® School Honor Roll will be announced. This award recognizes schools based on criteria that reflect a commitment to increasing college-going culture, providing opportunities for students to earn college credit, and maximizing college readiness.

By August 31, AP Coordinators should confirm that your 2023-24 12th-grade and free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) student enrollment data in AP Registration and Ordering are correct, as these data should be entered for your school to be considered for the award. Your school’s AP coordinator can make any necessary updates by signing in to AP Registration and Ordering. They should first change the school year to 2023-24 by selecting the year next to the school name on the homepage. Then, navigate to the School Information and Participation Contacts screen found under Settings. There’s no application process for this distinction. If a school doesn’t wish to be considered for the AP School Honor Roll, the AP coordinator should simply leave these data fields blank.

Please contact James Smith, AP Manager, if you have any questions. 

We will continue to provide intervention/support for students who are overage for grade. Please review the Assessment for Over-Age for Grade Guidelines. School Counselors have received this information and are aware of the process for this school year. For more information, contact Counseling Services and Registration/Enrollment.

• Rhonda Hill, hillre@scsk12.org
• Sherenda Moss, mosssi@scsk12.org
• Constance Certion, certioncb@sck12.org 
• Stacey Davis, daviss2@scsk12.org 

The state requires each school to designate a Child Abuse Coordinator and Co-Coordinator. For Memphis-Shelby County Schools, each Principal will serve as the Coordinator and identify one Professional School Counselor to serve as the Co-Coordinator. The Coordinators' names must be reported to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services annually. Please complete the link below by Friday, August 30th. Also, I have attached information regarding Erin’s Law and the School Child Abuse Coordinator Newsletter. If you have any questions regarding this information or any DCS-related issue, please contact Dr. Rhonda Hill, hillre@scsk12.org 

School Child Abuse Coordinator: 

• School Child Abuse Coordinator Contact link:  https://stateoftennessee.formstack.com/forms/child_abuse_coordinator_contact_list

 Additional Information: 

• Mandated Reporter Training Invitation: https://tn.webex.com/weblink/register/r733cb0ec8d10fa75dbe87195a0561575

•  Erin’s Law

TEM Certification SY2024-25: According to Tennessee State Board of Education Policy5.201, all educators must be evaluated annually by a certified evaluator.  

For SY2024-25, there are three options offered in attaining TEM Certification:  

- Returning Observers   

• Self-Paced (Canvas) - Manual Registration ONLY 

- New Observers 

• Canvas Self-Paced 
• 2-Day Live Virtual Session

Course numbers and date information can be found HERE.  

 *Note: ALL Returning Observer participants must complete their TEM coursework and calibration by August 30.  

The NIE Self-Paced Recertification window for the 2024-2025 school year opened June 12. Identified Returning NIE Evaluators who were certified during the 2023-24 school year were automatically placed in the Recertification Self-Paced course in Canvas. Therefore, self-registration is not necessary and will not be accessible in PLZ.  

• Please check your Canvas dashboard for this course.  

NEW NIE Evaluators  

Registration is open to Evaluators that are NEW to the Non-Instructional Evaluation process. For SY2024-25, there are 2 options offered in attaining NIE Evaluator Certification.  

• Self-Paced (Canvas) – PLZ Course #36779   
• Live/Virtual - PLZ Course #36378 
• Please Note: Only ONE option is necessary for certification.

Additional information regarding NIE Certification for SY 2024-25, including course numbers and date information, can be found on the NIE Evaluator Training Calendar.  

The district completion deadline for ALL RETURNING EVALUATOR Certifications is August 30.  

Questions/Concerns? Send an email to eps@scsk12.org.  

The State is excited to announce that TEAM training is transitioning to the TeachALL platform. This transition will make accessing TEAM trainings simpler and more user-friendly. TeachALL features include: 

• No more hassle with course registrations! 
  • With TeachALL, evaluators can now self-enroll in initial evaluator courses at their convenience. 
  • Certified evaluators will continue to receive a recertification email with log in information.  
• Upon completion of certification courses and passing assessments, TeachALL automatically awards you with a certificate, that will automatically connect to TNCompass to upload your credentials. 

TeachALL is an intuitive and user-friendly platform designed to empower evaluators. The new platform is easy to access with your Single Sign On (SSO).   

• Recertification courses are open from June 3, 2024, to August 31, 2024.  
• Initial certification courses are open from June 3, 2024, to March 31, 2025.  

​**All TEAM evaluator completion certificates should be forwarded to Employee Performance and Support via email: eps@scsk12.org.  

For more information about TEAM training and certification, please visit the TEAM website. 

Contact the State at team.questions@tn.gov should you have any questions or concerns regarding TEAM certification for 2024-2025.

The Fall Universal Screener Window will be open August 12-30, 2024.  Students in Kindergarten through 6th Grade are required to complete the iReady ELA and Math Diagnostic as well as Written Expression. The vendor will report K-6 data to TDOE.  For any student who is flagged at risk for Characteristics of Dyslexia falling below the 25th percentile, you will follow the screening guidance for the additional assessments and steps.  Students falling below the 15th percentile show a significant Reading deficiency.

Remember that the Teacher of Record should not administer the universal screeners.  Check with the MTSS Lead for the school universal screener schedule. MTSS Leads and Principals should monitor the progress to ensure completion. A completion report will be shared with school leads on Fridays during the window.

As a point of clarity MSCS encourages students in K-8 to take both the ELA and Math iReady Diagnostic as this data provides a baseline for where they begin the year that can be compared to winter and spring.  Additionally, participation in the iReady Diagnostic allows iReady to provide a personalized learning path for the student to use.

Questions can be emailed to RTI2@scsk12.org.

In an effort to document the support provided by the SEAs, they are being asked to document their support in two ways.

Daily Support-Print one copy of the Daily Log template (linked here) each week and complete the appropriate portion of the log each day. In this way, SEAs will have printed documentation that speaks to their daily support.  SEAs should keep the daily logs in a folder or binder that is available upon request.

 Weekly Support- SEAs will use the link below to capture their weekly support totals. 

SEA Totals Reflection Log:

 https://forms.office.com/r/Riv2dwsevL

Please encourage your SEAs to keep updated records of their support.

Welcome back, K-12 ELA teachers!

As we begin this exciting school year in ELA, please check out the  Curriculum Maps and Supporting Documents folders found on the MSCS SharePoint. There teachers can acess curriculum maps, unit/lesson preparation guidance and more.  Simply click the link below and select the Curriculum Maps tab found in the gray Menu section.

http://www.scsk12.org/ci

Additonally, "Getting Started" curriculum guides for K-5 Wonders ConnectED and 6-12 Savvas myPerspectives online platforms are available. These guides provide new and returning teachers tips on how to access the online platforms, navigate your digital teacher account, create and edit online calendars, manage digital assignments and assessments, access on-demand videos, and more!

K-5 Wonders Getting Started Guidance

6-12 Savvas myPerspectives Getting Started Guidance

iReady Literacy Tasks

TLA Room 115/116

August 19 or August 22 at 4:00-5:30

Recommended for Leads and New Teachers

PLZ#36983

iReady Standards Mastery Overview

Microsoft Teams

September 3 or September 5 at 4:00-5:00

Recommended for Principals and Leadership Teams

PLZ#36847

• All kindergarten students riding the bus should have an orange sticker attached to their bus pass.      
• School administrators/designees must identify kindergarten students to the bus driver before placing them on a bus.

• Please ensure all students riding the bus have been issued a bus pass.

The Federal Programs team will continue to provide open lab work sessions (virtual and in-person) to support the development of your School Improvement Plan (SIP)*. Your Title I Advisor has provided your PLC Coach or school-level representative with dates, locations and times for the month of August. 

If, individualized targeted support is needed for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) and Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) designated schools, please sign up for one of the following dates using the link below.

August 12 and 13

August 19 and 22

August 26 and 27

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0849ADA62CA3FB6-50617072-sipwork

*All plans must be submitted to the Local Education Agency (LEA) no later than August 30th, due to September 1st falling on a Sunday.