Professionalism represents 5% of the overall TEM rating for both tested and non-tested teachers and must be completed and finalized by both the educator and the administrator to receive an LOE score.  Professionalism containers are live, and educators may begin inputting narratives, uploading artifacts, and completing self-scores.  

The suggested deadline for teacher completion is Friday, April 18, 2025.  For questions and/or concerns about instructional evaluations, please contact EPS by phone at (901) 416-2475 or via email at eps@scsk12.org. 

The State is seeking a maximum of 125 peer reviewers to score approximately 15,000 portfolio collections to give non-tested teachers an individual growth score as part of their LOE score. 

The number of peer reviewers needed is based on the number of collections submitted from districts across the state. Peer reviewers are paid at a rate of $20.00 per collection scored plus $50 for attending two (2) required trainings. 

Candidates 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.
• Commit to confidentiality.
• Preferred: Be an active user in the TNPortfolio Platform.

(Additional information about the Request for Applications may be found here.)

If interested, please complete the application and all requirements of the solicitation no later than 5 PM CT, March 28, 2025.  Please direct any questions to Tracy Riddle, the solicitation coordinator:

Tracy Riddle | Director of Educator Effectiveness 

Office of Academics Andrew Johnson Tower, 9th Floor 

710 James Robertson Parkway, Nashville, TN 37243 (629) 203-2005 

Tracy.D.Riddle@tn.gov

- In response to various questions from portfolio implementing teachers regarding uploading, deleting, and viewing student work artifact videos in TNPortfolio, the Educator Effectiveness Team has crafted this guidance document, TNPortfolio Video Guidance. 

- The Tennessee Department of Education is currently accepting applications for peer reviewers. Information can be found here Portfolio Peer Review | TEAM-TN. District Portfolio Educators are encouraged to apply.  

- Samples uploaded to TNPortfolio between January 30th, 2025, 2:30 PM CT and February 5th, 2025, did not upload to the platform correctly. The issue in the platform has been resolved. Please remove any samples from this time window and re-upload them to ensure accuracy. Check preview to ensure you can view your samples. If they do not appear in preview, please reach out to Portfolio.questions@tn.gov. 

he 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 16th 
• Central Office – June 13th 

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

Thank you for your continued support of our New Teachers across the district. As we near this last quarter, we are truly seeing the instructional growth in our first-year teachers! See the important deadlines and due dates below:

April New Teacher Mentor Meeting - None

May 6, 2025, New Teacher Mentor Meeting - *Virtual*

Friday, March 28, 2025

Second Semester Co-observation of Exemplary Teacher Due

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

CAL submitted to CAL Forms Link

Wednesday, April 25, 2025

Final Informal Observation Submitted

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Final CAL Submitted to CAL Forms Link

Friday, May 9, 2025

*Final Deadline for all submissions

Thank you!

Teacher TEM Training Flyer

Looking to enhance your planning and instructional delivery? Join us for a virtual session Thursday, April 3, 2025, as we take a deep dive into Teach 1: Objective Driven Lesson and Teach 2: Explain Content. See the flyer here for more details and registration!

Dear Principals,

Ensure that your respective PLC Coach or Instructional Facilitator are entering their weekly data via the PLC Tool each Thursday by 5:00pm. The PLC Tool allows our district to capture the number of teachers supported, identify areas of refinement, and trends in instruction. PLC Coaches and Instructional Facilitators may access the link below. If you or your team should need support, contact Ron Clark at clarkr@scsk12.org.

PLC Tool Link:

https://org25f1fe79.crm.dynamics.com/main.aspx?appid=3e48c7b3-3977-ed11-81ab-00224809cc5f&pagetype=entitylist&etn=kmstest_facilitatorsupportlog&viewid=ce92ab5f-d7a9-45c2-ba19-4aeaaa5e6dbe&viewType=1039

Dear Principals,

We hope that you have had a productive week. As we continue to strive for excellence in our educational practices, we are pleased to inform you about the upcoming Instructional Leadership Team (ILT) support sessions organized by Performance & Leadership Development. These sessions are designed to provide ILT members with the necessary tools and strategies to enhance instructional leadership within your schools. 

Upcoming Support Sessions:

1. Implementing High Impact Strategies
   • Date: Thursday, April 3, 2025, Implementing High Impact Instructional Strategies
   • Time:
     • 3:15pm-4:15pm (High School, CCTE ILT Grade bands only)- TLA Auditorium
     • 3:30pm-4:30pm (Middle School ILT Grade bands only)- TLA Multipurpose
     • 4:30pm-5:30pm (Elementary & K-8 ILT Grade bands only)- TLA Auditorium
   • Location: Teaching & Learning Academy Auditorium/Multipurpose Room located at 2485 Union Avenue, Memphis TN, 38112
2. Save the Dates for Future ILT Support Sessions (In-person meetings)
   • May 1, 2025

Documentation Deadlines:

To ensure we are all aligned and prepared for Spring 2025 ILT Stipend Submission, please be reminded of the following documentation deadlines:

• Spring 2025 Teacher Log dates should reflect: January 6-May 2, 2025
  • *The ILT Support Session, Data Driven Instruction Cycle that occurred on December 5, 2024, can be included as (1) hour on the ILT Content Teacher Log for the Spring 2025 semester.
• Spring 2025 ILT Teacher Logs and ILT Stipend Excel Sheet: Due by May 2, 2025
  • (Any schools submitting documents after this deadline will waive their semester stipends.)
• ILT Semester Hours: ILT Content Lead Teachers must complete and submit to their respective principal by the deadline at least (22) hours per semester conducted and logged outside of the allotted (contractual) school day to be eligible for the semester stipend.
• Mandatory Attendance: ILT Content Lead Teachers must attend all Instructional Leadership Team meetings and all District-level Content Support Session meetings to be eligible for the semester stipend.

Below is a link to our ILT Principal Resource Folder for your reference:

Principal Resources 2024-25

Your timely submission of these documents and attention to due dates is crucial for the success of our collaborative efforts. Should you have any questions or need further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us at iltstipends@scsk12.org.

Thank you for your continued dedication and hard work. We look forward to supporting you and your ILT teams by working together to achieve our district’s priority goals.

Best regards,

Performance & Leadership Development Team

Remote Learning Drill & Digital Citizenship Canvas Course (Step Sheet): On March 26, 2025, all Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS) students will participate in a Remote Learning Drill and Digital Citizenship Canvas Course. This initiative ensures our district is prepared to support remote instruction effectively, in compliance with Tennessee state law. Click here for more info.

Please find this week's MTSS Lead Weekly  Updates.

Third Grade students will complete the Pearson aimswebPlus Benchmark assessment March 31-April 4.  Students must have Oral Reading Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension subtests to have a composite score.  MTSS Leads have been added to a Microsoft Teams Support Hub where they can engage in Live Support throughout the week. Please reference the 3rd Grade aimswePlus FAQ or email Emily Vuoso (vuosoeb@scsk12.org) with questions.

Save the date for the annual MSCS LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE: JUNE 10, 2025 – June 12, 2025 at Southwind High School

The Memphis-Shelby County Schools’ 2025 Leadership Institute stands as a flagship professional learning and networking event meticulously crafted to empower both emerging and seasoned school leaders. The primary objective is to equip participants with indispensable tools, fostering continuous improvement in key areas of educational leadership. 

Planning to attend the 2025 MSCS Leadership Institute? Complete the intent to attend by April 8,2025 by clicking here.

For any inquiries, feel free to reach out via email at mscsleadershipinstitute@scsk12.org. Join us in shaping the future of education through collaboration and shared leadership!

Calling all educators! The 2025 Beautify Your School Contest is back and accepting applications through May 1! All schools and grades Pre-K-12 are invited to participate.

Sponsored by Memphis City Beautiful, WREG News Channel 3 and Landers Ford Collierville, Beautify Your School is a cleanup and beautification competition that challenges schools to improve their surroundings and engage their students in environmental programs. Showcase your gardens, outdoor classrooms, sustainability efforts, and more!

Cash prizes and trophies are awarded to winning schools, and five representatives from the first-place schools of each category are featured on WREG’s Live at 9!

Learn more or download the entry form to get started: https://memphiscitybeautiful.org/beautify-your-school/.

We recently received information from MLGW about TVA's Energy Right School Uplift Cohort to help recruit for 6th Cohort for 2025-2026!! Cohort 6 of the School Uplift Program kicks off in May 2025, but recruiting ends April 1. Every public or private school that completes the program earns $10,000 for their learning environment and saves an average of 8% on their energy bills. In this upcoming Cohort, six schools in the Valley will earn an additional $200,000 grant for energy upgrades and all schools can compete for an upgraded learning environment grant of $25,000. Please review the attached documents for more information about the program.

For More Information: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ym3mib5uTvxMlGeH0k3hP1J5284pG2rj?usp=sharing

Link to SchoolUplift Participation Agreement: https://tvaenergyright.jotform.com/242874024695969

Memphis Redbirds will be hosting Education Days during the month of May featuring expert-led, hands-on discovery activities for students. School teams may utilize Discovering Memphis funding for this opportunity ($10/student). As a reminder, food purchases are not allowable through this funding.  

-Weather Day: Thursday, May 1 a 11:05a.m. Enjoy pregame, on field experiments led by the local weather team

-STEM Day: Wednesday, May 14 at 12:05p.m. Explore different careers in STEM by talking to experts in their respective fields

-Optometry Day: Thursday, May 15 at 11:05a.m. Learn about eye safety with a pregame presentation from doctors at Southern College of Optometry

For more information: https://www.milb.com/memphis/tickets/education-days 

MSCS is continuing its partnership with Habitat for Humanity to build homes in Memphis this Spring, and we are inviting students from your school to participate in the upcoming Habitat for Humanity build season. We’d love to hear about your interest to join us!

Please note, only students who are 16 years or older are eligible to participate in these builds. For safety and supervision purposes, a 1:6 ratio of students to chaperones is required for students aged 16 or 17. In addition to following the MSCS Field Trip procedures, Habitat for Humanity requires that all participants, including chaperones and students, complete an online registration. Students, with the help of their parents/guardians, should complete the registration link once the specific date(s) for the build have been finalized for your school.

Habitat for Humanity Interest Link: https://forms.office.com/r/HjcR27aUgm