SUPPORT FOR HOMELESS STUDENTS: ASSISTANCE WITH PROGRAM FEES

If you have students experiencing homelessness who are being asked to pay fees to participate in school programs, please know that our office can assist with covering those costs. This also applies to cap and gown fees for high school graduation.

To request payment, please follow-up with the school’s Financial Secretary to coordinate submission of a completed Payment Request Form along with a detailed description of the fees.

For additional information or assistance, please contact Karen Ball-Johnson at ballkf@scsk12.org or call 901-416-7393.

Homeless Student Referral Information

To ensure timely support, all McKinney-Vento referral forms have been uploaded to the Special Populations SharePoint. In order for services to be initiated, a completed referral must be submitted to our office. Once received, a team member will contact the parent or caretaker within 48–72 hours. Please use the SharePoint link below to access the referral forms.  

MSCS Displaced Referral Forms.pdf

Greetings Elementary and K-8 Principals,

Identified students in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade at your school will participate in During the Day (DTD) Tutoring, a program designed to support their academic needs and accelerate learning. The DTD tutoring program began on Monday, September 15, 2025, for all Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

During the Day Tutoring Coordinators participated in training sessions that outlined all program expectations. To support successful implementation, the Office of Extended Learning will continue to host office hours. A list of students required to participate in tutoring is provided below.

During the Day Tutoring Fast Facts:

• Program Dates: Monday, September 15, 2025 – Friday, April 10, 2026
• Participants: Identified 3rd- through 5th-grade students (required)
• Focus: ELA content
• Ratio: 1 tutor per 3 students
• Frequency: Minimum of two 30-minute sessions per week
• Tutors: Specialized Education Assistants
• List of Required Students: 2025 - 2026 DTD Student List 9 8 25.xlsx

If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie McClain (mcclainsl@scsk12.org) or Denise Swan (swand@scsk12.org).

Per Policy #6065, the Office of Student Leadership will offer training for middle and high schools to beginning SGA & Student Council advisors. 

Participants will receive a step-by-step implementation plan to help schools establish a successful SGA and/or Student Council. A calendar of upcoming events (local and statewide) will be provided, in addition to information on fundraising, team-building, and community service projects.

Date:            Tuesday, October 7, 2025 *New Date*

Time:            3:15 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Location:      Central High School (Library), 306 South Bellevue

PLZ Course: 48754

PURPOSE:   To provide guidelines for the operation of student councils in each of the district’s middle and high schools.

Please be sure to review Student Government (Policy 6065).

This policy applies to middle schools and high schools. ​

Each school shall establish an elected student council. The council shall be governed by its own constitution, which shall be approved by the school principal. Defining the council’s jurisdiction shall be a joint and cooperative effort of the council, students, and the student government constitution.

Sign-Up Link: https://forms.office.com/r/kx9gwvLFxV

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Dr. Billy J. Walker, II <Walkerbj@scsk12.org>.

Freedom Award Student Forum

The National Civil Rights Museum’s Freedom Award Student Forum is a celebration for and by young trailblazers. Presented by FedEx and Ford Philanthropy, this year’s hybrid event is open to school groups nationally as an opportunity for educators and students in 5th-12th grade to be inspired by the purpose-driven lives of Freedom Award honorees. The Student Forum is being held at 10 a.m. (Central), October 16, 2025, at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church, 70 N. Bellevue Blvd., Memphis. 

The Freedom Award Student Forum will feature its distinguished Freedom Award honorees. The Museum extends the invitation for classrooms virtually to engage, via a moderated YouTube chat room, with up to 2,500 in-person students and educators. Teachers and youth group leaders who plan to have their students experience the Student Forum must register by September 26, 2025.

Registration: https://form.typeform.com/to/oGEUoeQF?typeform-source=civilrightsmuseum.org

Keepers of the Dream Nomination

The National Civil Rights Museum is pleased to sponsor the Keeper of the Dream Award. The Keeper of the Dream Award is a public recognition of selected youth in grades 6-12 that celebrates and recognizes the hard work and dedication of young people who take action and demonstrate a commitment to ensuring equal rights and opportunities for others.

The Keeper of the Dream Award parallels the National Civil Rights Museum  Freedom Award, which is bestowed upon individuals who have forged paths to expand freedom and opportunities for all people. The student winners of the Keeper of the Dream Award will be honored at the 2025 Freedom Award Student Forum scheduled for October 16, 2025. Nomination deadline is September 26, 2025.

Award Eligibility Requirements

•      Nominee must not have reached their 19th birthday before  October 16, 2025. 

•      Nominee must reside in the Mid-South (TN, MS, AR).

•     Nominee must not be a child or relative of an employee of the National Civil Rights Museum. 

•     Nominee must be in 6th-12th grade in the current school year.

•     Past winners of the Keeper of the Dream award are not eligible to win. 

•      A relative or family member of the student may not  nominate a student or make recommendations. 

•      For selected students, their parent or guardian must sign a media release and give the Keeper of the Dream Review    Committee permission to 1) confirm the student’s school enrollment and 2) review the student’s social media presence. 

Link for more information: https://civilrightsmuseum.org/freedom-award/student-forum/keeper-of-the-dream/

Tennessee Department of Education- United States Senate Youth Program

Qualifying high school juniors or seniors can apply to be selected to participate in the 2026 United States Senate Youth Program. Apply by Sept. 22! Qualification criteria, application materials, and more can be found here: https://www.tn.gov/education/students/opportunities-for-students.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawE-tJRleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHZkhVdMnH7fRWbqlYfrAzRZPmrfwU7rx6q53nv68fc3tu_-N6j3sNYpZUg_aem_STno1QFdAGCZNvTQPzw_Pw

Tennessee Department of Education- Governor's School

Applications for the 2026 Governor's Schools open Oct. 1! Spend next summer gaining knowledge & skills in your field of interest. Submission information and critical deadlines will be posted on each of the Governor’s Schools webpages. More details here: https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/education/districts/instruction/tdoe-governors-schools.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawFFwnBleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHVAqv5AvSjhoxImnNGr5kDUm80TNcSWoDLjjTywKsciyAOGSNI-jDoI3dA_aem__9bd1YautMz6-Rl_rG9SdA

Textbook Services has successfully completed deliveries for elementary, middle, and high schools. We are now moving into the next phase, which includes teacher resources and instructional kits. This phase involves the distribution of teacher resource packets as well as instructional kits.

An email will be sent out regarding the inventory of all science materials in the ClassGather textbook automation platform. This message will be shared with all textbook coordinators and posted in the Textbook Services Teams Channel, outlining the proper steps for inventorying all science materials into the new system.

For now, materials may be labeled and distributed, but schools should ensure that a record is maintained for all new materials. Please look for the upcoming email for the Textbook coordinators.

If your school has not yet selected a textbook coordinator, please complete this task in the Leadership Launchpad under the School-Based Directory Operations.

Thank you for your support and patience as we work to ensure every school has the materials needed for a smooth transition to the new Science adoption.

For questions, please contact:

Dr. Rahmod Traylor, traylorr@scsk12.org  

Tiara Oliver OLIVERT4@scsk12.org 

Dr. Amy Maples MAPLESA@scsk12.org  

Please review the MTSS Lead Weekly Updates for the week of September 22.

Per the guidance of the TDOE, ESL "Push-in" is no longer an approved model for the primary hour of ESL Services but can be used as a second hour of support. In contrast, Co-Teaching can be used as the primary hour of ESL Services but requires evidence of co-planning built into the teacher's schedule. For questions or concerns, please reach out to your ESL Advisor. 

ILP Monitoring Forms for English Learners and Transitional 1 & 2 students were originally released on September 3. Due to a syncing glitch, all original Forms were closed and archived. New ILP Monitoring Forms were then released on September 15 and must be completed by September 30 in ELLevation. Monitoring Forms are integral to our student support systems and required by Federal and State guidelines. Please make every effort to help your teachers complete these monitoring forms by the due date. 

All high schools are encouraged to hold quarterly ESL data meetings in support of the ML Academic Success Assurance Protocol (ML ASAP). Recommended participants include the ESL Teacher(s), PLC Coach and/or Instructional Facilitator, Content Area Leads. Counselors and Administrators are encouraged to participate as well. The Q1 ESL Data Meeting Template can be found here. For questions, reach out to Michael Cortez, cortezl@scsk12.org, or Melissa Basel, delahuntym@scsk12.org.   

In-Person PDs are offered at the Office of Multilingual Learners (OML) unless otherwise indicated - 3030 Jackson Ave, Memphis, TN 38122  

September 30 – ESL  101 Work Session for New/Novice ESL Teachers, "Collaborative Planning," In-Person, 4-5:30 PM  

October 1 – Flashlight 360, In-Person, 3-4:30 PM 

October 2 – ELD/ELA Standards Crosswalk Training, [Virtual] 3:30-4:30 PM 

November 13-15 – TNTESOL Conference at the Sheraton Hotel and Renasant Convention Center, Memphis  

October 1 is the deadline to finalize the student count for the TDOE. The district’s EL count will not include students who are not identified and properly coded in EIS by October 1. Please work with your ESL teachers to ensure students are identified and screened by this date.