School Leaders,

We are sharing the Digital Citizenship flyer to help you plan for the September 28–October 28, 2026, districtwide participation window. All K–12 schools will participate as we work toward a District goal of 93% student completion.

Please review the flyer for teacher roles, student access steps, and grade-band courses. Schools may determine when students complete the Canvas lessons within their schedules and use the Digital Citizenship Completion Report to follow their progress.

Thank you for your partnership and support.

The Digital Citizenship participation window is September 28 – October 28, 2026, with a District goal of 93% student completion.

Please ensure time is allotted for students in grades K-12 to complete all assigned Canvas modules and monitor your school’s progress toward the goal. See the linked flyer for implementation guidance and completion-monitoring resources.

Flyer: MSCS Digital Citizenship 2026

Thank you for supporting safe, responsible digital learning!

School Leaders,

The districtwide Digital Citizenship completion window is open through October 28, 2026. All K-12 schools are expected to participate as we work toward our goal of 93% student completion.

Please review the Digital Citizenship flyer for teacher roles, student access steps, and grade-band courses. Schools may schedule the Canvas lessons for a time that works for them and use the Digital Citizenship Completion Report to monitor student progress.

Thank you for your partnership and support.

Flex Day courses for the 2026-27 school year are now available in Canvas. Review the Flex Day flyer for course information, requirements, and important dates. 2026-27 Fall and Spring Flex Days.pdf

The Fall 2026 Professional Learning Catalog is now available! Explore professional learning opportunities designed to support your continued growth and development. View the catalog for available sessions, dates, and registration information. FALL 2026 Professional Learning Catalog.pdf.pdf

The Q1 Report Card period ends Friday, October 9. Q1 Report Cards should be printed and handed to students to take home on Wednesday, October 28. Parents will continue to be able to view the grades in the Parent Portal as well. The Q1 Report Card Checklist is available here. This document outlines the teacher and school office staff’s responsibilities for verifying and finalizing Q1 Report Cards. If you have any questions, please contact your assigned SIS Data Specialist/Analyst.

Important Dates:

• Quarter 1 End Date: October 9, 2026
• Quarter 2 Start Date: October 19, 2026
• Fall Break: October 12-16, 2026
• Distribution Date of Report Cards and Available via Parent Portal: October 28, 2026

As the next phase in our Voter Engagement Commitment, we will be arranging bus transportation for eligible students to Ride to the Polls during Early Voting. Please use the form linked below to confirm your interest in participating in Early Voting during the early voting period (Wednesday, October 14 — Thursday, October 29, 2026). We will work with your school to select the date.

Link to MSCS Ride to the Polls Form: MSCS Ride to the Polls Field Trip (2026) – Fill out form

In order to participate in this field trip, students must:

Be registered to vote in Shelby County, Tennessee, by October 5, 2026. 

For more information on verifying voter registration, visit https://web.go-vote-tn.elections.tn.gov/. 

To Search By Voter, you will need:

• First Name (required)
• Last Name (required)
• ZIP Code OR Birth Month and Birth Year

Be 18 years old on the day they vote. For example, if a student turns 18 years old on November 3, they would be eligible to vote on Election Day, but they would not be eligible to vote during Early Voting. Please refer to the previously shared school lists of students turning 18 by Election Day and/or download the Basic Student Info Report from PowerSchool.

Have an acceptable ID.

For more information on Voter ID requirements, visit https://sos.tn.gov/elections/voter-id-requirements

• Understand what IDs are acceptable
  
  Any of the following IDs may be used, even if expired:
• Tennessee driver license with your photo
• U.S. Passport
• Photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security
• Photo ID issued by the federal or Tennessee state government
• U.S. Military photo ID

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Dr. Erin Y. Luster at lusterey@scsk12.org.

We’re encouraging all elementary and middle schools to host a school-level Spelling Bee and give students the chance to showcase their spelling skills and confidence on stage.

This year’s MSCS Spelling Bee will highlight our spectacular spellers in grades 3-8. But first, they’ll need to win your school’s spelling bee by Friday, December 11, 2026. Now is the time to identify your Spelling Bee Coordinator and plan for e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-c-e.

If you have questions about how to get started, sign up here: Spelling Bee Intent to Participate 2026-27 – Fill out form and  join us for a virtual meeting on Monday, October 26, 2026 at 4:30 p.m.

For more information about the Scripps National Spelling Bee, visit spellingbee.com/enrollment to learn more and register your school. Participation in the Scripps Bee is NOT required for participation in the MSCS Spelling Bee.

Thank you for all you do to create meaningful learning opportunities for our students and for helping them build confidence through friendly academic competition!

Should you have any questions, please contact Dr. Erin Y. Luster at lusterey@scsk12.org.

We are excited to participate in this year's Do the Write Thing (DtWT) writing program. DtWT is a writing competition where middle school students share how violence has impacted them and propose solutions. 

We are excited about this year's challenge and look forward to the submission of essays, poems, songs, plays and more! We are looking for submissions from every middle school this year.

Our students will have the opportunity to submit to the local competition and the winning essay will advance to the and national competition in Washington, D.C. This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase our students' talent and there is no limit on the number of submissions per school. Please share this information with your school teams to encourage participation.

Local Entry Information (Deadline: 12/15/26) 

Middle School teachers are asked to sign-up here: Do the Write Thing 2027 – Fill out form.

• Any form of written expression (e.g. essays, poems, plays, songs)
• Must address the following questions:
  • How has violence affected my life?
  • What are the causes of youth violence?
  • What can I do to reduce youth violence?
• Positive and non-derogatory language
• Fictional writings must be identified as such
• Strong preference will be given to non-fiction writings
• Credit must be given to outside sources
• Writings based upon plagiarism will not be considered

Completed packets may be sent to our office via MSCS Board Mail. Please be sure to include a summary page with the packet noting the contact person for your school and the number of submissions. Also, each submission should contain its own cover sheet with the parent/guardian's signature.

In addition to information on https://www.dtwt.org/, please review the MSCS Do the Write Thing Resources Folder.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Erin Y. Luster at lusterey@scsk12.org.

We’re encouraging all elementary and middle schools to host a school-level Spelling Bee and give students the chance to showcase their spelling skills and confidence on stage.

This year’s MSCS Spelling Bee will highlight our spectacular spellers in grades 3-8. But first, they’ll need to win your school’s spelling bee by Friday, December 11, 2026. Now is the time to identify your Spelling Bee Coordinator and plan for e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-c-e.

If you have questions about how to get started, sign up here: Spelling Bee Intent to Participate 2026-27 – Fill out form and  join us for a virtual meeting on Monday, October 26, 2026 at 4:30 p.m.

For more information about the Scripps National Spelling Bee, visit spellingbee.com/enrollment to learn more and register your school. Participation in the Scripps Bee is NOT required for participation in the MSCS Spelling Bee.

Thank you for all you do to create meaningful learning opportunities for our students and for helping them build confidence through friendly academic competition!

Should you have any questions, please contact Dr. Erin Y. Luster <lusterey@scsk12.org>.

We are excited to participate in this year's Do the Write Thing (DtWT) writing program. DtWT is a writing competition where middle school students share how violence has impacted them and propose solutions. 

We are excited about this year's challenge and look forward to the submission of essays, poems, songs, plays and more! We are looking for submissions from every middle school this year.

Our students will have the opportunity to submit to the local competition and the winning essay will advance to the and national competition in Washington, D.C. This is a wonderful opportunity to showcase our students' talent and there is no limit on the number of submissions per school. Please share this information with your school teams to encourage participation.

Local Entry Information (Deadline: 12/15/26) 

Middle School teachers are asked to sign-up here: Do the Write Thing 2027 – Fill out form.

• Any form of written expression (e.g. essays, poems, plays, songs)
• Must address the following questions:
  • How has violence affected my life?
  • What are the causes of youth violence?
  • What can I do to reduce youth violence?
• Positive and non-derogatory language
• Fictional writings must be identified as such
• Strong preference will be given to non-fiction writings
• Credit must be given to outside sources
• Writings based upon plagiarism will not be considered

Completed packets may be sent to our office via MSCS Board Mail. Please be sure to include a summary page with the packet noting the contact person for your school and the number of submissions. Also, each submission should contain its own cover sheet with the parent/guardian's signature.

In addition to information on https://www.dtwt.org/, please review the MSCS Do the Write Thing Resources Folder.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Erin Y. Luster at lusterey@scsk12.org.

We’re encouraging all elementary and middle schools to host a school-level Spelling Bee and give students the chance to showcase their spelling skills and confidence on stage.

This year’s MSCS Spelling Bee will highlight our spectacular spellers in grades 3-8. But first, they’ll need to win your school’s spelling bee by Friday, December 11, 2026. Now is the time to identify your Spelling Bee Coordinator and plan for e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-c-e.

If you have questions about how to get started, sign up here: Spelling Bee Intent to Participate 2026-27 – Fill out form.

For more information about the Scripps National Spelling Bee, visit spellingbee.com/enrollment to learn more and register your school. Participation in the Scripps Bee is NOT required for participation in the MSCS Spelling Bee.

Thank you for all you do to create meaningful learning opportunities for our students and for helping them build confidence through friendly academic competition!

Should you have any questions, please contact Dr. Erin Y. Luster at lusterey@scsk12.org.

Please join us for these mathematics professional learning opportunities. The sessions focus on monitoring mathematical practices, preparing high-quality lessons with the Instructional Focus Documents, and collecting evidence of student thinking.

The linked flyer has the dates, times, course numbers and locations, plus the Teams link for the virtual session.

We hope to see you there! For any questions, please contact Antronette C. Brown at brownac@scsk12.org.

Title I budget analysis meetings will begin in September. The monthly meetings are conducted to review each school’s spending trends, discuss planned uses for remaining funds, and address any questions related to the school’s Title I budget.

These meetings help ensure that Title I funds are spent in a timely manner and that the students for whom the funds are intended receive the maximum benefit.

PLCCs will receive additional information regarding their school’s budget analysis meeting directly from their Title I Advisor.