MDE COVID-19 Guidance to Districts as of May 5, 2020

May 5, 2020 Communications Team Administrator News, EdUpdate 0

REQUIRED ACTION FOR SUPERINTENDENTS: Learning-at-Home and Summer Enrichment Plan Due May 15
We appreciate the time you took in early April to respond to the initial request from the MDE regarding current efforts to support students who are learning at home. In light of the closure of school buildings for the remainder of the 2019-20 school year, please see the updated plan template attached, requesting further detail in accordance with Governor Tate Reeves’ Executive Order 1476.

Per Executive Order 1476, school districts shall operate with essential personnel to offer distance learning or other instructional means necessary for students to achieve completion of grade-level essential instruction for the 2019-2020 academic school year. Additionally, school districts shall submit to the SBE plans for summer learning and enrichment measures necessary to (a) mitigate disruption from the Spring 2020 school closure due to COVID-19 and (b) to enhance learning in preparation for the 2020-21 academic school year. Per Executive Order 1476, summer learning and enrichment measures are to be provided to all students in all schools.

 Please save your district’s MDE District Learning-at-Home & Summer Enrichment Plan as “District-Name-2019-20-Learning-at-Home-Summer-Enrichment-Plan”, where “District Name” is the name of your school district. Complete the plan and return the file to Rana Hood (rhood@mdek12.org) via email no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, May 15, 2020. If you have questions about completion of the plan, please contact Dr. Nathan Oakely at noakley@mdek12.org.

Gifted Teacher Units

The Mississippi Department of Education, through the Office of Elementary Education and Reading, has allocated Gifted Teacher Units (TU’s) for each district for the 2020-2021 school year. School districts will be expected to employ gifted education teachers based on the number of units allocated.

Districts will follow the normal process of entering gifted education personnel information in the Mississippi Student Information System (MSIS).  The Office of Elementary Education and Reading will reconcile personnel information to units allocated for each district.  Districts that do not employ the minimum number of gifted education teachers based on units allocated will be required to maintain program integrity.

Please remember, even though the teacher unit reconciliation process will take place, there will be no revision of funds allocated as in past years.  This means that no additional funds will be allocated for December graduates or for any errors in reporting.  Attached is the Projected Gifted Teacher Unit Allocation for School Year 2020-2021.  The allocation is based on the number of intellectually gifted students identified in grades 2-6 in MSIS for 2019-2020.  The TU’s were allocated based on the regular funding formulas found on page 24 of the 2013 Regulations for the Gifted Education Programs in Mississippi. Because of the class size recommendations in the gifted regulations, districts have greater flexibility in scheduling students with teachers. The allocations are calculated based on 41 students per teacher, but class size recommendations allow for gifted teachers to have up to, but no more than, 60 students on the total roster. It should also be noted that only personnel with gifted licensure may serve gifted learners (Standards for the Gifted Education Programs 2013).

As a reminder, it is vital to work with the district MSIS contact person to ensure that the information in MSIS is entered accurately at the beginning of the school year.

If you have any questions, contact Jen Cornett, Gifted Education Specialist, at jcornett@mdek12.org.

MPB PBS Resources
MPB PBS can be seen in every Mississippi household. The trusted educational programs are tied to online curriculum already created. A teacher can use this trusted content to build lessons to teach from a distance, or parents can use this content to facilitate conversation on relevant educational topics. A current weekly broadcast schedule of educational programming is in the Important Documents section of https://www.mdek12.org/LearningAtHome.

PBS LearningMedia is a free resource to teachers and parents/caregivers. Some teachers have been using this resource in their classrooms already. It works well with Google docs platform and it’s easy to use. Additionally, the PBS KIDS 24/7 Channel airs on MPB stations across the state. These programs offer educational programming, from literacy to math to the arts to social/emotional content. Some of the programs are connected to lessons on the PBS LearningMedia website. For more information about this platform, please visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfR-NfOyOQ4.
There is also PD on PBS LearningMedia for teachers, online at https://www.youtube.com/user/pbslearningmedia.

Serving English Learners in a Distance Learning Environment Webinar
The National Association of ESEA of State Program Administrators (NAESPA)—in collaboration with TransACT Communications and Brustein & Manasevit—will present a free-to-view webinar on May 15 at noon Central Time.  The two-part webinar is titled, Serving English Learners in a Distance Learning Environment.

Free Social & Emotional Learning Lessons and Resources 
Visit https://www.camptimber.com for a large, free collection of social & emotional learning lessons and resources during this challenging time of COVID-19, both K-5 and 6-12. These lessons and resources are perfect for virtual learning at this time and will help students and parents.

New Lessons in Teamwork and Media from ExcelinEd

  • Lessons in Media & the Arts with Dana Perino
    Drawing from her experience on the front lines of media and communications, former White House Press Secretary Dana Perino shares insights on public service, mentoring and what it is like to answer—and ask—the tough questions.
  • Lessons in Teamwork & Grit with David Ross
    As the Chicago Cubs Manager, David Ross shares his insights on how the perseverance needed to excel in sports can benefit students beyond the diamond. Ross reflects on the importance of teamwork in reaching a shared goal as well as the leadership skills needed to guide a team and individual players to reach their full potential.

Virtual Meeting for District English Learner (EL) Coordinators, Directors, and Lead Teachers

The Mississippi Department of Education is hosting an EL check-in meeting at 1 p.m., May 6, for district EL leaders from across the state. This meeting is an opportunity for EL coordinators, directors, and lead teachers from Mississippi school districts to share triumphs, challenges, updates and next steps related to the recent school closings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. MDE EL team members will also be in attendance to answer questions and provide updates.

Date:  Wednesday, May 6
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.

To register please complete the Microsoft form below: https://tinyurl.com/ycrt326h

Registration must be complete by 8 a.m. Wednesday, May 6. Official access information to the webinar will be emailed Wednesday morning. If you have any questions, please contact Sandy Elliott at selliott@mdek12.org.

REQUIRED ACTION FOR SUPERINTENDENTS: Digital Access Surveys for Families and School Employees Due May 14
As school closures continue and as the state develops plans to direct resources to the areas of greatest need, the MDE has prepared two brief surveys for districts to circulate: one to their families, the other to their teachers, administrators and other staff who are/will be working from home. The surveys focus on devices at home, home internet access, and the quality/reliability of that connection.

Aggregated results from districts will be shared with the governor’s office for planning purposes. Because of the critical nature of these questions – and how the results will shape state policy to address the internet connectivity challenges across the state – please do your best to reach as many families as possible and to achieve as high as response rate as possible. Teachers and school district employee who live outside of the district where they work should indicate on the survey the district where they live. This will provide a more accurate picture of where internet access gaps exist across the state.

The MDE prepared two different formats of the surveys. You may choose the approach best suited to your district. If you have any questions, please contact MDE’s Chief Information Officer, John Kraman at jkraman@mdek12.org.

Option 1: Fillable PDF Survey

You can print the surveys and distribute them as hard copies, you can email them and collect them electronically, or you can cut and paste the questions into a different survey method your district prefers.

 Option 2: Web-based Survey
You can send the links to your families and teachers for them to fill out using a computer or smart phone. Responses will go directly to the MDE.

Do You Have Questions for MDE?
Please check the MDE COVID-19 Information webpage before emailing your questions to MDE staff. The answers to most of the questions we receive are addressed on the webpage. We also regularly add guidance, answers to new questions and links to our daily update email on this webpage. Daily updates are posted in the Administrator News section of the EdUpdate.