Issue 21 | November 2021
Be sure your email address is up-to-date in the Michigan Online Educator Certification System to receive important notifications regarding YOUR certificate.
Please see the archived newsletters for other important information that affects licensure.
Explore Military Career Options
Are you interested in learning about the career opportunities for students who are considering joining the military? Earn 5 State Continuing Education Clock Hours (SCECHs) by exploring Military Career options! Visit Military Course Directions (michigan.gov) for further details!
Teachers Seeking Employment
The Welcome Back Proud Michigan Educator (PME) campaign is designed to help teachers return to the classroom. Phase 1 of the campaign allowed districts to apply for a waiver to reduce or eliminate the professional learning hours needed for recertification. Phase 2 of the campaign launched this week with a communication to over 35,000 currently certified educators who are not teaching in a public school.
Districts in all areas of our beautiful state – big cities, rural spaces, and everything in between – are ready to welcome teachers, or welcome teachers back, to the profession.
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Future Proud Michigan Educator “Explore” Program Opportunity
Earlier this year, Michigan Department of Education (MDE) launched the Future Proud Michigan Educator (Future PME) initiative as a continuation of Michigan’s efforts to grow and diversify the educator workforce and reduce educator shortages. The newest pathway, referred to a “Explore,” provides an expanded opportunity for students in grades 6-12 to explore education professions. Since the launch of Future PME Explore, MDE has developed several resources to support Explore, including:
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Resources to provide school districts with flexible models for implementation, curricular planning resources (competencies and pacing guides), and guidance for staffing the course.
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Virtual student learning modules developed in partnership between MDE and Michigan Virtual. Those modules are hosted on an open-source platform, available to any interested district, and as a free-standing virtual course for districts who face barriers to hosting or staffing the course.
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Professional Learning created and hosted through the MDE and Michigan Virtual partnership, which supports educators who are developing programs and courses. The professional learning awards state continuing education hours, and is both self-paced and cost-free.
If you are interested in building a Future PME Explore opportunity in your local area, visit bit.ly/FuturePME.
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Michigan State University’s Office of K-12 Outreach Shares “A COVID-19 Relief Dollars Process Guide”
Many effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on K-12 education have been unmistakable. However, the complicated web of federal resources lawmakers authorized from March 2020 to March 2021 to support districts, including the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, is less clear. What steps administrators should go through when investing these dollars is even murkier.
Despite the challenge, education leaders cannot shy away from the strategic use of these funds over the next few years. Community-driven, evidence-based, and accountable decision-making can ensure that federal relief funding pushes against broader societal challenges and decades of neglect for many K-12 schools to move the needle towards high-quality, equity-oriented instruction. Further, careful resource use can bolster the case for future school funding, address educator and support staff concerns, and demonstrate the value of traditional public education.
The Office of K-12 Outreach has published this process guide to play an active role in this watershed moment. This white paper reviews the importance of federal relief funding for K-12 education, summarizes key legislative details around ESSER funds, and presents a five-step decision-making model. In doing so, it supports school and district planning around these federal relief dollars. This resource also aids students, parents, educators, community members, and policymakers curious about how they can influence local funding decisions.
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Carla Whitsett Named the 2021 Education Support Staff Professional of the Year
Carla Whitsett is a paraeducator at the Achieving Career & College Education (A.C.C.E.) High School in Ypsilanti Community Schools, and has more than 20 years of experience in Ypsilanti and other area schools. Lauren Fardig-Diop, a teacher at A.C.C.E. who nominated Whitsett for the award, wrote in her nomination: "Carla grew up in the community, and her commitment to generations of young people in Ypsilanti is unmatched. She aims to love everyone who walks through our doors, to let them know that they are valued and cared for and deserve to be well-educated."
Whitsett learned of his honor in a surprise visit from Deputy State Superintendent Dr. Delsa Chapman on Nov. 4, 2021. To learn more about Whitsett and the 2021 Education Support Staff Professional of the Year award, please check out the press release.
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Seeking Reviewers for 2022-23 Michigan Teacher of the Year Applications
The Office of Educator Excellence is looking for educational experts working in higher education as well as administrators in local education agencies (LEAs) who are interested in serving as application reviewers for 2022-23 Michigan Teacher of the Year. Reviewers are tasked with reading and scoring approximately 20-25 applications (depending on final applicant pool size), first on an individual basis and then arriving at a consensus score with other reviewers in small groups. The estimated time commitment is approximately 6 hours between individual reviews and the consensus score meeting.
If you are interested in serving as a reviewer, please complete this short form so we have your information. If you have any questions, please contact program coordinator Josh Roesner at RoesnerJ1@Michigan.gov.
New #proudMIeducator Video: 2020-21 Michigan Teacher of the Year Owen Bondono of Oak Park Schools
Owen Bondono, an English Teacher at Oak Park High School 9th Grade Learning Community in Oak Park Schools, is the 2020-21 Michigan Teacher of the Year. Mr. Bondono is Michigan's first openly transgender Teacher of the Year, and a strong advocate for ensuring students of all backgrounds can find role models in their schools. Watch Owen’s video and other proud Michigan educators’ stories.
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Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST)
Nominations are now open for educators teaching math or science content to students in grades K-6. To nominate an educator or begin an application, visit the program website, www.paemst.org. Additional information, including application support and more information about the program can also be found at the website.
If you are not a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) educator who works directly with students in grades K-12 and are interested in sharing your expertise with the PAEMST program, we would welcome your involvement as a mentor or reviewer. Mentors are individuals who use their knowledge of STEM teaching to assist applicants in crafting a compelling application, and reviewers score submitted applications.
Teacher discounts have been updated!
Take a look to see where you can save money today.
Support Michigan’s Future Educators
Are you interested in working with students who want to consider a career in education? Join the 155 educators who have recently enrolled in the Facilitating Future Proud Michigan Educator professional learning course. This course was developed to support educators who are implementing new Future Proud Michigan Educator Explore programs for students in grades 6-12. Educators who complete the Foundations unit will also have the opportunity to complete six additional units of professional learning, each of which correlates to a unit in the student curriculum.
New REL Midwest Documentary: Culture in Our Classrooms
REL Midwest released a documentary, produced in partnership with Twin Cities Public Television, highlighting efforts in Minnesota to integrate culturally responsive practices into middle school settings. Researchers and practitioners discuss how schools and districts can implement practices that incorporate students’ backgrounds and cultural references to support instruction and relationship building. The program grounds the research evidence with real-life experiences of students and their educators, families, and communities in Minnesota.
The Stories Project - Building Bridges of Belonging, One Story at a Time
The Stories Project, a documentary short, follows 11 young adult mentors during a summer day camp in the Lansing area for refugee-background youth called GLOBE (Gaining Learning Opportunities through Better English). The film portrays how our shared humanity surfaces through sharing pieces of our personal histories and perspectives. Written, produced, and directed by Dr. Carrie Symons from Michigan State University, the film comes with supplemental resources to support educators’ understandings about how young people’s lifeworld experiences shape how they see the world and themselves, and how classrooms can be welcoming spaces for immigrant children’s experiences. Learn more about the film, peruse additional resources on this important topic, and arrange a screening at the film’s website.
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AdviseMI Accepting Applications for New Host Sites
MCAN's AdviseMI program has two opportunities to engage new sites in hosting a full-time college adviser in 2022. As part of our strategy to increase college readiness, enrollment, and completion rates, AdviseMI embeds well-trained, dedicated, near-peer college advisers in high schools that serve significant numbers of low-income and first generation college-going students. The goal of the program is to increase the number of high school students who enter and complete postsecondary education.
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Opportunity 1: Pandemic Relief Support Advisers
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Immediate opportunity to provide college advising to the class of 2022
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College adviser to serve a full-time (40 hours/week) term that runs from January 2022 through August 2022
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MCAN has been approved to use American Rescue Plan funds for this expansion, and can only guarantee the opportunity for one year. We are committed to working with sites to develop a sustainability plan.
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Opportunity 2: AdviseMI Partnerships 2022-2025
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Three-year partnership agreement with AdviseMI to provide consistent, dedicated college advising to seniors each year
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College adviser to serve a full-time (40 hours/week) term that runs concurrent to the school year, beginning with August 2022 through June 2023, and running on the same schedule each year thereafter
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For the 2022-2023 academic year, MCAN seeks proposals from high school leadership committed to supporting a full-time college adviser in their building for at least three years and dramatically raising their college-going rates through a systematic team approach. New partner high schools will be selected via a competitive grant process. Visit the Request for Proposals to learn more about the program.
Do you want specific details or have a "good of the group" question? Submit a question and it could appear in an upcoming newsletter!
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