Educationally Speaking - Issue 51 | January 2024

Michigan Department of Education sent this bulletin at 01/23/2024 11:15 AM EST

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Issue 51 | January 2024

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.

Now Inviting Educator Participation!

Teaching Black History: Lessons from Educators

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) believes that comprehensive history instruction includes teaching about the full breadth of our country’s—and world’s—history, including historical movements, themes, and groups. It includes the teaching of not simply the soaring but of the searing, not simply the uplifting but the deflating. It entails diverse perspectives throughout the year, with additional instruction to honor specific groups of people during recognized heritage months.

Please consider completing this form, Teaching Black History: Lessons from Educators, to share lessons and resources that are happening in your district, school, or classroom. The deadline to submit is January 26, 2024. Your attention to this abbreviated timeframe is appreciated.

For more information, see the full MDE memorandum from January 11, 2024.

Public Comment on Proposed School Librarian Preparation Standards

MDE requests public comment on the proposed Standards for the Preparation of School Librarians. They would replace Michigan's current Standards for the Preparation of Teachers of Library Media. All feedback on the proposed standards must be submitted by 11:59 p.m., March 10, 2024, at the School Librarian Preparation Standards Public Comment website. All comments will be reviewed in preparing a final recommendation to the State Board of Education at its May 14, 2024 meeting.

National School Counselor Week
February 5-9, 2023

Exciting news! Stay tuned to our February 2024 newsletter when the MDE Office of Educator Excellence (OEE) will recognize and celebrate National School Counseling Week, February 5-9, 2023.

Certificate Application Fee Reimbursement Program

Happy New Year! In case you missed it, MDE is continuing The Certificate Application Fee Reimbursement program. The program has been designed to retain and incentivize early renewals of educators renewing their certificates for the first time between October 1, 2023, and September 13, 2024. There is no need to apply for this reimbursement. The important thing to know is that this program is available until funds are exhausted. Please visit MDE’s Certificate Application Fee Reimbursement website for more information.

First Renewal of the Year!

Congratulations to Alison Lirette for being the first educator to renew her certificate in 2024! Alison renewed her Professional Teaching Certificate on January 1st. Please remember to renew your certification before the June 30 deadline.

Annual Certification Reminder and Requirements

Schools and districts should begin the annual review of staff credentials for 2024. Remind educators with a credential expiring June 30, 2024, to log into the Michigan Online Educator Certification System (MOECS) to update account information.  

Educators are recommended to work with their employer to ensure they are ready for the 2024-2025 academic year! Log into MOECS to check the status of a credential and professional learning prior to certificate renewal.  

Student Loan Forgiveness

The United States Department of Education has approved a total of $45 billion in Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) for more than 615,000 borrowers since October 2021.

Visit https://studentaid.gov/pslf to learn more or click on the image to the right to review the two loan forgiveness options available to teachers.

Coming Soon! Student Loan Repayment Program

While we're on the subject of student loan forgiveness programs for Michigan's educators, MDE is pleased to announce the $225 million Student Loan Repayment Program grant opportunity, with an application being planned for opening on the GEMS/MARS system in late February 2024.

This money has been allocated for grants to Michigan’s intermediate school districts (ISDs) and local education agencies (LEAs), both traditional public school districts and public school academies (PSAs) for the purposes of implementing a student loan repayment program for their employees in accordance with Michigan Compiled Law (MCL) Section 388.1627k.

This program will provide eligible candidates with payments of $200 each month for the purpose of offsetting their existing student loans, or $400 each month if the applying LEA, ISD, or PSA is assigned to band 6 in the opportunity index as defined in MCL 388.1631a (typically areas with a high proportion of students who are economically disadvantaged).

Information about the program, including updates, eligibility requirements, and a downloadable Word template of the application for ease of planning, are all available on the Student Loan Repayment Program website. For questions and inquiries, please contact us at MDE-PME@michigan.gov.

Michigan Teachers and National Board Certification Grants

This month, grants will become available for eligible teachers who currently hold National Board Certification (NBC) or teachers in Title I buildings wishing to pursue NBC certification for the first time. ISDs and LEAs (both traditional districts and PSAs) may apply.

Full details regarding the grants and eligibility requirements can be found at the Michigan Department of Education's National Board Certification (NBC) Grant Opportunities website.

Applications Open Now!
Section 504 EXPLORE + Grow Your Own Grants for FY24

The OEE is pleased to announce the opening of the application window for the new round of Section 504 grants, with applications submitted on NexSys. An official MDE memo about this new grant opportunity was posted on January 19, 2024.

ISDs and LEAs (both traditional districts and PSAs) may submit applications to build and sustain EXPLORE programs, to provide tuition grants to eligible EXPLORE graduates, or both.

Full instructions for applying for this grant opportunity on NexSys can be found on the EXPLORE grant: Section 504 website. In addition, the website features a downloadable Word template of the application currently being developed. This will help applicants gather necessary data, budget details, and supporting information before starting the application process.

For questions and inquiries, please contact us at MDE-PME@michigan.gov.

Round 2 Grow Your Own (GYO) School Staff Grants Awarded

MDE announced the 96 grantees of the second round of Section 27b GYO School Staff grants in a press release dated December 20, 2023.

Our congratulations to these grantees, who will be able to use the grant funds to reimburse costs associated with educator preparation on behalf of school staff wishing to pursue initial certification or additional endorsements, thereby addressing staffing needs and reducing areas of teacher shortage.

Join AASPA's National Educator Shortage Summit!

The National Educator Shortage Summit is an interactive event that convenes focused groups of PK-12 and higher education stakeholders to address the challenges of the national shortage of educators and the educator pipeline to share ways to replicate practices via a national strategy.

Central to this conversation will be the use of data and collaboration in sharing promising practices. Above all, it is hoped that the Summit will support comprehensive conversations among these groups in the education community and serve as a place where they can pool different perspectives. Join the event in Phoenix, AZ: Thursday, February 29, 2024, through Friday, March 1, 2024.

PAEMST (Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching)

The 2023-24 PAEMST application cycle is NOW OPEN! Outstanding K-6th grade educators working in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics can be nominated/apply on the PAEMST webpage. Nominations closed on January 8, 2024. Applications must be completed by February 6, 2024.

Established by Congress in 1983, the PAEMST award is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government specifically for K-12 science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and/or computer science teaching. Learn more by visiting the PAEMST webpage.

Six Michigan educators were named as finalists for the 2022-23 PAEMST award! Winners will be announced in early 2024.

Michigan Teacher Shortage Study: 2024 Report

In partnership with MDE and the Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI), the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) has released their third annual report about teacher shortages in Michigan requested by the state legislature in December 2020 (2020 PA 316).

Although the state data on this topic are limited, these analyses still help to paint a picture of teacher shortages across Michigan, assist policymakers to target policies and programs in ways that can best support the state and local communities in growing their teacher workforces, and highlight ways that new or better data may provide a deeper understanding of local and statewide teacher shortages. In addition to updating the analyses from EPIC’s first comprehensive report, we continue to adjust and expand on our past analyses based on the results from prior reports and any additions or improvements to the data available each year. 