ACTION ITEMS
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently sent communication to school nurses and school health personnel. Below is a shortened version, please make sure the school nurse for your institution received the message.
Every fall for the last 10 years, school health personnel have received a folder from MDH about Vaccine Preventable Disease (VPD) surveillance in the schools and instructions for completing the Annual Immunization Status Report (AISR). This year it will be sent by email with links to the same resources on our School Health Personnel Immunization and Disease Reporting website. Materials on gastrointestinal illnesses are included.
School nurses and school health personnel need to:
Thank you for collaborating with MDH to ensure compliance with our school immunization law and to further stop the spread of communicable diseases such as influenza, pertussis, varicella, and norovirus. If you have questions, contact the immunization program at health.immquestion@state.mn.us or 651-201-5503 or 1-800-657-3970.
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Two new documents have been posted to the School Safety Grants webpage.
First is the application worksheet. This form is a Word version of the Survey Gizmo. You may use this worksheet to write responses to the application questions prior to the applications opening on August 29, 2018, at 7 a.m. On the day of the application opening, copy and paste your responses in to Survey Gizmo. Please note that you may not submit this form as your application. We will only accept applications through Survey Gizmo.
The other document posted is the recorded webinar that took place on July 24, 2018. This webinar does not include the question and answer session. Those are included on the question and answer document.
Please contact Tim Larson at 651-582-8451 for further information.
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ITEMS OF INTEREST
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) is pleased to announce the formation of the Science Education Standards Review Committee. This committee will meet during the 2018-19 school year to review the current (2009) standards, gather feedback, and propose new standards. The date by which all schools must implement the new standards will be determined during the rulemaking process. View the MDE Science webpage for a committee list and other information.
Tell MDE what you think about the current science standards!
As part of the standards review process, the public is invited to comment on the current (2009) science standards. This process will be open through September 11, 2018.
Review the standards and complete the public feedback survey.
Please share this message with science educators, science organizations, and others who may be interested in completing the feedback survey.
For more information about the standards review process, contact John Olson at 651-582-8673.
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Beginning in the 2019-20 school year, districts will report the new racial/ethnic categories via a new data collection system, Ed-Fi, outside of MARSS. The goal of this system is to centralize, streamline and automate data reporting so that data elements such as race and ethnicity will no longer be reported through multiple data collection systems. This new system will eventually include other duplicate and related data elements currently reported in data collection systems other than MARSS.
School districts play a key role in collecting data using the more detailed race and ethnicity categories. It is important for district and school personnel to establish policies and procedures for surveying students, conducting the re-identification, and following up in the event of no response from students.
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) provides the below guidance:
- Schools and districts collect this information from all of their students (not just new students).
- Whenever possible, parents and/or students should be allowed to self-identify their race and ethnicity.
- This information should be collected with enrollment forms every five years.
Over the course of the next five years, all MARSS-WES data elements will be reported through Ed-Fi and 2022-23 will be the last year of MARSS-WES. However, if you are interested, you can sign up for Ed-Fi as early as the 2018-19 school year. How do you do this? First, contact MDE directly and we will contact your SIS Vendor (yes, they are aware of the upcoming transition). You will also need to include a new racial/ethnic demographic collection form in your 2019-20 enrollment packet.
The finalized form (along with a corresponding FAQ and parent letter) will be available on the Counting All Students webpage in September 2018. To find out more about what this will mean for you and your district visit Counting All Students webpage.
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Beginning in SFY 19, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) will award grants on a formula basis to eligible local educational agencies (LEA) within the state to support a variety of programs and activities that support the overall education, health, and digital literacy needs of all students. The Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) program is authorized under Title IV, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 (ESSA). The purpose of this reauthorized program is to improve students’ academic achievement by increasing the capacity of state educational agencies (SEAs), LEAs, and local communities to:
- Provide all students with access to well-rounded educational opportunities and academic enrichment by carrying out programs and activities in areas such as STEM, music and the arts, foreign languages, history and civics, and college and career guidance;
- Improve school conditions for student learning by fostering safe and healthy students through programs and activities such that address physical education and nutrition, school readiness and dropout prevention, mentoring and school counseling, school-based mental health services, PBIS, and the prevention of violence, bullying, and substance abuse; and
- Improve the effective use of technology to improve the academic achievement and digital literacy of all students through blended learning, providing access to digital learning experiences, and increasing professional learning and infrastructure related to classroom technology.
MDE will notify districts and charter schools of SSAE grant allocations and application requirements in early fall 2018. Grants will be awarded by late fall of 2018. Questions regarding fiscal aspects or the program application process should be directed to mde.ESEA@state.mn.us. Questions regarding program requirements should be directed to mde.academic-standards@state.mn.us.
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The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has partnered with TransACT Parent Notices to provide all districts and charter schools with access to an online library of parent notifications and forms. These notifications are designed to provide access to important school and district information for all parents and are compliant with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
MDE has added a subscription to General Education Parent Notices, where districts will find parent engagement forms and notices to assist with family communication. In addition to the ESSA/ESEA Collection, district staff now has unlimited access to over 100 forms and notices that include the following topics: School Office and classroom, health and medical, free and reduced meals, and special services.
Training on how to utilize the TransACT parent notification portal will be on the following dates: August 22, 23, 30 and September 11. Register for one of our upcoming TransACT trainings. If you want to learn about the new documents or if you are a new user, attending a webinar is a convenient and time-efficient way to get up-to-speed. Share this information with other interested staff in your building!
Click below to access a list of forms and letters included in each subscription and a quickstart guide:
If you need assistance or would like more information about the available resources, please contact TransACT customer care at 425-977-2100 or MDE at 651-582-8579.
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