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December 4, 2020
Updates in this email:
We are aware that CDC has announced new guidance about shortening quarantine in certain situations. The guidance continues to recommend a 14 day quarantine but provides frameworks for local governments to consider additional options. The state is reviewing the guidance and will make recommendations over the next few days. We know this is welcome for many sectors and also may not be a simple change. For the time being, people should continue following the current guidelines to stay home for 14 days and we will provide formal updates on state guidance as soon as possible.
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has updated the templates of letters/messages that schools, child care, and youth programs can use to notify families and staff about COVID-19 infections and close contacts. School, child care and youth programs staff can access the updated templates on the COVID-19 Notification Letter Templates for Schools, Child Care, and Youth Programs webpage. This webpage includes close contact and general contact notification template messages that the school, child care or youth programs staff can use. Staff assigned the responsibility related to contact tracing and follow-up should be selecting and using the appropriate notification letters as outlined on page 10 in Handling a Suspected or Confirmed Positive Case of COVID-19: Information for Schools. The templates can be customized by including important information about the infection, such as dates and where contact happened. However, DO NOT edit the templates in any other ways, as they have gone through an extensive including a legal review, a plain language review to help the intended reader and translation review. The template messages are available in English and are translated in Hmong, Karen, Russian, Somali, Spanish and Vietnamese. Please discontinue using any previous versions of the template notification letters/messages.
If you have questions about the Handling a Suspected or Confirmed Positive Case of COVID-19: Information for Schools guidance, please email MDH at health.schools.covid19@state.mn.us.
As you’ve been communicating with your communities about schedule changes due to the additional 30 minutes of teacher prep time required in Executive Orders 20-94 and 20-95, we understand you may receive questions from parents and families about these changes. The sample language below is available as a starting point for responding to questions. Please feel free to adapt for your local community and use as needed:
In response to Executive Order 20-94, we have recently adjusted schedules to allow our educators adequate planning time so that they can best meet the needs of students in various learning models. For some students, this change has resulted in a reduction in the length of their school day.
Our teachers are doing extraordinary work to ensure each student is receiving a high-quality education, regardless of learning model. The goal of this additional planning time is to ensure that our teachers are able to plan instruction and experiences that meet the needs of each student. Although some students may see reduced instructional time, ultimately we believe all students will benefit from higher quality instruction.
On Monday Nov. 23, the Governor announced the availability of a new COVID-19 exposure notification mobile application, COVIDaware MN, and encouraged all Minnesotans to use it. The app is aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 by helping Minnesotans protect themselves and their loved ones. The voluntary, anonymous application will alert a user if another user with whom they have had close contact during the virus’ infectious period tests positive for COVID-19.
When Minnesotans download the app and allow notifications, COVIDaware MN generates a random, privacy-protecting key for a user’s phone. To help ensure that these random keys can’t be used to identify you or your location, they change every 10-20 minutes and the app does not track individuals’ locations or their positions relative to one another. Using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology, the user’s phone and the phones of other users they are near anonymously exchange these privacy-protected keys. If a person receives a positive test, MDH will provide a unique code the person may enter into the app, if they choose. If they enter the code, users with whom they’ve been within six feet for 15 or more minutes over a 24-hour period in the past 14 days will receive a notification of an exposure and instructions from MDH on how to keep themselves and their families safe. COVIDaware MN will exchange random keys with anyone who downloads COVIDaware MN or similar applications developed by other states that use the same technology framework.
More than 20 states and territories have launched apps based on Google and Apple’s exposure notification technology. More states are expected to adopt this technology as part of their COVID-19 response efforts.
Minnesotans can learn more about the app on the COVIDaware MN website, and download it from the Google Play or App Store. The more individuals who download the app, the more effective the tool will be to notify Minnesotans about potential exposures.
MDE continues to prioritize the health and safety of Minnesota's students, families and school staff. As we continue to see significant spread of COVID-19 across our state, Education Commissioner Ricker has consulted with Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm and has determined that ACT and SAT testing will not be permitted in school facilities during the month of December. The commissioners will continue monitoring the public health situation to make determinations about ACT and SAT testing in school facilities for future test dates.
Minnesota is proud to offer at-home COVID-19 saliva testing for any person who wants to be tested, with or without symptoms, at no cost. This saliva test is just as accurate as the nasal swab test and is available at no cost for every Minnesotan, whether or not you have insurance. With the COVID-19 positivity rate climbing higher than ever before, expanding access to COVID-19 testing to all communities across the state is critical to keeping Minnesotans informed and safe. More information about this partnership with Vault Medical Services is available Minnesota Department of Health’s website, including information on how to order test.
Based on feedback we have received from educators, schools, child care and staff and in order to provide a seamless transition to this new program at-home testing for all Minnesotans, we are urging all educators who have not yet used their saliva test code issued at the start of the school year to order and use them as soon as possible. If you have already used your saliva test code, you may order one at Vault: No-Cost COVID Testing For All Minnesotans.
Gender Identity Public Comment Open through December 13
The Minnesota Department of Education will be revising data collection systems to allow public schools district and charter schools greater flexibility in reporting students’ gender identity, including the option to designate a gender other than male or female.
View the Gender Identity Data Collection and Reporting document to learn more. Minnesotans are invited to comment on the implementation process between November 30, 2020 and 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, December 13, 2020.
Please distribute this information with others in your community who may be interested in this work. Thank you!
Social Studies Standards Update: First Draft Available for Comment through January 4, 2021
This year, the Social Studies Academic Standards are being reviewed and revised by a committee of 44 members including K-12 teachers, administrators, college faculty, informal educators and community members. This committee has met multiple times over the last few months and they have developed the first draft of the new standards. This draft is currently open for public comment. Learn more on the Social Studies web page and share this opportunity with your school community.
NEW: Data Sharing Between the Minnesota Career Information System (MCIS) and Statewide Longitudinal Education Data System (SLEDS)
MCIS is a comprehensive, web-based, career exploration program. Schools which subscribe to MCIS can choose to participate in the SLEDS-MCIS project which connects student work in MCIS with SLEDS data. This will allow schools to follow students’ educational pathways for up to 10 years after graduation. Having these data insights can inform schools’ career and college outcome planning.
MCIS also allows students to create their own career and college readiness portfolio and supports the requirements for state required Personalized Learning Plans. Student work is saved to their portfolio which also populates a printable Personal Learning Plan. MCIS can document student work such as:
- Apprenticeships
- Short-term training
- Employment
- Postsecondary programs of study, colleges and universities
For more information on joining the project, please contact us via email.
For more information on MCIS, please visit our website.
Inclusive Schools Week is December 6-12
During Inclusive Schools Week, it is important to commemorate the progress schools have made in providing a high-quality education to an increasingly diverse student population. This year's theme is “The Time for Inclusion is Now.” Inclusive Schools Week provides an important opportunity for educators, students and parents to discuss what else could be done to ensure all students are feeling safe and welcome in school. See the full proclamation.
U.S. Senate Youth Program Application Window EXTENDED to December 22
The 59th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) will be held in an online format for 2021. Washington Week Online will take place March 14–18, 2021, and will be a fully immersive learning experience incorporating the key elements of the program week in an exciting, interactive format. Attendance at Washington Week Online is a requirement of the program.
- Completed application packets may be mailed to the Minnesota Department of Education or emailed as attachments. See full mailing address on the application or submit application documents via email to: mde.USSYP@state.mn.us
- Deadline Extended: Applications must be postmarked or emailed by Tuesday, December 22, 2020.
High school principals, counselors and social studies teachers can help us promote this program to students. Please share this information with these staff. The program brochure and application form are available on our program website and may be shared with your students, other educators or anyone who is associated with students who may be interested in the program. Each secondary school may nominate one student for the program. For more information, contact: U.S. Senate Youth Program Coordinator for Minnesota Email: mde.USSYP@state.mn.us
2019-20 World’s Best Workforce (WBWF) Summary Report and Achievement and Integration (A&I) Summary Report
Districts and charters can now submit their annual WBWF summary report for the 2019-20 school year. The WBWF summary report is in combination with the A&I progress report. Districts that do not participate in the A&I program only need to complete the WBWF section of the form. Summary reports are to be submitted using an online survey form—similar to the reporting method used last year. This online summary report can be found on the WBWF webpage and is due by December 15, 2020.
Strengthening Student and Family Engagement Webinar Series
Even though the first two sessions of our series have already taken place, there is still time to register for our webinar series designed to support all Minnesota districts in strengthening their community and family engagement approaches. This training series supports districts in creating and maintaining momentum around academic learning through authentic engagement that leads to positive student experiences, increased student attendance, and ultimately, stronger academic outcomes this school year and beyond. Individual session in the series will focus on:
- Building a Shared Vision for Diverse Stakeholder Engagement and Tier One Supports (Session took place on November 18.)
- Tiered Systematic Engagement
- Comprehensive Engagement and Removing Barriers
- Increasing Agency of Stakeholders and Integrating with the Academic Vision
- Improving Communication Structures
- Intentional Culture and Diversity—Whose Voices are We Missing?
- Authentic Collaboration
- Leveraging and Supporting Staff
- Long Term and Sustained Authentic Engagement—Planning Ahead
Please forward this opportunity to other district and school leaders.
View the session flyer to find out more about the series, see webinar dates, and review individual session outcomes.
Register for this training opportunity.
For additional questions, please contact Jacqueline Blagsvedt at jacqueline.blagsvedt@state.mn.us.
If you need reasonable accommodations to register or participate in this opportunity, please contact liz.vanleer@tntp.org.
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