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April 30, 2021
Updates in this email:
Minnesota’s Safe Learning Plan has always prioritized the safety of school communities and in-person learning. To protect these goals for the remainder of the school year, we need to double down on the basics of getting the vaccine, social distancing, masking, testing, isolating, and quarantining.
COVID-19 infections in school-aged children increased rapidly this spring, while infection rates among teachers have stayed at a lower level. See the graph below.
 The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has been identifying many outbreaks among school-aged children, particularly among youth of middle and high school age. Many school outbreaks this spring have resulted in higher attack rates, infecting more people per outbreak than we saw during the November surge. MDH has confirmed that the B.1.1.7 variant has played a role in many of these outbreaks and believes that community spread of variant strains is driving the rapid spread.
A common misperception remains —that even if kids do contract COVID-19 it “isn’t a big deal” because they do not get very sick. In fact, some do, and we do not yet fully understand the long-term health impacts of illnesses including multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). In addition, even a mildly ill or asymptomatic child can transmit the virus to others in their family and community.
If we can just buckle down for the remainder of the school year, and test and stay home (quarantine) when we need to, we can maximize in-person learning and the possibility of celebrating graduations.
As we head into prom season, please remember to follow the Stay Safe - Entertainment Venue Guidance and please keep these tips and reminders in mind:
- Face coverings are required for all indoors and everyone at outdoor venues. Schools should consider having extra masks available at entry to make sure they are wearing an appropriate mask, particularly for indoor events.
- Food and beverage service must end at 11 p.m., no exceptions or waivers.
- Must be seated if eating or drinking because masks are removed, which means it is a higher risk activity.
- Be prepared to contact trace – it is the responsibility for the group/venue hosting the event. Reminder that you must issue notifications to close contacts, and we strongly recommend a general notification to all participants if there is a positive case who was infectious at the event.
- Remember that the best laid plans require strong implementation. It's not enough to write a strong plan, need to make sure that you have the tools and manpower to help implement as successfully as possible.
This week, MDH launched a ‘Roll Up Your Sleeves, MN’ Campaign highlighting our youngest COVID-19 vaccine-eligible Minnesotans: 16- and 17-year olds. This initiative began Tuesday, April 27 and extends through Saturday, May 1. During this week, appointments are prioritized for 16- and 17-year olds and their parents at Minnesota’s Mall of America Community Vaccination Site.
Please review the full email with additional information sent to all school leaders on Friday, April 23 and spread the word with your students, families and school communities!
Students and families in the metro area can schedule an appointment at the Mall of America Community Vaccination site now: Mall of America Community Vaccination Registration
Those in Greater Minnesota can use the CDC’s Vaccine Finder to schedule an appointment for a Pfizer vaccine at a pharmacy near you or sign up on Minnesota’s COVID-19 Vaccine Connector to receive more information about vaccine opportunities.
In addition to accessing scheduling at the Mall of America, below are the direct scheduling links to community sites. Please verify that they are administering Pfizer before scheduling an appointment:
Getting vaccinated will help give Minnesota’s teens the best chance to learn in-person, participate in sports and activities, attend graduation and go to prom. Of course, they still need to remain vigilant in regards to masking, hand washing and social distancing. And for those still too young to be vaccinated, testing is critical. Learn more about Minnesota’s no-cost, barrier-free testing options.
MDE and MDH have announced updates related to COVID-19 testing for students and athletes:
- All Minnesotans who are participating in organized sports are strongly encouraged to test every week.
- Every student, regardless of participation in activities, is strongly encouraged to get a COVID test every two weeks.
- Schools have a key role to play by helping make testing more accessible our students. All middle and high schools are strongly encouraged to offer onsite testing for students.
This week, experts from MDE and MDH hosted a webinar about the testing program. View the PowerPoint presentation.
The COVID-19 Saliva Testing Program Guide for Schools has been updated to include important information on how to offer testing for students along with existing staff testing programs in schools. Read the document Questions and Answers: COVID-19 Testing for Middle and High School Students.
ESSER/GEER
- We have a very important deadline coming up for the Round 1 GEER and ESSER funds: ESSER I and GEER I application deadline is May 1 (Saturday).
- If no application is submitted for FIN151, FIN152, and/or FIN153, the awards will be considered declined and will be reallocated to participating LEAs early next week. This is a hard deadline and no exceptions will be made.
- ESSER II (FIN155 or FIN156, depending on district type) application is available in SERVS and the deadline is June 30, 2021.
- We received data from schools planning to provide summer school programming and are finalizing the data and determining what the allocations will be and roll out. More information will be coming.
- ESSER III 90% allocations are posted to the website and applications will be in SERVS by the end of the May. The application deadline is TBD and will be published with the application materials in the next few weeks.
- We are waiting for LAC approval and additional information on the remaining 10% flexible funding and will share that with you as soon as it is available.
Information can be found on MDE’s CARES Act Funding webpage.
ARP Funding for Students Experiencing Homelessness
- Minnesota was notified on April 23 that we would be receiving $8.6 million in ARP Funding for students experiencing homelessness.
- $2.1 million will be disbursed for immediate urgent needs:
- 75% or $1.6 million will be used to supplement McKinney-Vento Education for Homeless Children and Youth funds.
- The remaining funds can be used for state activities.
- $6.4 million will be made available at a later date and will be allocated out based on the federal Title formula.
- We have started preparing the information necessary to receive Legislative Advisory Commission (LAC) approval.
- In the meantime, we are considering how to allocate funds out to the existing 21 grantees and working on a short guidance document and training outlining ways to expend these dollars immediately.
Statewide Area Eligibility Waiver
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has made the statewide area eligibility waiver available through September 30, 2021. After conversations with community partners, we have determined that Minnesota will keep the statewide area eligibility waiver in place for this summer, as it has been throughout the pandemic. This will allow the existing Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sites to continue operating under the waiver for this summer.
Seamless Summer Option for Next School Year
USDA has also announced that states will be able to implement the Seamless Summer Option beginning July 1, 2021 through the 2021-22 school year. Minnesota has accepted this waiver, meaning all schools will have the option to provide free meals for students throughout the entire school year.
School Nutrition Directors will learn more soon from MDE's Nutrition team.
Get Involved with MDE’s Public Engagement Division
Enter your school’s information to stay connected
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has a created a new Bilingual Family Engagement Liaison Contact on MDE-ORG. Contacts will receive important updates from MDE’s Public Engagement team about stories from the field, issues and concerns that families and communities are raising, and information pertinent to our shared work in stakeholder engagement.
Please update this site level contact for your elementary, middle, high school, alternative learning center and preschool sites. Please include any nonpublic schools if you are a school district. More information about how to access and enter this new data can be found at this link.
Contact MDE-ORG Administrator, Michelle Carey, for questions regarding data entry at Michelle.Carey@state.mn.us.
Contact Community Engagement Specialist, Lee Her, for questions about MDE’s public engagement initiative at Lee.Her@state.mn.us.
Contact EL Specialist, Amy Young, for questions, guidance or assistance related to the “bilingual family engagement liaison” role at Amy.young@state.mn.us.
Talking about Trauma and Tragedy: RP Online Trainings Provide Support
School routines for reflection and connection have been highlighted this year as schools navigated COVID, racial reckoning, and grief. This spring, the Minnesota Department of Education released Restorative Practices (Video) and Engaging in Sensitive Conversations (Video) to support educators who wished to hold circles with staff and students to process the recent trauma and tragedy in our community. If you are interested in increasing your school’s capacity to respond to grief—the grief of the passing of a community member or the grief of community tragedy—consider attending the Minnesota Department of Education School Climate Center Restorative Practices in Schools and Communities Online Sessions and Trainings. Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) and Administrative CEU’s are offered.
The RP Online Training Descriptions and Frequently Asked Questions about RP Online can be found on the Restorative Practices website.
For further information, contact Nancy Riestenberg, Restorative Practices Specialist, at 651-582-8433.
2020-21 Statewide Assessment Reporting Timelines and Resource
Guidance from the U.S Department of Education requires that all reporting requirements are maintained this year. Unlike spring 2020, where no summary results were provided, all results provided to public schools and districts and reported on the Minnesota Report Card and the Data Center in past years will be provided this year.
With extended statewide assessment administration windows and a later Posttest Editing window, reporting timelines for this year’s statewide assessment results will be delayed. The following are the planned dates for the release of results to districts in Assessment Secure Reports:
- District and School Student Results (DSR and SSR) files: no sooner than July 14
- Test Results Summary: no sooner than Aug. 4
Final dates these results will be available will be provided as soon as possible, but districts may use this information to adjust summer tasks and meetings that require the use of assessment results as needed. Note: the dates for public results release are still to be determined.
New Resources
MDE will be providing a 2021 Statewide Assessment Reporting Guidance document that will provide guidance for districts with information on using 2021 results appropriately and in context. This document is planned to be available before the release of DSR/SSR files.
In addition, MDE is developing a series of one-page resources to accompany each part of the reporting process to provide additional support to district staff who will be using the results. These resources are intended to provide information about how to use the results, as well as specific contexts to consider for this year. The first resource about preliminary results will be available on the District Resources page under Test Score Interpretation Resources and on the Testing 1, 2, 3 website by Wed. April 28. Additional resources for the DSR/SSR files, Test Results Summary, and public reporting will be provided ahead of their respective releases.
Reminder: Career and Technical Education Levy Revenue Budgets – Due June 8, 2021
Read the memo regarding Career and Technical Education (CTE) Levy Reporting. The CTE Levy reporting system opens May 3, for entering the anticipated FY22 (2021-2022 school year) budgets. Budgets must be entered for approved CTE programs by June 8.
Minnesota Statutes, section 124D.4531, directs the Minnesota Department of Education to annually recalculate the authority of a school district to levy for costs associated with its CTE programs. Districts must submit annual budgets for their CTE programs to qualify for this permissive levy.
For assistance with detailed questions about the CTE Levy Program System, contact Shelli Sowles, 651-582-8403.
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