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October 29, 2021
Updates in this email:
This week, Governor Tim Walz announced Minnesota's plan to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to children age 5-11 after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Advisory Committee voted to recommend the use of the Pfizer vaccine for this age group. Read the news release.
COMPASS, Collaborative Minnesota Partnerships to Advance Student Success, is a new opportunity for schools to partner with education experts from the Minnesota Department of Education, Regional Centers of Excellence and Minnesota Service Cooperatives to advance student success for all. On October 20, the COMPASS leadership team provided an overview of the new statewide system to support learning recovery. A recording of the COMPASS Overview Webinar will be available by the end of the week on the COMPASS website. The slide deck from the presentation is also available.
Throughout the 2021-22 school year and beyond, educators, school staff and school leaders will have new opportunities for professional learning and coaching, along with coordinated support from experts. Schools will gain support in the areas of literacy, math, and school climate and mental health using the Minnesota Multi-Tiered System of Support (MnMTSS) framework with a focus on data and assessment literacy and evidence-based practices.
The first supports for schools available through COMPASS will be available in November, beginning with the first in a two-part Minnesota Multi-tiered System of Support (MnMTSS) Overview webinar available on November 2 from 4 - 6:30 p.m. or November 4 from 9 - 11 a.m. View the full list of upcoming COMPASS offerings on the COMPASS webpage.
As a reminder, any school staff who would like to learn more about COMPASS and its upcoming learning opportunities can sign up for email updates from the COMPASS leadership team.
To provide Minnesota families even more access to free, quick testing resources, Governor Walz has expanded rapid COVID-19 testing opportunities across the state. These sites will allow Minnesotans experiencing COVID-19 symptoms to take an antigen test and receive results in 1-3 hours. Please share with your families the COVID-19 community rapid testing sites that would be most convenient to access. Rapid COVID-19 testing are now available in:
- Brooklyn Park
- Crookston
- Duluth
- Hibbing *Opened October 26
- Hutchinson
- Inver Grove Heights *Opened October 26
- Moorhead
- Saint Paul
- Stillwater
- Wadena *Opened October 26
In addition, the State of Minnesota a opened a new COVID-19 community saliva testing site in Bemidji this week.
Find a community testing site near you on the COVID-19 Community Testing Sites webpage. Read the full press release.
The ESSER III district allocations for learning recovery to address the impact of lost instructional time applications are now open. These funds (finance code 169) must address learning recovery in response to the impact of lost instructional time by implementing supplemental interventions focused on supporting historically underserved students. Priority will be given to those receiving special education services, those who have missed the most in-person instruction during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, and those who did not consistently participate in remote instruction when offered during school building closures.
The ESSER III 5% Allocations and the ESSER III FIN 169 Program Details are posted on the Federal Relief Funds webpage.
Please use the following link to accept your district’s allocation and apply for the use of funds: SERVS Financial (mn.gov)
Send questions about the ESSER III 5% awards to mde.federalCOVIDfunds@state.mn.us.
This school year is again unique, presenting needs for all stages of pandemic crisis response planning: prevention, mitigation, response and recovery. Even as in-person routines return, still there are staffing shortages, stress from last year’s changing learning models and uncertainty about health going forward. In addition to academic learning challenges, the social emotional challenges continue to affect classrooms and school staff. In many instances, grief is a constant companion of the school community.
The School Climate Center has assembled resources for Responding to Trauma and Tragedy online. Coverage of the pandemic in communities and in the news can be traumatic and create an array of feelings in children and youth as well as adults, Resources to Help Educators, Adults Respond to Trauma and Support Students contains valuable resources to help parents and other adults respond. The Center also has videos on Engaging in Sensitive Conversations and Restorative Practices that can be useful for educators.
In addition, as a means of supporting adults to increase their emotional intelligence and support their resilience, the Center has developed Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Learning Modules. These modules are designed for adults to build up their own SEL knowledge and resilience. Adults will learn ways of infusing SEL into their teaching and everyday encounters with students. Daily use of the SEL 3 Signature Practices or the Circle Process helps to build relationships and connections that everyone can lean on when challenges arise.
If your school has experienced grief and you are looking for additional ideas on how to help your students and staff process their sadness, so that you can begin to restore the learning environment, contact the Center staff by email or by phone 651-582-8364.
Course Data for Minnesota Common Course Catalogue due December 10
School districts are required to submit course data to the Minnesota Common Course Catalogue (MCCC). The following data for the 2020-21 school year must be submitted by Friday, December 10, 2021.
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Early Education: School Readiness (SR), Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) and Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE)
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K-8: English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Arts, World Languages, Physical Education and Health
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Grades 9-12: All courses
District staff will enter data on courses, course scheduling, grading and student participation into the student information system (SIS) software. When assigning staff to this task, consider assigning someone with experience using the SIS for course creation, course scheduling, grading set up and student participation in courses. If this task is assigned to someone without these skills, the task complexity increases greatly. If your district has already submitted MCCC data in a previous school year, staff may use that information to review and prepare the data for the 2020-21 MCCC data submission.
Thank you to all districts/schools that have submitted the required data already. To verify data have been loaded for reporting year 2021, use MCCC report – Completion Audit.
Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Screen Time Legislation
During the 2021 Legislative Session, new legislation passed on the use of screen time in public prekindergarten and kindergarten classrooms, effective July 1, 2022. Please see the following document for initial details: Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Screen Time Legislation.
Over the next six months, additional resources will be shared to support adherence to this requirement.
Reminder: Education Mandate Report
Every four years, the Minnesota Department of Education is required to "…review all education-related mandates in state law and rule…to determine which fail to adequately promote public education in the state." (Minnesota Statutes, section 127A.05)
Your feedback is needed in order to complete this work. Use this survey to provide your feedback. The survey should only take a few minutes to complete. Please complete this survey by November 5, 2021.
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