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December 2, 2022
Updates in this email:
During Inclusive Schools Week, it is important to commemorate the progress that schools have made in providing a quality education to an increasingly diverse student population including students who are marginalized due to disability, gender, socio-economics status, cultural heritage language preference and other factors. Inclusive Schools Week also provides an important opportunity for educators, students and parents to discuss what else could be done to ensure that their schools continue to improve their ability to successfully educate all children.
This year, the Inclusive Schools Week’s theme is “Unity within Community—Inclusion Around the World.” United we are stronger to focus on our common need—inclusive practices in our schools and in our communities.
Let us stand together to address the challenges of this time as we continue to address the needs of our children for schools where all children belong, thrive, and are supported by their teachers, peers, family members and neighbors. Let’s learn more about the work of other organizations and groups in our community and share ideas, resources and support. Let’s teach our children by our actions how to treat others, how to communicate and build relationships, and how to work in harmony to address our common needs. None of us are alone in our efforts to support inclusive practices. Working together we stand stronger as we move closer to that vision of an inclusive world in 2022!
View Governor Walz’s Inclusive Schools Week proclamation on the Minnesota Department of Education website.
A new grant is available from Minnesota State to support nursing assistant training in high schools. School districts with approved nursing assistant programs can apply for an equipment grant of up to $5,000. The deadline for applying is Dec. 16. Application materials can be found on the Office of Higher Education’s website at Certified Nursing Assistant Training.
The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) has selected a vendor to provide a new system to replace SERVS Financial, MDE’s grant management and payment processing system. We will continue to keep you updated on this project as it develops.
The vendor, MTW Solutions, provides specialized software products and information technology services to state government agencies across the country. Minnesota will be the 11th state to implement MTW’s Grant Management Solutions product.
We look forward to working with MTW Solutions, whose expertise and experience will help us move forward onto an improved platform. We are now starting the planning process, with additional details on timeline and process to come. At this early stage, please hold any questions you may have for MDE program staff. We will communicate project details and timelines to you well in advance of any changes.
The exponential rise in children’s respiratory illnesses resulting in hospitalizations from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), influenza (flu) and influenza-like-illnesses (ILI) has placed an unprecedented strain on our hospitals and emergency departments (EDs).
As a result of this increase, Minnesota hospitals are receiving an overwhelming number of parents and guardians requesting notes from hospital staff, specifically in EDs. The increase in requests for these notes has placed an additional burden on an already strained system. If your district policy necessitates notes from medical providers for student absences, please consider asking parents to request these notes from a healthcare provider instead of going to the ED to get a note.
We continue to encourage school districts to promote basic public health measures including handwashing, covering your cough, staying home if sick, and promoting vaccination. Thank you for your continued leadership to ensure a safe and healthy learning environment for students and staff.
Governor Tim Walz announced that Minnesotans can schedule appointments for children ages 5-11 to receive an updated bivalent booster at state-run vaccination sites. The announcement follows updated recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that expanded the use of updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines to children ages 5–11 years to protect them against newer Omicron variants.
Minnesota health care providers are ready to administer new COVID-19 booster shots for ages 5 and older that have been formulated to be more effective against the Omicron variants.
The Pfizer bivalent booster is now available for people 5 and older and the Moderna bivalent vaccine is now available for people 6 and older. Both products can be given as soon as two months after a primary vaccine series or booster vaccination. Children 5–11 receive a smaller dose than people age 12 and older. The bivalent vaccines are only recommended for use as a booster.
The updated COVID-19 boosters can both help restore protection that has decreased since previous vaccination and provide broader protection against newer variants. The COVID-19 vaccines and the updated booster are safe and help protect people from getting very sick with COVID-19. Even if you’ve already had COVID-19, you should get vaccinated.
Where to Get a Bivalent Booster
There are several options for where to get a bivalent booster.
- Check with your regular health care provider or local pharmacy to see if appointments are available.
- Minnesotans can make appointments at the state-run vaccination sites now: State Run Sites
- Use the state’s Find Vaccine Locations map to find vaccine providers near you—providers will update their information as appointments are available.
- Check for vaccine appointments at Vaccines.gov, where you can search for appointments by vaccine type (e.g., Pfizer).
- Watch for vaccination clinics being offered at other community locations around Minnesota.
The Language Access Network (LAN) is a statewide community of practice centered on ensuring that families who speak languages other than English have access to information and services from public schools. LAN consists of school and school district personnel with responsibility for the interpreting, translation and language access needs of Minnesota’s multilingual children and families.
At this time, we have the following dates set for the Language Access Network (you will receive calendar invitations upon registration).
- Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023; 2–3:30 p.m. (virtual connection with MDE)
- Thursday, March 16, 2023; 2–3:30 p.m. (virtual connection with MDE)
Register for the Language Access Network.
We invite you to join us as we work toward making education a more supportive and inclusive place for Minnesota’s multilingual families.
If there are questions, contact Amy Tervola Hultberg (Amy.TervolaHultberg@sourcewell-mn.gov) at Sourcewell.
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