MASSP is dedicated to keeping our members informed as the situation with COVID-19 develops. Each weekday during the school shut down you can count on an email from us. We will compile and summarize the latest updates and provide the latest resources to help you navigate the challenges that may arise in the coming weeks. If you have resources or information you think should be included in an upcoming update or on the MASSP COVID-19 resource center, please send them to Alicia Pilmore for consideration. Stay Connected & Keep Spirits Up Schools around the State are showing unity, school spirit and engagement by hosting virtual spirit weeks online. Staff and Students post on social media (usually to a hash tag or tagged to the schools Twitter page). If you are doing a virtual spirit week or a staff/student morale booster please tag @massp on Twitter so we can feature you in a future COVID-19 update. Messaging & Engaging If you are communicating with staff, students or parents via YouTube or have a strategy to share please tag @massp on your posts. I’d love to share what you are doing and feature you in a feature COVID-19 update. MDE: Food Service to Children Continues Through the “Stay Home” OrderToday, the Michigan Department of Education released a memo further clarifying that schools may continue to be served to children throughout the “Stay Home, Stay Safe, Save Lives” order declared by Governor Whitmer. School employees and volunteers who are distributing meals to children are exempted under this order, as food provision is considered critical infrastructure. For more details, read the memo by clicking the link below. FCC Waives Rural Health Care and E-Rate Program Gift Rules to Promote Connectivity for Hospitals and Students During Coronavirus Pandemic By waiving the gift rules, service providers may offer, and E-Rate program participants may solicit and accept, improved connections or additional equipment for remote learning during the coronavirus outbreak. Services and equipment include but are not limited to increased bandwidth, wifi hotspots and equipment supporting internal connections. Service providers may also offer free or reduced-cost internet access services and/or equipment directly to families with school-age children. FREE Professional Development Opportunities for School Counselors The Michigan Association for College Admissions Counselors (MACAC) is now offering online professional development opportunities for school counselors. The courses offered include military career options, writing effective counselor letters for college and much more. To find out more about these opportunities, click the link below. Leader2Leader The link to register for this Thursday’s free Leader2Leader webinar has been posted, and we already have over 100 registered. Join your colleagues from around the state for this important opportunity to connect and share. Our zoom meeting will begin with an update from Lusk Albertson Attorney Kevin Sutton on requirements around serving special education students during the COVID-19 school shutdown. You will then have the option of joining one of four discussion groups:
Governor Whitmer Signs Executive Order Extending Deadline to Complete Canvass of March 10 Primary In an effort to keep state employees and the public safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-22, which extends the deadline to complete the canvass of the March 10 Presidential Primary to April 24. Without this extension, state employees would have to restart the count, which would take resources away from the state’s COVID-19 crisis efforts. For more detailed information, click the link below. Other Resources School aid bill in limbo as Michigan Legislature cancels session amid coronavirus crisis That Discomfort You’re Feeling is Grief Teenagers, How Is Coronavirus Upending Your Lives? Leading Schools During the Corona Virus (ASCD list of articles) PBS Learning K-12 Resources for Learning During the School Closure Distance Learning Tips from One Teacher to Another Coronavirus Is Advancing. All Americans Need to Shelter in Place. |