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Educationally Speaking

Issue 57 | August 2024
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*Be sure your email address is up-to-date in the?**Michigan Online Educator Certification System* [ [link removed] ]*?to receive important notifications regarding YOUR certificate.*

**Please see the?*archived newsletters [ [link removed] ]* for other important information that affects licensure.**

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Grants Information Section Header
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National Board First Time Candidate Grant - Round 2

MDE is excited to announce a second round of the 27m(7) National Board First Time Candidate grant, pursuant to Section 27m [ [link removed] ] of the School Aid budget for fiscal year 2024-25. This grant will be awarded to local education agencies, both traditional public school districts and public school academies, and intermediate school districts to support *teachers in schoolwide Title I schools pursuing National Board Certification for the first time.*?

The application period is open from August 19 to September 30, 2024. Please visit the National Board Certification Grant Opportunities webpage [ [link removed] ] for information.

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Military Veterans Grant

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) is still accepting applications for the Future Proud Michigan Educator Military Veterans grant. This grant can be used to provide salary support for participating veterans for up to two semesters of student teaching and cover additional costs or fees associated with seeking a teaching certificate. This grant targets the goals in Michigan's Top 10 Strategic Education Plan by focusing on increasing the percentage of adults with post-secondary credentials and the number of certified teachers in areas of shortage.

For more information on how to apply, please visit the Future PME Military Veterans webpage [ [link removed] ]. For questions and further assistance, please contact [email protected].?

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Fiscal Year 24 Section 504 Grants

Congratulations to the 23 districts who successfully submitted applications for the 504 EXPLORE Grant! Grant Award Notifications (GANs) were distributed via NexSys in mid-June. As of early August, we?ve distributed orientation materials to districts receiving awards, and these districts joined us for two live Q&A sessions in July. These Q&A sessions provided a general overview of the grant and its purpose and explained how to send in reimbursements to the 504 EXPLORE team. Our next step is to make sure the NexSys system is ready to receive the final round of reimbursements in early October. If you are a 504 EXPLORE grantee and missed the Q&A sessions, we will post all Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to the 504 EXPLORE webpage [ [link removed] ]. For questions regarding 504 EXPLORE, please contact [email protected].

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Webpage Updates for Section 27b Grow Your Own (GYO) Grants

If you haven?t already, please visit the newly updated GYO School Staff webpage [ [link removed] ]! It has been updated with new resources for grantees, new timeline information, and new FAQs. We are excited to announce that the webpage has been enhanced to serve as a valuable resource for program administration and reporting technical assistance. Current Section 27b grantees can access the Monitoring and Guidance document and all NexSys reporting instructions on the site.

In addition to this update, we are pleased to announce that we have prepared a new 27b Award Listings webpage [ [link removed] ]?to spotlight all of the districts who were awarded funds during either or both of two rounds of applications in 2023. This is a handy resource for anyone who wants to know how and where Michigan?s classroom educators are being supported across the state.

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Update on 27k Student Loan Repayment Program Awards

In July, districts that submitted applications requiring no revisions received GANs, enabling them to initiate the process of disbursing back payments and the first monthly payments to eligible participants. Districts that were requested to amend their applications in May are anticipated to receive their GANs by mid-August, as per MDE's expectations.

To assist districts with understanding the award calculations and how to pass Student Loan Repayment Program payments to participants, MDE has set up a new Program Administration webpage [ [link removed] ]?for districts linked from the Student Loan Repayment Program webpage [ [link removed] ]. Districts who have additional questions about the Student Loan Repayment Program or about their 27k awards are encouraged to contact [email protected].

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#proudMIeducator
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MDE Talent Pool

The Michigan Talent Pool is a group of elementary and secondary educators nominated by their supervisors that MDE draws upon throughout the year when opportunities for engagement and recognition become available.

We welcome recommendations of outstanding classroom teachers and/or principals who exhibit strong potential for professional leadership, and demonstrate the following:


* Exceptional educational talent as evidenced by effective instructional practices and student learning results in the classroom and school;
* Exemplary educational accomplishments beyond the classroom;
* Contributions to education that are largely unheralded, yet are worthy of the spotlight; and
* An engaging and inspiring presence that motivates and impacts students, colleagues and the community.

Recommendations to the Talent Pool should be submitted by the nominee's supervisor and can be made via the online recommendation form [ [link removed] ].

The nomination form includes a one-page letter of recommendation explaining how the nominee meets the above criteria. Please note that these recommendations are confidential and should not be discussed with the recommended educator or others in your school or community.

Please direct any questions to Jennifer Robel at [email protected].



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Educational Resources
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*New College Scorecard Educator and Advocate Toolkits*

College Scorecard [ [link removed] ] introduced a new ?Resources? page, designed to enhance the use and understanding of College Scorecard data among educators, school counselors, and college access advisors. This initiative includes two comprehensive toolkits: one tailored for classroom use and the other for professional development.

The Department of Education released a homeroom blog, ?Unveiling New Tools for Educators, School Counselors, and Advisors: Enhance College Decision-Making with Our Latest College Scorecard Toolkits,? [ [link removed] ] to inform educators and advisors of these available tools for their use in guiding students. The activities and training modules detail a comprehensive understanding of College Scorecard data, fostering informed decision-making in higher education.

To learn more about these toolkits and how to integrate them into your educational practices, please click on the ?Resources? [ [link removed] ] tab located at the top right of the College Scorecard page or contact the Scorecard team via email at [email protected].

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Noteworthy News
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*2025-26 Michigan Teacher of the Year Nomination Window Open*

The 2025-26 Michigan Teacher of the Year nomination window is open early this year! This annual program recognizes outstanding teachers in our state. Each year, 10 Regional Teachers of the Year are selected through a competitive application process, with one of the Regional Teachers of the Year named Michigan Teacher of the Year.

Parents, students, colleagues, administrators, and members of the educational community are invited to nominate a teacher. To be eligible, a nominee must have a valid Michigan teaching certificate, at least five years of teaching experience in Michigan, and be in good standing with their school or district.

Please make nominations using the online form [ [link removed] ], [ [link removed] ] which is available until Wednesday, September 25, 2024, at 11:59 p.m.

MDE recognizes that some intermediate school districts and local education agencies, both traditional public school districts and public school academies, have an established process for awarding local teachers of the year. If so, district representatives are encouraged to recommend their local teachers of the year through direct email to [email protected].

To learn more about MDE?s Michigan Teacher of the Year program, please visit the program webpage [ [link removed] ]. Questions regarding the program or nomination process may be directed to the Office of Educator Excellence at [email protected].

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Did You Know
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Changes in Educator Evaluation Law Effective July 1

Public Acts 224 [ [link removed] ] and 225 [ [link removed] ] of 2023 modified the existing teacher and administrator evaluation requirements [ [link removed] ] and removed the requirement for educator effectiveness ratings to be tied to teaching certificate progression. Learn more and stay informed by reviewing the updated MDE guidance about changes in law [ [link removed] ], including resources to support collective bargaining and evaluation system design. Additional resources include FAQs [ [link removed] ], student growth [ [link removed] ], and student learning objectives [ [link removed] ] information at www.michigan.gov/mde-edevals [ [link removed] ].

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*The Annual Educator Effectiveness Data Appeals Window** Opens September 1 *

Each year, starting on the first business day in September and ending on the first business day in December, districts and public school academies (PSAs) may submit data appeals for inaccurate educator effectiveness ratings [ [link removed] ] for any of the past five years into the Registry of Educational Personnel (REP). This data correction window is only for the purpose of updating inaccurate effectiveness ratings data within REP. It is not a process for contesting the outcome of an evaluation. Any data corrected [ [link removed] ] during the window for teachers in instructional roles will appear in MOECS immediately after being entered by the district.

For questions regarding educator evaluation, please contact [email protected].

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Upcoming Opportunities
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*Fr**ee State Park Field Trip - Fall Registration Is Now Open (4th Grade)*

The Department of Natural Resources is offering a program to bring every fourth-grade student an educational experience at a Michigan state park for free. Learn more about Nature Awaits [ [link removed] ] to get your school?s trip scheduled for fall!

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Teacher Discounts [ [link removed] ]
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"Copyright ? 2024 Office of Educator Excellence, All rights reserved."

Michigan Department of Education - Office of Educator Excellence
608 W. Allegan Street, Lansing, MI 48933
(517) 241-5000 |[email protected]






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