Dear MMSD Families and Community,
I hope you are enjoying spring break and find the time for rest and relaxation over the upcoming days. Wherever you find yourself this week, if you are traveling out of state or staying close to home, it is important to have fun, stay safe, and continue to follow COVID-19 safety guidelines. Our transition back to classrooms has gone very smoothly, and this is due to the amazing job of our students, families and staff in adhering to district safety guidelines. Upon our return, we want to ensure we continue our positive momentum in reopening, while also contributing towards the continued downward trajectory of local COVID-19 spread.
It’s been an exciting couple of weeks for elementary school communities, and we cannot thank our MMSD families enough for your patience, flexibility and support. We’re so proud of our outstanding 4K-2nd grade students who are doing a great job of wearing their masks, social distancing and adapting to their new school environment. After spring break, we are looking forward to welcoming back our 3rd - 5th graders who have chosen in-person learning. We know they will bring new energy and joy to our schools, and we are eager to help them with a safe and exciting transition back.
Across the district, we often work with community partners to make student learning relevant and engaging. Recently, professional soccer players from Forward Madison Soccer Club connected with West High School to deliver live, high performance workouts to physical education students, and Zozibini Tunzi, Miss Universe 2019, spoke to grade school girls about how to unlock their inner potential and leadership skills. Read more about how we continue to bring the community to our virtual classrooms below.
Our students and families have done a tremendous job this year to overcome so many changes and challenges. As we move into the next phase of reopening, please keep in close communication with your school and check the MMSD Reopening webpage regularly for updates. We will see our students back in school and online next week. #MMSDFamily
Sincerely,
Carlton D. Jenkins, Ph.D. Superintendent
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West High P.E. teacher teams up with pro soccer athletes to keep students active during pandemic |
Most physical education teachers across the district will tell you that P.E. has been one of the most challenging subjects to teach online during the pandemic. With no gyms or fitness equipment at home and workout space limitations for many students, P.E. teachers like West High's Mary Kok are constantly thinking of creative ways to keep students active at a time when mental and physical health are extremely critical for youth during a global pandemic.
When Mary reached out to Madison’s professional soccer team, Forward Madison FC, she was hopeful the team could submit a recorded workout for her students to participate in. Instead, the team’s captain and community engagement liaison, Connor Tobin, responded to Mary with the idea to lead live workouts with the players via Zoom, in addition to engaging the students with a motivational talk about athletics, exercise and the correlation between fitness and mental health.
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Miss Universe inspires and uplifts young girls in Sister Circles group
For Women’s History Month, Schenk Elementary’s advanced learning teacher leader, Rosa Thompson invited a special international guest speaker to inspire and uplift black girls in the district’s Sister Circles group. Crowned 2019 Miss Universe, South African native, Zozibini Tunzi joined the tight-knit community of girls and district staff to share her personal journey of struggles and success. Zozi’s mantra for young women everywhere is: “Take up space. Don’t be afraid to exist and believe in the talents and abilities that you have.”
During the Sister Circles live session, students asked Zozi questions about her South African culture, her family background and future goals. Many of the girls complimented her style and beauty, thanking her for being honest and authentic throughout the discussion.
The spring series of Sister Circle will continue to match exceptional Black women with young, ambitious students. The next sessions in April and May will focus on advocacy through visual arts introducing concepts of protest and disrupting harmful misrepresentations of Black girls and women. “Sisterhood is not taught in schools,” said Rosa. “I created this space for girls to interact with each other and make friends, learn from outstanding Black women right here in the community and embrace everything that makes us, us.”
Listen in as Zozibini Tunzi guides her MMSD audience through dealing with rejection:
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One million meals served! |
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The MMSD Food & Nutrition department has been working to fight hunger since our schools closed suddenly last year. More than 40 curbside sites were set up at schools and neighborhood locations, including traveling meal delivery buses, to ensure that all children in the city had access to healthy meals. Providing food boxes filled with 7 balanced breakfast and lunch meals, families are able to pick up one box to cover the whole week. Two weeks ago, we surpassed the 1 million meals served mark for this school year! Thank you to all the dedicated staff in our MMSD Food & Nutrition department for making this possible! Learn more about this program here. |
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'Families as Partners' in Madison Schools Virtual Summit
The Lapham-Marquette Parent Teacher Group partnered with the Madison Public Library to host a Families as Partners in Madison Schools Virtual Summit on February 20th. This event featured an opening keynote address by Chicago Alder and Community Organizer Jeanette Taylor on the topic of “Families Building Relationships & Power” followed by opportunities for participants to actively discuss, share resources, and strategize about the issues that mattered most to them in smaller groups. You can view the full event here, and see resources and ideas collected during the summit on this padlet.
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Proposal to rename Memorial High School
The Board of Education has received a proposal to rename James Madison Memorial High School. This begins the 30-day period for comments on the proposal. Our community voice is extremely important to us, and we want your feedback on this proposal. Additionally, if you would like to submit an additional proposal, you are invited to do so now. Learn more about this process and submit your feedback and/or proposal here.
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Save the date: Join us on Facebook Live on April 14 to learn about the new elementary school
We’ll be holding a Facebook Live session on April 14, from 6-7pm, to discuss the new elementary school that we will be building in the Rimrock Rd. area, thanks to the passing of our facilities referendum in the fall. We look forward to hearing your feedback on this new school. Learn more about our plans so far here.
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UW-Madison hosts event with Madison Metropolitan School District to promote college readiness
By Todd Reck, UW-Madison
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For the past four years, UW-Madison has partnered with the Madison Metropolitan School District’s Personalized Pathways initiative.
Personalized Pathways places high school students into cohorts where their education focuses on a career field. MMSD currently has pathways in Health Services and in Information Technology & Communications. The initiative includes experiential learning opportunities to connect high school classes with future educational and career opportunities in partnership with the local community.
In the past, UW-Madison has provided a campus tour for high school freshmen to connect their pathway with educational opportunities at the university. Then the pandemic came. As Todd Reck, manager for the student experience in the Division of Enrollment Management explains, “UW-Madison wanted to find a way to continue to support MMSD students during the pandemic. In Enrollment Management we have learned a great deal about hosting virtual events that we can apply to this partnership.”
So, UW-Madison hosted a live virtual event. The event featured a presentation from Ashanti Rogers (Office of Admissions and Recruitment) and Joselyn Diaz-Valdes (Office of Student Financial Aid), who discussed how all high school freshmen can prepare for their college future right now. Diaz-Valdes told students that “when you have a college degree, [it] will give you access to rooms and to spaces, to job opportunities, to career opportunities, to things that you would not otherwise have access to.”
Campus and Visitor Relations student tour guides took the high school students on a virtual tour of campus and answered questions about what it is like to be a college student. UW-Madison followed the event by sending students and families resources on academic and career options related to their own pathway.
“UW-Madison is committed to supporting equitable access to a college education,” said Director of Community Relations Brenda Gonzalez. “By helping pathways students develop a greater familiarity with college, we want every single Personalized Pathways student to see themselves as a future college student.”
The university has plans to continue the pathways partnership this summer by offering an online internship program for high school students.
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Bullying prevention
Our district has been working hard at addressing bullying concerns by being proactive in teaching about all identities, empathy, and ally behaviors. District staff have received training to support bullying prevention and responding to bullying behaviors. Additionally, we have developed new and updated resources for families. You can check out these resources at our MMSD Anti-Bullying website.
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MSCR Black History Month gallery |
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MSCR invited the public to participate in a virtual art gallery to celebrate Black History Month. Community members, MSCR Staff and MSCR Afterschool programs created meaningful art. Please view this moving video: |
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MSCR Summer Camps 2021 Program Guide |
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The Summer Camps 2021 Program Guide is available at mscr.org! Plan your child a fun summer! The Camp Program Guide is filled with a variety of camps featuring arts, outdoors, sports and more held at eastside and westside locations. Camps offer half and full day options.
Please note, this year the Summer Program Guide will be published later than usual. The guide will be available on April 26 and include programs for all ages.
Registration began Monday, March 22.
All MSCR programs operate with enhanced health and safety procedures and following all current public health orders. Visit mscr.org for the details on the steps we are implementing to keep our participants safe.
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Tune in to ¿Qué pasa en nuestras escuelas? on April 15 |
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Tune in to La Movida Radio on Thursday, April 15 from 9-11am to hear our Spanish-language radio show ¿Qué pasa en nuestras escuelas? [What’s happening in our schools?]. Students and staff from Capital High will be the guests to tell us about their amazing high school. When you’re at Capital, you feel at home. Committed to excellence, authenticity and equity, relationships made at Capital High are long-lasting. Learn more about this radio show here.
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In case you missed it
Starting this week, our two tech HUBs at Memorial and La Follette high school will no longer be open. If you need assistance with a school-issued device, please contact your school's LMTS. You can find their contact information here.
Wisconsin's Department of Health Services has come out with a vaccine registry, where you can sign up to get notified of opportunities to be vaccinated once you're eligible. The registry is available in English and Spanish.
On Tuesday, March 16, talented and dedicated MMSD teachers and staff talked about leading with anti-racism in the classrooms in the live MMSD Showcase: REIMAGINE! Anti-Racism and Innovation in Action. You can view that on YouTube here.
Our attendance practices changed slightly due to the asynchronous day moving from Wednesday to Monday. Learn more here.
The Regent Tutors, in partnership with MSCR, is offering free drop-in tutoring sessions via Zoom for students in grades 3-5 on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 3:30-5pm. The tutoring is offered by our bright scholars in West High School and can help with subjects such as math, reading, science, and history. View the flyer.
Project Recovery has a FREE, confidential, local support and education line to help people cope with COVID-19 and this stressful time. Learn more.
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The Foundation for Madison's Public Schools has been raising emergency relief funds and collaborating with community partners to ensure our MMSD and MSCR students, families and staff have the resources and financial support to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more here.
NAMI Dane County has a free support line from 8:30-4:30pm and provides numerous support groups and classes for individuals impacted by mental health needs. Learn more.
The City of Madison recently launched a free Financial Resources Hotline to help residents navigate financial issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial Navigators provide free guidance, over the phone, to help residents access available programs and services to manage income loss and other financial concerns they may be experiencing.
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Madison Metropolitan School District | 608-663-1879 | Email | Website
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