Start the school year right by exposing students to high-demand STEM and Computer Science careers. At no charge , use Learning Blade’s 200+ hours of inter active STEM and Computer Science activities to show your students how these careers and technologies solve human-centered problems. Over 400 online interactive student-ready lessons plus teacher resources for hands-on projects, design thinking, 3D printing, coding, career videos and parent discussions are all offered through Learning Blade.

SWWC and LYFT Career Pathways are working with Learning Blade® to provide STEM and Computer Science e-learning grants to schools -- subsidizing costs for SWWC member public and private schools to offer licenses at no charge to schools for the 2019-20 school year. Receive your school’s (each building should request their own) free account by registering at www.LearningBlade.com/MN

Contact [email protected] to request a webinar training or ask questions. 

*By utilizing a Learning Blade account supported by this LYFT Career Pathways Grant, you will be expected to participate in a pre- or post-use evaluation.

Reminder for school districts: The first fire drill should be conducted within the first ten days of school. As well, ensure all required posters are posted. We have a list on our website if you need new copies or the old ones disappeared over summer cleaning. Be sure to closely review each poster as some have been recently updated. The posters can be found at www.swwc.org/posters .

SWWC and IEA are partnering to offer a Chemical Hygiene Training for Chemical Hygiene Officers, Chemistry, and Biology teachers in secondary education. The training will cover safety basics as well as in-depth discussions on how to implement requirements with unique challenges in an educational classroom setting. The training is scheduled for October 14 from 8:30am – 12:00pm . For more information and to register, click here .  

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected] .

Reminder: Title IV FY18 funds must be expended by the end of September 2019 and the FY19 funds must be spent by end of September 2020. The 19-20 Title IVA allocations came out the end of July. MDE recently sent a message mentioning there are many districts and charter schools that have not yet accepted or declined these funds. This must be done as soon as possible since the application for Title IV is due on September 1, 2019. Funds can be accepted or declined only by the IOwA or District Superintendent/Charter School Director.

To accept or decline the funds, go to the “Manage Allocations/ Competitive Awards” in SERVS. Look for the Fiscal Year 2020 and Finance Code 433 line. The process is the same as used for accepting or declining funds f or Title I, II or III .  Again, please be sure to check for pending funds before submitting your 2019-20 Title IVA application.

 

Want to know more about Title IVA? Check out this page or visit the MDE Title IVA website .

Passing a referendum is no easy feat. Tasks such as developing funding strategies, creating facility solutions, and engaging your community require a unique skillset. ICS team members have worked with school districts on passing referenda for decades, aiming to help students, staff, and communities effectively address facility-related and educational programming needs. To find out more, contact Karen Olson at 651-728-1880 or [email protected] .