Legislative/Regulatory Update | MSA Strategic Plan | 2021 Awards Plans |
Fall Technical Assistance Conference | MSA Virtual Roundtables | NIMSL Services
Legislative/Regulatory Update
We are in the process of writing our response to a proposed rule making by the U.S. Department of Education which would look at the 2017 MSAP grantee cohort to evaluate student outcomes. Our position is that this cohort has not yet completed its cycle, and that the current academic year poses obvious challenges to thorough evaluation. Accordingly, we will urge that the Department extend its assessment. The deadline for filing is in early July, and MSA will keep its members informed of any results.

We remain actively involved with a coalition led by the NEA to add to COVID funding for the “Homework Gap.” The legislation seeks to provide internet access for the 12 million students nationwide who are unable to learn remotely because they have no internet access at home. The House and the Senate are debating different levels of
MSA Strategic Plan
We recently completed a 10-month process of developing a Strategic Plan, which will lay out a direction for MSA for the next several years. It is a plan that is both thoughtful and far from complacent. You may access the plan here.

It includes operational guidelines for the current year, ones which were spelled out before the pandemic. These will need to be implemented beginning next year. In next month’s Magnet Minute, we will share with you the work of the MSA Board-level committees that are guiding the implementation of the Plan.
2021 Awards Plans
Many MSA members expressed concern about submitting a merit award given the uncertainty surrounding the opening of schools in the fall and the revolutionary shift in the evolution of the school year, especially since standardized assessments were suspended nationally. Moreover, many members expressed apprehension about finding the time to complete an application this fall given the uncertainty (and pressures) that may be occurring when the school year resumes.

One of MSA’s core tenets is to be responsive to the needs of our members, therefore, we will not launch an application process for the 2021 Awards cycle. Instead, we will utilize this time to reassess the application process and review the feedback we have received from our members regarding the merit application. To solicit your input, surveys will be distributed this summer to members who have applied for merit during past years. Read the email on the Awards process.
Save the Date: Fall Technical Assistance Conference
The Fall Technical Assistance Conference will be going virtual for 2020! Save the dates: Oct. 14-16, 2020. Stay tuned, more details will be coming soon.
MSA Virtual Roundtables
Our MSA Virtual Roundtables have brought us together as a community over the past three months at a time when we needed it more than ever. You may not have been able to join us "live" for each of the roundtables, but they are available to MSA members if you'd like to go back and watch.  See the list of Roundtables.
Cultural Competencies Workshop
What is your school or district doing right now to ensure diversity and cultural competencies exist? Setting school climate and culture is the work of all personnel in a magnet school.

Working from research-based practices of Teaching Tolerance and Culturally Competent Leadership, these workshops support administrators and teachers in developing and taking action on creating the conditions for successful school practices to celebrate their rich backgrounds.


MSA is collecting stories about how schools and districts
are dealing with the changes due to the virus.
Please share yours, and then we will be sharing them all!
 Send along to [email protected] .

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e-Choice | April 2020