Dear MMSD Families and Community,
This month brings much anticipation of end of the year student celebrations, summer vacation and planning for a new school year. After an unprecedented 2020-21 school year filled with many challenges and successes, we also look forward to a return to our normal routines and activities. With your partnership, we have certainly met the challenges of this school year together with grace, unity and a consistent focus on putting our students at the center of learning.
May is nationally recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month, and amid a global pandemic, we believe prioritizing mental health is more crucial than ever. This month we want to highlight the resilience of our students and staff experiencing increased stress due to the pandemic. We have put together these online wellness resources for you to continue to promote social-emotional wellness among your families and community.
Additionally, May is also recognized as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. In efforts to encourage a more welcoming school environment that is culturally representative of all of our MMSD families, many of our teachers this month are paying tribute in their classrooms to the generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched America’s history and are instrumental in its future success. This week we are proudly celebrating Hmong American Read Aloud Week and we invite you to tune into this online playlist featuring Hmong American stories and rich cultural traditions.
As always, thank you for your partnership and continued support.
Carlton D. Jenkins Ph.D.
Superintendent
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MSCR summer programs are back with your favorite activities
Madison School & Community Recreation (MSCR) just released the Summer 2021 Program Guide filled with fun, recreation activities for the whole family. After much anticipation, swimming lessons and other aquatics programs for youth and adults are back and will be held at East and West High School pools. MSCR programs begin mid-June with fee assistance available for most programs. With an array of arts and enrichment, youth sports and fitness activities available with indoor, outdoor and virtual options, be sure to register this month and make MSCR a part of your summer.
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Summer Program Guide and registration is available at mscr.org
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Spanish version of the Summer Program Guide is available here.
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MMSD hosts Virtual Leadership Career Fair on May 22 |
District administrators are looking forward to connecting with the Madison community and beyond during a virtual leadership career fair on Saturday, May 22 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. featuring individual breakout room information sessions with departments including Curriculum and Instruction, Student Services, Human Resources and more. Attendees will also be able to schedule 15 minute, one-on-one interviews during the event and pose live questions to district leaders. Qualified job seekers, please register for the event by May 21 at mmsd.org/careerfair. For more information, email recruitment@madison.k12.wi.us
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Now accepting internal transfer requests for 2021-2022 through May 25 |
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Any K-12 student who would like to attend a MMSD school outside of their regular school attendance area has the opportunity to change schools through our internal transfer process. The internal transfer request for the 2021-2022 form must be completed online. If you have questions about new or existing internal transfers, contact the Enrollment Office at enrollment@madison.k12.wi.us or call (608) 663-4957. Please note that transportation is not provided to students attending under an internal transfer. Due to capacity limitations, Lowell Elementary School will not be accepting new internal transfer applications for next school year.
- First round applicants will know if their request has been approved or placed on a waitlist on, or before July 1.
- Second round applicants, or anyone who applies for an internal transfer after 4pm on May 25, can apply through August 19 at 6pm.
- Second round applicants and students who are waitlisted will know if their request has been approved or denied by August 26.
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Congratulations to newly elected and re-elected board members |
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We want to say congratulations and welcome to new board member, Maia Pearson. In April, Pearson was elected and sworn in for her first term. Ali Muldrow was elected board president and Savion Castro was elected vice president. We express our sincere gratitude for our board members’ leadership and commitment to our MMSD students, families and community.
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Hmong American Day Read Aloud is this week |
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MMSD proudly celebrates our Hmong American community by hosting Hmong American Day (HAD) Read Alouds every year during the week of May 14. Hmong American Day Read Aloud uplifts Hmong language, literacy, culture, and history featuring local community readers, artists and storytellers.
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Take virtual cooking classes with free meal kits delivered to your home weekly |
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Madison’s premiere meal kit service and catering company, Pasture and Plenty has teamed up again this year with MMSD to offer a four-week Black Excellence Life Readiness Virtual Cooking Classes + Meal Kit program to students in 3rd through 12th grades. Completely free to students and families, this virtual cooking class is scheduled for every Thursday in June. Each week students will prepare the ingredients from a meal kit delivered directly to their homes with an outstanding local African American chef in a virtual cooking class. Each meal kit feeds a family of 4 (larger families will receive 2 meal kits) with a weekly delivery to the student’s home. Class dates are Thursdays, June 3, 10, 17, and 24 from 4pm - 5:15pm. Registration is open now through 4pm on Sunday, May 16.
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Black Girl Magic Virtual Conference is back May 28: Register Today |
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This dynamic day-long virtual conference is for girls in 4th - 8th grades who identify as Black, African-American or Multiracial. This year’s theme is "The Magic of Youth Activism”. We encourage girls to join us and learn about ways to use their voice and actions to create change, while engaging with dynamic Black women activists in various breakout sessions. Students will also have the opportunity to participate in various virtual events including WERQ, yoga, a virtual photo booth, scavenger hunt, live music and more! Conference agenda and participant link will be emailed to participants upon registration.
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Need help with overdue utility bills? Join Facebook Live discussion featuring Madison Gas and Electric May 22 |
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Join the MMSD Family, Youth and Community Engagement (FYCE) Department for a community conversation with Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) staff about energy assistance programs for families. For support with your utility bills and additional community resources, tune in on Saturday, May 22 from 10am - 11am. This session will also be available in Spanish on Wednesday, May 19 from 6pm - 7pm. For more information, email
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Our commitment to Equity in Early Literacy Instruction
The MMSD community wants each and every young scholar in our school district to thrive and be community, career and college ready by the time they graduate. We know that our children deserve the opportunity to utilize reading and writing in rich and meaningful ways in their lives. To ensure our strategic approach around early literacy intentionally includes our families, local higher education partners and our newly developed Early Literacy and Beyond Task Force we will be providing monthly updates on what our district is doing to value and prioritize literacy development in the district moving forward.
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MMSD Alumni Stories: Meet Kim Sponem |
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La Follette High School class of 1985 alumna Kim Sponem is CEO/President of one of Wisconsin’s largest credit unions, Summit Credit Union. Under her leadership since 2002 (then named CUNA Credit Union) it has grown from $200 million to $4.5 billion in assets; its branch network has expanded from four locations to 46 across South Central and South Eastern Wisconsin, including four in Madison high schools. Summit has become a leader in financial education, the number one mortgage lender in southern Wisconsin and the number one Small Business Administration loan provider by number of loans amongst credit unions in Wisconsin. At the time of becoming CEO nineteen years ago, Kim was named one of the youngest in the country to run a large credit union.
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Community events
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UW Family Gardening Days in May: Virtual activities, workshops, and live chats aimed at making gardening accessible to all families.
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Badger Precollege Summer Programs at UW Madison has extended their application deadline to May 31 and financial aid deadline has been extended to May 15. Explore an array of academic programs for students ages 5-18 from advanced learning programs and STEM classes to music clinics and college readiness conferences.
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Black Girl Magic Mindfulness in the Park June 14-17: Learn how to bring awareness to your thoughts, feelings, emotions and the body as you participate in journaling, art, and movement at Warner, Elver, Penn and Tenney Parks from 12pm - 3pm.
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Maydm STEM courses for students in grades 6 - 12: Free virtual summer courses in STEM, youth financial literacy and game/app development.
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Madison Metropolitan School District | 608-663-1879 | Email | Website
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