Important Updates You Should Know |
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Special Education Programming in Rural School Communities
Cliff Carmody, executive director of SWWC Service Cooperative, Marshall, Minnesota, and Gracie Burford, AESA Marketing Intern, talk about how this Minnesota service cooperative is providing its member districts with special education needs and program resources for the upcoming school year.
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USED Revises Maintenance of Equity Guidance
The USED has released revised guidance for Maintenance of Equity. They provide flexibility with a provision that will only apply to LEAs experiencing a net decrease in state and local funding for the 21-22 school year. In June, the USED released its initial guidance on Maintenance of Equity (MoEq) and included an interpretation that the provision would apply to all schools enrolling more than 1,000 students, which ran counter to the intention of the underlying statute. This revised guidance clarifies that, among other things, for the 21-22 school year, the more narrow application will apply.
What do you need to know?
The critical update is that with this new guidance, “an LEA…may demonstrate that it is exempted from the Maintenance of Equity requirements for FY 2022 by certifying to the Department that it did not and will not implement an aggregate reduction in combined state and local per-pupil funding in FY 2022 (i.e. is not facing overall budget reductions).” In layman’s terms, this means the MoEquity provision only applies to LEAs experiencing a net decrease in state/local dollars. Therefore, any LEA that can certify they will not have a new reduction in combined state and local funding for the 2021-22 school year will be excluded from this provision. LEAs seeking the exception will need to submit a certification affirming they will not have a net decrease; that form is available in Appendix B (page 24) of the August 6 revised guidance.
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CDC Updates on COVID-19 Guidance
for K-12 Schools
This content originates from an email from the CDC.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated the Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools to align with CDC’s existing guidance for fully vaccinated people and assist K-12 schools opening for in-person instruction and remaining open. Additionally, the Considerations for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing in K-12 Schools and Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) has been updated to align with new CDC guidance.
CDC’s Guidance for COVID-19 Prevention in K-12 Schools includes recommendations for
- Promoting vaccination among teachers, staff, families, and eligible students.
- Universal indoor masking for all teachers, staff, students, and visitors to K-12 schools regardless of vaccination status.
- Implementation of layered prevention strategies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in schools, including maintaining at least 3 feet of distance between students within classrooms in combination with universal masking; screening testing to promptly identify cases, clusters, and outbreaks; handwashing and respiratory etiquette; cleaning and disinfection; and contact tracing in combination with isolation and quarantine.
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CDC’s Considerations for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing in K-12 Schools and Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) highlights
- How case investigation and contact tracing--in combination with testing, isolation, and quarantine--are effective strategies to help prevent transmission of COVID-19 in K–12 schools.
- How collaboration between schools and STLT health departments on reporting COVID-19 cases can facilitate timely case investigation and contact tracing in school settings.
- Recommendations for students, staff, and educators, regardless of vaccination status, who have come into close contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19.
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CDC has also updated the exception to the close contact definition for students in K-12 indoor classroom settings. If using the 3-foot distancing in indoor classroom settings, it is important that schools implement layered prevention strategies to ensure a safe environment and prevent transmission of COVID-19. However, implementation of these strategies will no longer be considered in the determination of close contact.
Given the importance of key services schools offer and the benefits of in-person learning for students, it is critical for K-12 schools to open for in-person instruction and stay open. Working together, school leaders, local health departments, and community members can take actions to keep schools open for in-person learning by protecting students, teachers, and school staff where they live, work, learn, and play.
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20 Years After the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks:
Guidance for Educators
The 20-year mark of the 9/11 terrorist attacks is a milestone for the nation. We can expect substantial media attention and an array of commemorative activities as the world looks back on these events.
Though remembrances will have an impact on almost all of us, they will affect us differently depending in part on our age and experiences. Educators can play a vital role in helping students comprehend the 9/11 attacks in ways that promote understanding without provoking undue stress. The most helpful message will be that whatever we face, we will face together, using coping skills we have learned.
Our current experience of educational, social, and emotional upheaval as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic can provide a useful example. Thinking and planning ahead can help educators take care of themselves, support students, and strengthen families’ ability to respond to their children’s questions and concerns. Our partners at the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement put together this free resource:
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Room Block Deadline Quickly Approaching |
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Educators' Call To Action Conference
September 15-17, 2021
Washington, D.C.
This conference provides in-depth information that ESA leaders need to equip them for their advocacy both in Washington D.C. and back home. AESA's legislative advocacy team connects participants with experts on the legislative topics that affect educational service agencies and the school districts that they serve. Participants receive up-to-the-minute information about emerging and pending federal legislative issues.
The Hotel Reservation Deadline is Wednesday, August 25th.
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Leadership Practice Network Updates |
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Now Forming - Leadership Practice Network:
Race, Racism, & Equity
AESA has teamed up with Lee Teitel from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Kate Ericson, Executive Director of LEARN in Connecticut, to offer a limited-series leadership practice network exclusively for ESA directors.
The eight monthly, 2.5-hour sessions will provide participating directors with an informal setting to learn about and discuss key ideas about race, racism, and equity with peers. The approach will be personal and professional, focusing on increasing the participants' understanding and "racial literacy" and providing structured opportunities to apply those ideas as directors in their ESAs and regions.
Participants will develop a deeper understanding of whiteness, exploring how ideas like white privilege, white fragility, and white silence affect them personally and in their professional leadership roles. Directors who are planning initiatives or responding to racial inequities in their districts will get consultation support, ideas, and suggestions from their peers and the facilitators.
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Cost: $3,300 per person
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Virtual Meeting Schedule: Last Wednesday of each month from September 2021 to April 2022.
Free Introductory Webinar
Lee and Kate will present a FREE introductory webinar on Thursday, August 26 at 4 pm Eastern (3 pm Central; 2 pm Mountain; 1 pm Pacific; noon Alaska). Join them to learn more about this new leadership network.
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Entrepreneurial ESA Community of Practice
Begins September 28
Do you ever wonder how other entrepreneurial ESAs design products and services? How do they decide when to start a new service and when the right time is to stop a service? The purpose of this network is to explore those types of questions and learn with other entrepreneurial ESAs. Sessions will be held virtually six (6) times per year for 90 minutes each session. Additionally, the network participants will be intentional about meeting at AESA national events.
All sessions will be held from 2 – 3:30 pm EST on the following dates:
September 28 | November 23 | January 25 | February 22 | March 22 | May 24
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Women's Leadership Network.
There is Still Room in Cohort 2!
The ESA Women in Leadership Network is a forum for you to strengthen your leadership by networking with other women leading educational service agencies.
This year, the ESA Women in Leadership Network will focus on leadership, career advancement, and personal development.
Each cohort will meet virtually for six 90-minute sessions. In addition, AESA will be hosting an in-person, two-day ESA Women in Leadership Retreat during spring 2022, specially designed for participants in the virtual network. (Watch the Online News for more information about the retreat.)
Cohort 2 Virtual Meeting time: Noon – 1:30 pm EST on the following dates:
September 29 | November 2 | January 11 | March 15 | May 18 | July 12
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Professional Learning Opportunities |
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Virtual Workshop:
Principles of AI for ESAs
This four-session virtual workshop featuring Dr. Duncan Simester, is designed specifically for ESAs: Stay Current. Stay Informed. Learn with AESA!
• Identify the challenges AI can solve within your organization.
• Learn important principles, processes, and concepts related to AI.
• Explore how AI can solve problems and recognize potential pitfalls using ESA scenarios.
This workshop will be held from 2-4 pm EST on the following dates:
October 19 | October 21 | October 26 | October 28
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Business Strategy Framework for ESAs
This framework is a powerful tool that will help your leaders assess new opportunities and evaluate existing services. The framework provides a consistent approach to strategic marketing or understanding what markets/services your organization should be in and why. The framework sets your team on the right path to discovering game-changing insights about the services they offer by focusing on three specific areas with questions designed to encourage deeper thinking that will uncover previously unrecognized keys to success.
2021-22 Workshops:
Practitioner-Level Workshop: Develop New Leaders in Your Organization
October 12-13, 2021 in Lexington, KY
ESA-centric Business Strategy Framework presented by AESA business experts. AESA offers the same basic workshop as Dr. Simester’s Premier Workshop (see details below), with the primary difference being this workshop features former ESA leaders trained by Dr. Simester. In this format, the presenters rely on several real-life ESA examples to illustrate concepts rather than utilizing the business case approach, just like in the Premier Workshop. This workshop also incorporate hands-on work with real-team projects to enhance the learning experience.
Cost: $6,000 per team of 6 ($5,000 for past participants)
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Premier-Level Workshop: Presented in True MBA Style!
Join Us for a Virtual Workshop in May 2022
MIT Sloan School of Business Marketing Professor Duncan Simester, along with AESA Consultants Susan Leddick and Andy Pechacek, lead you through this Business Strategy Framework workshop. Dr. Simester has taught this same framework to scores of Fortune 500 companies around the world. Dr. Simester teaches this session, tailored for ESAs, in true MBA style using business cases and hands-on work with real-team projects to enhance the learning.
Cost: $10,000 per team of 6.
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Reading Leaders Book Club |
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August Book Choice
"A Place for Us" by Fatima Farheen Mirza
As lifelong readers and leaders, we all know the importance of reading and literacy…well beyond the pre-k12 classroom where it is often assigned. AESA Executive Director Dr. Joan Wade and Janelle Bailey, State Director of the Wisconsin Academic Decathlon, first met at the United States Academic Decathlon (USAD) National Competition in Frisco, Texas, in 2018. They reconnected a year ago at the USAD National Competition in Bloomington, Minnesota, and escaped at the end of dinner to explore a Barnes and Noble bookstore together. Their friendship was sealed among the rows of books as they talked about their favorite books and suggested new ones to take home. Out of this friendship, the AESA/CESA 7 Reading Leaders Book Club was created! Joan and Janelle would love to have you join in the reading fun!
Join the book club HERE.
Next Book Club Date
Thursday, August 19, 2021 @ 7:00 pm EST
(6:00 pm Central; 5:00 pm Mountain; 4:00 pm Pacific; 3:00 pm Alaska)
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Reminder: Registration is OPEN for
these Upcoming AESA Events
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Educators' Call to Action Conference
September 15-17, 2021
Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill
Washington, DC
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AESA Annual Conference
December 1-4, 2021
Marriott Marquis
Houston, TX
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