MDE Grants Help Teachers Seeking Advanced Degrees

Above: Dr. Ebonee Magee-Dorsey reads “The Power of Yet” to third grade students at Monticello Elementary School (MES) in the Lawrence County School District (LCSD). Magee-Dorsey serves as school counselor at MES and Rod Paige Middle School (RPMS). Page 22 right: MageeDorsey speaks with RPMS eight grade students about setting SMART — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound — goals.

“It’s so important that counselors address those social, emotional and mental needs to help make sure (students) can be successful. We want to increase student achievement and test scores, so we have to make sure counselors are able to provide their services to help students be successful.”

- Dr. Chancey Fort, MDE director of K-12 academic counseling programs and support services

a comprehensive framework for school counselors to use in delivering a focused, data-driven, proactive program that addresses students’ needs, including academic, social and emotional and college and career readiness.

She said the state would also recognize a counselor of the year for the first time, and she has plans to implement a statewide mentorship program to guide new counselors in addition to a summer training she holds for those new to school counseling.

Brewer and Magee-Dorsey encourage new school counselors to join professional organizations that provide networking opportunities and suggestions on better advocating for their importance in the school’s support system.

“(Professional organizations) are important for continual growth. They also give us a collective voice to be able to say, ‘These are the things that matter,’” Brewer said. “Many of us are the only school counselors in our buildings, so (these organizations) give you that collective voice to advocate for the things that are important for school counselors.”

Fort said advocating for school counselors is critical in a time when students’ social, emotional and mental health is vital to their classroom success.

“It’s so important that counselors address those social, emotional and mental needs to help make sure (students) can be successful,” Fort said. “We want to increase student achievement and test scores, so we have to make sure counselors are able to provide their services to help students be successful.”

Fed Approves Mississippi’s Plan for ARP ESSER Funds

The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) announced the approval of Mississippi’s American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) plan in December and distributed remaining ARP ESSER funds to the state.

Mississippi’s plan details how the state is using and plans to use ARP ESSER funds to sustain the safe operation of schools and equitably expand opportunities for students who need it most, particularly those most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, the department distributed two-thirds of the ARP ESSER funds, totaling $81 billion, to 50 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. The remaining third of the funding to states will be made available once state plans are approved. Mississippi is receiving more than $1.6 billion in ARP ESSER funds, and the approval of the state’s plan will result in the release of the final $543 million. December’s approvals mean a total of 51 ARP ESSER state plans have been approved since June.

“I am excited to announce approval of Mississippi’s plan,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “It is heartening to see, reflected in these state plans, the ways in which states are thinking deeply about how to use American Rescue Plan funds to continue to provide critical support to schools and communities. The approval of these plans enables states to receive vital, additional American Rescue Plan funds to help keep schools open for fulltime, in-person learning; meet students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs; and address disparities in access to educational opportunity that were exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. The state plans that have been submitted to the department lay the groundwork for the ways in which an unprecedented infusion of federal resources will be used to address the urgent needs of America’s children and build back better.” “Mississippi has prioritized in-person learning because it is the most effective way to keep students engaged, accelerate learning and address their social and emotional learning needs,” said Dr. Carey Wright, Mississippi’s state superintendent of education. “We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Education for its significant investment of ESSER funds in Mississippi. These funds will enable our schools to innovate learning and build strong and enduring systems of support to meet the current and future needs of our students.”

The ARP ESSER state plans approved by the USDE, including Mississippi’s, show how states are using federal pandemic resources to support safe inperson instruction and meet the social, emotional, mental health and academic needs of students — with a focus on the students most impacted by the pandemic. For example: The Mississippi

Dr. Cardona Department of Education (MDE) has encouraged districts to consider how to host vaccination drives on school campuses, in addition to sharing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations and guidance on safe in-person instruction with schools and districts in the state. Mississippi schools have also utilized various strategies “Mississippi has prioritized to increase vaccination rates in in-person learning because the schools and communities. The MDE will use ARP ESSER it is the most effective way funds to support high-dosage to keep students engaged, tutoring, summer learning and enrichment, and extended day accelerate learning and programs through a competitive address their social and grant program to address students’ academic, social, emotional learning needs. We are grateful emotional and mental health to the U.S. Department of Education for its needs that the state is developing. significant investment of ESSER funds in The MDE has launched a behavioral telehealth project Mississippi. These funds will enable our in response to mental health schools to innovate learning and build concerns that may have been exacerbated by the pandemic, strong and enduring systems of support staffed by school staff. The MDE to meet the current and future needs of is also using ARP funds for a pilot program to deliver mental and our students.” behavioral health care to children and increase educator knowledge - Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education about behavioral management techniques. Additionally, the MDE has awarded funds to put 25 new medical staff on site in schools. The distribution of ARP ESSER funds is part of the USDE’s broader effort to support students and districts as they work to reengage students impacted by the pandemic, address inequities exacerbated by COVID-19 and build our education system back better than before.