Hello MSAN Community, 

Since our last MSAN Minute newsletter went out, it seems our whole world has changed. We want you to know we are thinking of you and are in awe of the incredible work you have done in support of your students, families, and communities in this most stressful time. Thank you for your tireless efforts to ensure your families have access to meals, your support of your teachers during this bumpy transition to online learning (which seemed to happen nearly overnight), and for your unapologetic approach to centering equity as you make hard decisions right now. You are amazing!

In this edition of the MSAN Minute, we share several targeted resources that you may find helpful as we build a new normal for ourselves and our schools. We also share some self-care tips. Please remember to take care of yourself first (physical, social, mental, spiritual, and emotional self-care) so that you are better able to take care of others. We will be adapting our spring and summer schedule and moving our events online. We will keep you informed of the dates and times of these opportunities. 

Please let us know if there is anything we can do to support you and your district as we move forward. We care about you. Our connection to each other is MSAN’s greatest strength. Let’s continue to use these connections to learn from each other, to gather new ideas, and to grow our skills. Let us all remember that as a community of leaders committed to educational equity and racial justice we are most assuredly better together. 

Warmly,
Madeline Hafner, MSAN Executive Director
Connie Showalter, MSAN Outreach Specialist

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EQUITY IN ONLINE LEARNING

NYU Metro Center Introduces Guidance on Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Remote Resource Hub 
As districts across the United States shift to remote techniques in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Metropolitan Center for Research on Equity and the Transformation of Schools at New York University, has consolidated information meant to provide guidance and answers to questions and concerns related to high-leverage teaching and learning practices for equity-based remote education.

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MSAN ANNUAL FOCUS AREA

Coaching and Evaluation for High Expectations and Rigor
Teacher, educator, and author of Culturally Responsive Teaching and The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students, Zaretta Hammond, is offering free access to two recent webinars where she invited viewers to join her to “try some ideas about how we can prevent learning gaps from becoming too wide and, in some cases, help students begin to own their own learning. Each webinar is designed to support you in your efforts to be responsive to students and families during this time of distance learning.”

• Moving Beyond the Packet: Creating More Culturally Responsive Distance Learning Experiences, and 
• Parents as First Teachers: Supporting Reading Development at Home in Culturally Responsive Ways. 

These COVID-19 webinars are available by request until April 21, 2020.

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TRUSTED RESOURCES THAT CENTER EQUITY

As you are inundated with information on how to navigate this “new normal” of online learning and physical distancing while continuing to combat the racism and xenophobia that impact our communities, be sure to seek out information from organizations you trust. Two recommendations from the MSAN office are The Education Trust and Teaching Tolerance. During this time, they are continually updating their websites with useful resources and information that keep equity at the forefront. 

• The Education Trust’s COVID-19 Impact on Education Equity: Resources and Responses webpage. 
• Teaching Tolerance’s Supporting Students Through Coronavirus webpage.

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SELF-CARE

Practicing self-care is not easy. In general, educators are often so busy taking care of others, they forget to take care of themselves. To assist, Panorama has created a social-emotional learning and self-care webpage full of resources for educators, schools, and parents related to COVID-19. Take a look at the sections including: adult self-care, resources for educators, diversity, equity & inclusion, resources for families and parents, etc. 

Additionally, as we seek to support our leaders of color, take a look at many online resources shared by Mindfulness for the People, a social change agency dedicated to disrupting systemic whiteness in the mindfulness movement. Their Facebook page provides links to many online events.

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SUPPORTING MULTILINGUAL LEARNERS

Educators at the WIDA Consortium are gathering resources from around the world to support multilingual learners in online environments. WIDA provides research-based language development resources to those who support the academic success of multilingual learners. Take a look at how international educators take an assets-based approach to addressing the unique challenges this learning environment brings: Teaching Multilingual Learners Online.

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2020 MSAN INSTITUTE

The 2020 MSAN Institute was scheduled to be held this week, April 23-24, in Madison, WI. We received many outstanding proposals from across our districts, demonstrating once again that one of the strengths of the MSAN network is our commitment to share our best practices in service of our mission.

While we have cancelled this year’s in-person gathering, the MSAN office is working to bring highly impactful practices to you in a different format throughout the spring and summer. Keep your eyes open for upcoming MSAN webinars and other online learning opportunities featuring topics such as: 

• Coaching to Support Rigorous, Engaging Instruction and Teacher Collaboration 
• Incorporating Student Voice in the Curriculum Review Process 
• Research-Based Strategies that Support Black Excellence, PreK-16 

If you have any questions about registration refunds, please contact Connie Showalter, MSAN Outreach Specialist at connie.showalter@wisc.edu.