As required in section 1111(b)(8)(C) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, the U.S. Department of Education is asking each State Educational Agency (SEA) to submit a State Plan to Ensure Equitable Access to Excellent Educators (State Plan) that describes the steps that the SEA will take to ensure that children from poor and minority backgrounds are not taught at higher rates than other children by inexperienced, unqualified, or emergency certified educators teaching outside their areas of certification.  The State Plan should include the following components:

1.      A description of the steps the SEA took to consult with Local Educational Agencies (LEAs), teachers, principals, pupil services personnel, administrators, staff, parents, and other stakeholders in the development of the plan

2.      Identification of equity gaps and an explanation of the calculations and process of identification

3.      An explanation of the likely cause(s) of the identified equity gaps

4.      An explanation of the steps the SEA will take to eliminate the identified gaps

5.      A description of the measures that the SEA will use to evaluate progress toward eliminating the identified equity gaps for both poor students and minority students

6.      A description of how the SEA will publically report its progress

The engagement of stakeholders is essential in the development of this new, comprehensive State Plan. To encourage meaningful input from a variety of stakeholder groups, the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) is hosting a Stakeholder Engagement Meeting on May 4, 2015.  Because of your role as a stakeholder, you are invited to provide your invaluable insight by completing root cause analyses of the equity gaps in our state and developing strategies to eliminate the identified gaps. If you are unable to attend but have colleagues who might be interested in attending, please feel free to share the information below.

MDE Stakeholder Engagement Meeting

May 4, 2015

10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Jackson Marriot, 200 E Amite St., Jackson, MS 39201

Registration:  MDE Stakeholder Engagement Meeting Registration

The registration deadline is April 30, 2015.

The MDE believes that all students should be prepared to compete in the global community; therefore, we must address and eliminate any equity gaps that exist in our state.  The development of our State Plan is extremely important work that requires the input of all stakeholders, and the MDE is seeking broad and diverse representation at this meeting.  If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Educator Quality at 601-359-3631.

Source: Mississippi Department of Education; Mississippi Teacher Center