Our team's goal is to continue providing you with a set of vetted resources to support your work as a reflective practitioner. Our MACS family is thankful for each and every one of you, without you and our students, this work would not be possible. We are all blessed with bountiful opportunities to be change-makers in this world. Have a fabulous 2020-2021 school year!

No matter what year you may be starting in your career within the field of education, please take a minute to reflect on why you chose this as your future. We are in the field of serving, helping others, doing what is best for our students and making a difference in our world for a better future.

As we move forward, think about these quotes that remind us why education is so powerful!

"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better" ~ Maya Angelou

"The best thing about being a teacher is that it matters. The hardest thing about being a teacher is that matters every day" ~ Todd Whitaker

"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character- that is the goal of true education" ~ Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"The purpose of education is to give to the body and to the soul all the beauty and all the perfection of which they are capable" ~ Plato

"If we teach today's students as we taught yesterday's, we rob them of tomorrow" ~ John Dewey

Utilize the following links, all found within our #MACSawesome website, to stay well-informed with our reopening plans and processes. We want to bring our kids back to school, where they can continue learning, while also keeping all students and staff as safe as possible.

Mount Airy City Schools Staff,

I am excited to officially introduce myself as Mount Airy City Schools’ new digital learning coach. This role has been developed in order to offer each of you support in the design and implementation of technology-enhanced learning and instructional strategies that address the diverse needs and experiences of all students. Integrating technology, by using careful pedagogical practices, can provide engaging, relevant educational experiences that emphasize higher order thinking, creativity and student growth.

This year I will be wrapping up a masters degree in Learning Design and Technology from North Carolina State University and look forward to supporting you all with the skills and knowledge I have acquired through this program, as well as my 10 years of teaching experience.

In order to support you well, I will be keeping up with new strategies and tools that can be implemented in your schools while keeping in mind that technology does not always mean electronic devices. As digital learning coach I will:

• Support each school

• Support PLCs

• Support teachers one-on-one

• Facilitate professional development

• Work with administrators to support consistency for our families

Device/hardware support as well as network problems should continue to be directed to Justin and Christina. Justin is our Schoology, Google Suites and Clever administrator and determines which settings and functions are available on each of those platforms. Tech issues with remote learning will be addressed via the document linked in the MACS Customer Service Homebase. Normal tech issues will continue to be addressed using the technology request form found on the district website. Teachers will remain the point person for parent questions with regards to learning management systems and technology questions for your individual students, though if you do not know the answers please get in touch.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you need someone to bounce ideas off of, brainstorm or troubleshoot with. We are stronger together and collaboration is key. I will have availability to meet with you, your teams or your schools before 9:00 each morning and after 1:00 each afternoon. I am excited to team up with each of you.

Brittany Branch

Please use the Google form below to request support and collaborate with Brittany!

We are excited to announce that all schools will be working closely with Dr. Dutchess Maye to grow as culturally responsive educators. Dutchess also worked with our MACS Leadership team during our summer PD, which ensures that we are all on the same page. Both Jones and MAMS participated in the first part of this training with Dutchess last year. All of this is an extension of our work from last year, as we know this is an ongoing priority coupled with an evergrowing need, especially during the COVID crisis. The ability and willingness to be a reflective practitioner will help us to continue growing ourselves, while also growing our students.

In the link below you can read about Dr. Dutchess Maye, as well as following some of the additional links to her organization's goals and resources for educators.

Wednesday, August 12, 2020 - Culturally Responsive Teaching - Part 1

@ BHT- 8:00 am to 11:00 am

@MAHS- 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Thursday, August 13, 2020- Culturally Responsive Teaching - Part II

@Jones- 8:00 am to 11:00 am

@MAMS- 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Check out this critical resource below, which supports our need to address our students' SEL needs with an opportunity to embed into the English Language Arts Standards K-12.

Implementing the NC Early Learning Inventory During COVID- see the Guide below

We would like to thank Brittany Branch, Digital Learning Coach for working with our team of Digital Teaching and Learning teacher leaders during 2 weeks of July. All schools have a team of 4 teachers that attended this professional development. As a result of their work they also designed and facilitated virtual PD sessions during the Week of August 3. All of these sessions can be found within Schoology for MACS educators to access as needed. We appreciate these teachers taking on the additional PD this summer to help build capacity within every school. Please reach out to them as another source of collaboration and knowledge around digital teaching and learning.

Digital Teacher Leaders for the 2020-2021 School Year:

BHT- Kelly Johnson, Maria Segura, Patti Bobbitt, and Tara Hill

Jones- Gina Tompkins, Lauren Murphy, Ginnie Deaton, and Jessica Hall

MAMS- Alex Tedder, Stephanie Hutchinson, Dalton Tedder, and Emma Wagoner

MAHS- Bryan Hayes, Melissa Ogle, Livia Livengood, and Becca Fritchey

>Log into your Schoology Account

>Choose Groups at the top of the page and then select Professional Development- Teachers

>On the LEFT side of the page select Resources

>Select the yellow folder at the top, Digital Teaching and Learning Resources

*In this folder we will be loading all of the session recordings from the presentations, as well as any presentations they want to share. All of this will be uploaded by Friday, August 14, 2020.

For those of you that attended, your attendance was documented and CEUs will be added within Linq by September 2020. We appreciate your patience as we try to keep it all going strong to support our schools.

Please see the document attached below from PTEC regarding their professional opportunities (PD) for the 2020-2021 school year. Our membership in PTEC guarantees that we have a certain number of spots available for MACS employes to attend. We would love for you to take advantage of these opportunities if they will support your professional growth. Please work directly through your school administration to make arrangements for attending PD.

CASEL CARES is a new initiative that connects the SEL community with experts to address how SEL can be most helpful in today’s circumstances. The development of a young child is profoundly influenced by experience. Experiences – good and bad – shape the organization of the brain and ultimately this impacts emotional, social, cognitive and physiological functioning. Insights into this process come from understanding brain development. Various forms of trauma are pervasive problems in our culture, especially considering the traumatic impact that many children will experience as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this presentation Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D will share information from clinical work and research that can help us better understand developmental trauma and the cognitive, developmental, and relational problems that can arise as a result. An overview will be provided that suggests new directions for clinical practice, program development and policy. Dr. Perry will make suggestions for how educators/parents/families can structure their day, work towards more meaningful interactions, be conscious of and work towards better self-regulation, and other similar points that will positively impact a child’s experience and relationship with them. He will highlight the importance of structure, predictability and moderation of daily stress in building resilience as children and families prepare to return to school and manage ongoing pandemic issues.

Click below to register for this great event on Friday, August 21 @1:00 to 2:00 pm. For those unable to attend, please register and the recording will be sent to you to watch at a more convenient time.