Gov. Noem proclaims School Counseling Week 2020

Executive Proclamation

Office of the Governor

State of South Dakota

Whereas, school counselors are employed in public and private schools to help students reach their full potential; and,

Whereas, school counselors are actively committed to helping students explore their abilities, strengths, interests, and talents as these traits relate to career awareness and development; and,

Whereas, school counselors help parents focus on ways to further the educational, personal, and social growth of their children; and,

Whereas, school counselors work with teachers and other educators to help students explore their potential and set realistic goals for themselves; and,

Whereas, school counselors seek to identify and utilize community resources that can enhance and complement comprehensive school counseling programs and help students become productive members of society; and,

Whereas, comprehensive developmental school counseling programs are considered an integral part of the educational process that enables all students to achieve success in school:

Now, Therefore, I, Kristi Noem, Governor of the state of South Dakota, do hereby proclaim

Feb. 3-7, 2020, as

School Counseling Week

in South Dakota.

Check out upcoming webinars to learn more about National Board Certification

Have you ever thought about pursuing National Board Certification? 

Teachers who earn National Board Certification demonstrate advanced knowledge and skill in their profession. Teachers achieve this certification through a rigorous, performance-based, peer-reviewed assessment of a teacher's pedagogical skills and content knowledge. 

The South Dakota Department of Education is hosting upcoming webinars for teachers to learn more about the process:

• Jan. 13, 5:30-6:30 p.m. CT: Join our DOE Zoom meeting to learn more about Components One and Two of the certification. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions.
• Jan. 27, 5:30-6:30 p.m. CT: Join our DOE Zoom meeting to learn more about Components Three and Four. Again, there will be time for Q & A.

Access information for both meetings: 

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/4320620552

Meeting ID: 432 062 0552

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Meeting ID: 432 062 0552

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Join DOE’s National Board Certification cohort
For those teachers who decide to start the National Board Certification process this year, the South Dakota Department of Education is facilitating a cohort. To learn more, visit our National Board Certification webpage and contact Kelly Royer. Teachers can sign up for the cohort until the next National Board Certification registration deadline, which is Feb. 28.

The National Board Certification process takes one to three years to complete. While licensing standards set the basic requirements to teach in a state, National Board Certified teachers demonstrate advanced teaching knowledge, skills, and practices similar to the certifications earned by experts in law and medicine.

South Dakota teachers who earn National Board Certification receive $2,000 per year for five years, with $1,000 paid by the South Dakota Department of Education and $1,000 paid by the teacher’s school district. The department will also reimburse fees personally paid by teachers upon their achievement of national certification. 

To learn more about this certification and stipend and reimbursement opportunities, visit our National Board Certification webpage.

Championing excellence in South Dakota's K-12 education system

A column by Secretary of Education Dr. Ben Jones

The South Dakota Department of Education has released its strategic plan, which will guide the department’s activities through 2024. Based on our professional experience, judgment, and knowledge, we believe the plan provides a concise illustration of the department’s future and work for our next generation. Chief among our priorities is championing excellence in South Dakota’s K-12 education system.

As part of our strategy, the department has initiated two implementation plans focused on decreasing the opportunity gap for students in poverty and establishing a networked community of allies focused on serving Native American learners to improve academic outcomes.

These initiatives have key points of overlap and will be primary efforts of the department and our partners in the coming years. Other priorities are expanding work-based learning and enhancing civics education.

The plan consists of four strategic directions: championing excellence, maximizing and building relationships, achieving effectiveness, and cultivating our professional culture. The strategies are intended to achieve the department’s vision of supporting local educators, investing in talent development, fostering research and innovation, supporting the whole learner, and reinventing accountability.

The department’s strategic plan clearly defines what we hope to be as a department in five years, and it describes who is working on which initiative and when. This is a living plan, to change as the needs of students change while keeping standards high and ensuring that a diploma is meaningful.

It is also important to note what this strategic plan is not. It is not the statewide plan driven by student achievement goals for South Dakota students. That is our state’s current Every Student Succeeds Act Plan. Instead, the department’s strategic plan details steps the department will take, as part of the wider effort of supporting South Dakota’s accredited schools, to improve our state’s educational environment. We will monitor progress on the ESSA plan, and make efforts to improve where there is need.

Together with our state’s educators and other important partners, our professional staff will begin to move in the strategic directions of maximizing and building relationships, achieving effectiveness, championing excellence, and cultivating our professional culture.

We embrace the work ahead.