MCSS has named its 2017 Teachers of the Year! Congratulations to all of our excellent nominees, and to these four teachers who represent outstanding social studies instruction.

• Elementary: Lisa Wiener, New Prague
  
• Middle: Mandy Kraus, Wayzata
  
• High: Heather Loeschke, Cannon Falls
  
• Lifetime Achievement: Patricia Bauer (retired)
  

At the 2016 National Council for the Social Studies conference in Washington, D.C., Minnesota was among several councils to earn Gold Star status. This is the first time MCSS has earned this distinction.

Gold Star Councils are affiliates of NCSS that meet eight of nine requirements, including growth of membership, participation in advocacy, and contributions to the work of NCSS. 

The MCSS Executive Officers accepted the award on behalf of the board at the House of Delegates on December 2, 2016.

Ron Hustvedt, Jr., a social studies teachers at Salk Middle School in Elk River, was named the National Council for the Social Studies Middle School Teacher of the Year!

Ron will receive his award at the President's Breakfast during the national conference in Washington, D.C., this December. Congratulations to Ron on his fantastic achievement!

With the end of the Minnesota Legislative Session comes the passage of a version of the civics test bill. You can find the language here, starting on line 444.17. 

In short, public school students must pass 30 of 50 civics test questions sometime in grade 9 or above. Schools or districts may choose to record a student's score on a transcript, but a student's score on this test is not tied to graduation. This is set to take effect in the 2017-2018 school year. 

Visit the MCSS Advocacy page for information. 

Congratulations to our 2016 MCSS Teachers of the Year! 

Elementary: Phyllis Haensel, McKinley Elementary (Ham Lake)

Middle: Bill Beckman, Maple Grove Middle School

High: Matt Moore, Mankato West High School

Lifetime Achievement: Jerry Benson, Luverne Public Schools

We were thrilled by the great number of excellent nominees. Minnesota has some amazing teachers. Congratulations to our winners this year, and to all of our nominees!

The list of sessions for the 2016 conference has been set! The exact schedule of sessions has yet to be determined, but you can view the list of 30 exciting sessions that will be presented at the conference on March 7.

List of sessions (Google Doc)

A PDF version is also available on the conference website.

Check back in a few weeks for the tentative schedule!

The Minnesota Council for the Social Studies received a Silver Star Council award at the National Council for the Social Studies conference in New Orleans. Councils that receive a Silver Star award meet seven of nine criteria, including such requirements as joint membership, offering professional development, and contributions to NCSS teacher awards programs. 

This is the first year that MCSS has achieved Silver Star status. Thanks to all for your hard work in helping us hit this milestone!

MCSS is currently accepting nominations for Teacher of the Year. 

Each year, MCSS honors one teacher in three grade levels: Elementary, Middle, and High School. In 2015, MCSS created a new category: Lifetime Achievement.

Nominations are due Dec. 1, 2015. Nominated teachers will be contacted by an MCSS board member with information about completing their application for the award. Visit the Awards page for details.

MCSS is seeking proposals for high-quality presentations in order to offer a full day of break-out sessions. Sessions will be 50 minutes in length. Presentation time slots will be allocated to provide a balanced schedule for attendees.

Session topics should focus on the social studies disciplines, or methods and teaching strategies, and relate to the theme “Educating Future Decision-Makers “.  Priority will be given to proposals which address specific Minnesota Social Studies Standards.

The deadline for proposal submission is Monday, November 30, 2015. Accepted presenters will be notified by Friday, December 18, 2015.

Visit the Sessions page for more information.