Michigan

The information contained on this page has been codeveloped with the Michigan Department of Education, but due to the changing nature of this work, all plans and project information on this page should be considered a DRAFT

 

Technical Assistance in Michigan: Year 1

Overview of Planned Work

In November 2012, Great Lakes Comprehensive Center held face-to-face needs sensing meetings with the Michigan Department of Educations (MDE) chief academic officer/deputy superintendent and office directors to explore needs for technical assistance and to identify priorities. The proposed technical assistance projects listed below were codeveloped as a result of these meetings and aligned to federal and state priorities. Great Lakes Comprehensive Center will collaborate with the national content centers and across states to build MDE’s capacity to reach the department’s goals and carry out the following goals.

Project 1: Achievement Gap

In June 2012, the State Board of Education (SBE) adopted a priority to “close academic achievement gaps, with an initial focus on rapidly improving the academic outcomes of African-American males for whom data show are Michigan’s persistently lowest achieving group.” MDE requested Great Lakes Comprehensive Centers support to develop a state strategy to close the achievement gap between African-American males and the highest achieving student group in all core academic subjects. Great Lakes Comprehensive Centers will support the MDE Achievement Gap core team to develop and present a strategy to close the achievement gap to the MDE leadership team and SBE by September 2013. Michigan’s ESEA Flexibility Request indicates that “MDE will develop a comprehensive professional development program of resources and strategies that specifically address achievement gap remediation efforts for use in focus and priority schools. These will be based upon leading research-based models for both general proficiency achievement gaps and cultural achievement gaps” (p. 137).

Great Lakes Comprehensive Centers will colead the MDE research committee to identify, synthesize, and disseminate relevant research on the achievement gap and include a review of promising practices in Michigan and other states to guide the development of MDE’s strategy to close the achievement gap.

The Great Lakes Comprehensive Centers objective for this project is to build MDE’s organizational capacity to develop and implement a state strategy to eliminate the achievement gap by using data to identify needs and selecting appropriate interventions.  Also to assist MDE to build the capacity of districts with focus and priority schools to increase student achievement and close achievement gaps to ensure all students graduate from high school and are college and career ready.

The strategies for technical assistance that Great Lakes will use for this project include: 

  • Collaborating with MDE Bureau of Assessment and Accountability (BAA) to review student longitudinal data to investigate and describe the achievement gap in Michigan from 2008 to the present, with a particular focus on African-American males.
  • Assisting MDE in identifying, synthesizing, and disseminating current research to inform the development of a state strategy to decrease the achievement gap of African American males.
  • Collaborating with the Center on Innovations in Learning, Center on School Turnaround, Great Lakes Equity Center, and REL Midwest to identify and disseminate research based and promising practices and apply research to the codesign of the state strategy for closing the achievement gap.

Project 2: College and Career Readiness

According to the Alliance for Excellent Education (2011), only 19 percent of Michigan’s high school graduates were ready for college-level course work in all four core subjects in 2010. To address the issue of college and career readiness, Michigan’s SBE adopted the Common Core State Standards on June 15, 2010. In addition, Michigan’s ESEA Flexibility Request requires focus and priority schools to participate in the Superintendent’s Dropout Challenge. The challenge requires each school to identify 10 to 15 students at risk of dropping out and to implement interventions and strategies to ensure all students graduate college and career ready.

The Great Lakes Comprehensive Center will work with MDE to continue support for the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Great Lakes Comprehensive Center will cofacilitate conversations between K–12 and IHE educators and representatives from business to ensure that standards and expectations are aligned and students are prepared for postsecondary success. Great Lakes Comprehensive Center will assist MDE to provide guidance and resources for focus and priority schools to analyze and use data to identify students at risk of dropping out and to identify appropriate interventions to prepare all students for college and careers.

The Great Lakes Comprehensive Centers objective for this project is to increase MDE’s capacity in diagnosing areas of need and identifying appropriate interventions to prepare all students for college and careers, including development of resources to support systemic implementation of Common Core State Standards in local education agencies (LEAs).

The strategies for technical assistance that Great Lakes will use for this project include: 

  • Supporting MDE to coordinate efforts with its education partners to develop instructional systems and guidance to ensure that Common Core State Standards form the basis of teaching and learning for all students, including ELLs and students with disabilities.
  • Facilitating collaboration between MDE, K–12, IHE, and business partners to develop an aligned system that prepares all students for postsecondary success.

Project 3: Standards-Based Grading and Reporting System

The Michigan Department of Education is seeking to identify new, innovative approaches to learning. To support LEAs, MDE has implemented seat time waivers that allow schools to provide instruction any time and at locations outside of the traditional school building.  Governor Snyder’s special message on education reforms to the Michigan legislature on April 27, 2011, encourages the creation of an innovative blended learning performance-based 21st century education system that provides opportunities for students to learn “any time, any place, any way, at any pace.” Based on this vision, Michigan schools and districts will need standards-based grading and reporting systems that can document student mastery and proficiency earned at any time and in any place.

The Great Lakes Comprehensive Centers objective for this project is to build MDE organizational capacity to develop guidance for locally created standards-based grading and reporting systems.

The strategies for technical assistance that Great Lakes will use for this project include: 

  • Assisting MDE in creating guidance based on research and current practice for districts to locally create standards-based grading and reporting systems. 
  • Collaborating with the Center on Innovations in Learning, Center on Standards and Assessments Implementation, and Center on College and Career Readiness and Success to identify current standards-based grading and reporting practices to develop a roadmap for schools and districts.

Project 4: Reward Schools

Michigan’s ESEA Flexibility Request describes how MDE will develop a system to recognize schools that are high achieving, high performing, or “beating the odds” (p. 125).

Schools and districts across the state have expressed interest in seeing and learning about promising practices implemented in reward schools. They are especially interested in schools with similar demographics and schools showing success with subgroups. MDE has formed a Promising Practices workgroup to explore ways to provide focus and priority schools with examples of schools and districts who are successfully implementing emerging promising practices that result in schools showing growth, beating the odds, or reducing the achievement gap. MDE requested Great Lakes Comprehensive Centers technical assistance to cofacilitate this work group.

The Great Lakes Comprehensive Centers objective for this project is to build MDE organizational capacity to identify and disseminate emerging promising practices in schools “beating the odds,” showing continuous academic progress, or reducing the achievement gap.

The strategies for technical assistance that Great Lakes will use for this project include: 

  • Assisting MDE in identifying and disseminating emerging promising practices in schools “beating the odds,” showing continuous academic progress, or reducing the achievement gap. 
  • Collaborating with the Center on Innovations in Learning, REL Midwest, and Center on School Turnaround to assist Michigan to identify and disseminate research-based and emerging promising practices that will lead to implementation with fidelity to improve student outcomes.

Project 5: Effective Educators

Michigan is committed to the development of highly effective teachers and leaders. SBE and MDE reform priorities for 2012–13 include preparation and training of effective educators and commitments to strengthening induction, mentoring, and professional development. MDE is planning to provide priority schools with professional learning that is aligned to building needs, based on a needs assessment, with special attention to students with disabilities and ELLs as appropriate.

The Great Lakes Comprehensive Centers objective for this project is to build MDEs organizational capacity to support professional learning that increases educator effectiveness in focus and priority schools

The strategies for technical assistance that Great Lakes will use for this project include: 

  • Assisting the SEA to prepare and train effective educators to increase academic outcomes for all students.
  • Collaborating with the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders and Center for Applied Linguistics to assist MDE to increase educator effectiveness to improve student outcomes.

Map of Michigan with pin.