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STATEOFMICHIGAN

DEPARTMENTOFEDUCATION BRIANJ.WHISTON
RICKSNYDER LANSING
GOVERNOR STATESUPERINTENDENT


March1,2017

AddressBlock

GreetingLine

IwouldliketoscheduleameetingwithyoutoexploreimplementingthePartnershipModelwithyour
district,andinparticularwithSchools.Onceanagreementisreached,theSchoolReformOffice(SRO)
hasagreedtodelayanynextlevelofaccountabilityactionsinordertogivethePartnershipModelan
opportunitytobesuccessful.

ThepurposeofthisletteristoclearlyoutlinethePartnershipModel,theprocess,andthenextlevelof
accountabilitysothatthedistrict,theMichiganDepartmentofEducation(MDE)andSROhaveanexplicit
understandingofthegoalsandconsequencesifanagreementcannotbereachedorifprogressgoalsare
notmetwithin18months.Itismeantonlyasapositiveopportunitytoworktogetherunderthe
leadershipofthelocalsuperintendentandthelocalboardofeducationtoimprovestudentachievement
andoutcomes,withanexplicitanddetailedunderstandingbetweenallpartners.

Asareminder,underaPartnershipAgreement,thelocaldistrictremainsintotalcontrolofitsschoolswith
supportfromMDEandpartners.BeginningonMarch1,2017,wewillhave60daystoreachan
agreement.Ifnoagreementisreached,thenextlevelofaccountabilitywouldbeimplemented.The
agreementwillincludegoalsandmeasuresofprogresstowardsachievingthosegoals.

TheProcess

1. ThedistrictagreestoenteraPartnershipAgreementwithMDE.
2. Thedistrictidentifiespartnerswhoneedtobeatthetable.MDEiswillingtohelpeachdistrict
identifyandconnectwithpartnersifthedistrictrequeststhatwedoso.
a. Partnersmustinclude:
Thelocalschoolboard
Theintermediateschooldistrict(ISD)orAuthorizer
b. MDEwouldliketoencouragedistrictstoalsoinclude:
MichiganAssociationofIntermediateSchoolAdministrators(MAISA)
MichiganAssociationofSchoolAdministrators(MASA)
MichiganAssociationofSchoolBoards(MASB)
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

CASANDRA E. ULBRICH CO-PRESIDENT RICHARD ZEILE CO-PRESIDENT


MICHELLE FECTEAU SECRETARY TOM MCMILLIN TREASURER
NIKKI SNYDER NASBE DELEGATE PAMELA PUGH
LUPE RAMOS-MONTIGNY EILEEN LAPPIN WEISER

608 WEST ALLEGAN STREET P.O. BOX 30008 LANSING, MICHIGAN 48909
www.michigan.gov/mde 517-373-3324
MiddleCitiesEducationAssociation
Institutionsofhighereducation
Unionleaders
Communityorganizations
Parents
Localbusinessleaders
Localfoundations
Tribaleducationdepartments
Earlychildhoodproviders
MichiganCollegeAccessNetworkorlocalcollegeaccessnetwork
Math/sciencecenters
Socialjusticegroups
Mentalhealthprofessionals(socialworkers,counselors,etc.)
Artseducationleaders
Anyotherswhoarepositionedtohelpthedistrict
3. ThedistrictschedulestheinitialPartnershipDistrictmeetingwithMDE,SRO,thedistrictandthe
partners.Thepurposeofthismeetingistoreviewthedistrictsdata,itsareasofstrengthandits
areasofweakness.
a. MDEwillrequestthattheISDorAuthorizersupportthedistrictinpreparingareviewofits
stateandlocalassessmentdata.MDEencouragesthedistricttoreviewitsrelevantdata
tomoreappropriatelyunderstandrootcausesofthechallengesintheidentifiedschools.
Thesedatacouldinclude:
Studentbehavior
Schoolculture/climate
Safetyofstudents
Effectivenessofteachingenvironments
Schoolanddistrictleadership
Specialeducationparticipationandsuccess
Graduationandpostsecondarytransition
Earlychildhoodeducation
b. MDEwillmakeavailablecomprehensiveneedsassessmenttemplatesforthedistrictto
useindiagnosingitsneeds,aswellassuggestionsandsupportregardingdata(in
conjunctionwiththeISDorAuthorizer).
c. MDEencouragesthedistricttoconsiderinstallingtheBlueprintforTurnaround,whichis
anapproachtorapidturnaroundthatMDEdevelopedaspartoftheMIExcelprogram.If
youwouldlikemoreinformationontheBlueprintforTurnaround(ifyouarenotalready
usingthis),pleaseletusknowandwewillprovidesupport.
d. MDEwillreviewalldataprovidedtotheSROpriortothismeetingsothattheworkthe
districtdidwiththeSROcanbereflectedintheplan.
4. Outofthisinitialmeeting,thedistrict(withMDEsupport)willidentify35keygoalsforeach
impactedschool,basedonthedata,andwillidentifypotentialresearchbasedsolutions.
a. MDEwillprovidealistofevidencebasedpracticesthatweencouragethedistrictto
considerandwillconsultwiththedistrict.
b. Whilesomeoutcomescanbeprocessbased,therealsomustbeobjectiveoutcome
measuresrelatedtostudentachievementidentified.
5. Thedistrict(withMDEsupport)alsowilldetermineoutcomesanddatasources(atleastoneof
whichisderivedfromtheannualstatesummativeassessment)foreachofthekeygoals,andwill
identifyandagreeuponbenchmarkmeasuresthatmustbemet.
6. ThisinformationwillbedraftedintoadistrictPartnershipAgreementandsharedwithallpartners
forreviewandcomment.
7. ThedistrictwillconveneasecondPartnershipDistrictmeetingtoreviewtheplan,goals,and
outcomes.Thedistrictmayneedadditionalmeetingstocometofinalagreementontheplan.
MDEwillsupportthedistrictinthesemeetings.
8. Inorderfortheagreementtobefinalized,itmustbesignedbythelocalsuperintendent,thelocal
board,theISDorAuthorizer,MDE,SROandotherpartnersdefinedintheagreement.
9. Regularmeetingdateswillbesetforthepartnerstomeetwiththedistricttodeterminehow
progressisbeingmadetowardachievingthegoals.At18months,wewouldneedtoseethe
districtachieveprogress(asdeterminedbytheagreement);ifprogressisbeingmet,wewould
continueforanother18months.Ifthedistrictdoesnotmeetthegoals,thentheagreement
wouldbeterminatedandthenextlevelofaccountabilitywouldbeimplemented(whichwouldbe
describedinthePartnershipAgreementsothatallwouldhaveanunderstandingfor18months
aboutwhatwouldoccurifthegoalsarenotmet).

MDEwouldliketooffertobepartofthefollowingmeetings:

Ameetingwiththelocalsuperintendent,thelocalboardpresident,andtheprincipal(s)ofthe
impactedbuilding(andanyoneelsethedistrictsuperintendentwouldliketoinvite)toexplainthe
processandtoansweranyquestionsabouttheModelandprocess.Thiscouldbeconcurrentwith
theinitialPartnershipDistrictmeetingoutlinedabove.
Ameetingwithcommunity/schoolsimpacted,toanswerquestionsfromparents,staffand
communitymembersabouttheModel.Again,thiscouldbeconcurrentwiththeinitial
PartnershipDistrictmeeting.

ThePartnershipAgreement

TheinitialPartnershipAgreementmustincludethefollowing:

1. Identificationofareasofchallenge/weakness.
2. Identificationofkeystrategiestoaddressthoseareas,andatimelineforimplementation.
3. Identificationofkeygoalsandoutcomes,andthedatausedtomeasure.
4. Identificationofthenextlevelofaccountabilitythatwillbeimplementedifthedistrictfailsto
reachitsoutcomesat18monthsandat3years,orcontinuestobeidentifiedinthebottom5%of
publicschoolsattheendofthe3yearperiod.

MDEwillprovideatemplateforaPartnershipAgreement.

AfterthesigningofthedistrictPartnershipAgreement,thedistrictlikelywillneedtomodifyschooland/or
districtimprovementplans;conductamorethoroughcomprehensiveneedsassessment;adjustbudgets
forbothstateandfederalprograms;anddootherimplementationaspectsrelatedtotheagreement.
MDEwillprovidesupportfortheseaswell.

EachPartnershipDistrictwillbeassignedaliaisonfromMDE.Thispersonwillberesponsiblefor
supportingthedistrictinimplementationofitsagreement;helpingresolveproblemsandbreakingdown
barriers;facilitatingdiscussionsandmeetings;andensuringthatthePartnershipDistrictreceives
maximumsupportforsuccessfromMDE,aswellasfromthepartnersandotherstateagencies.

NextSteps

IfyouareinterestedinenteringadistrictPartnershipAgreement,pleasecontactmeimmediately.Asa
reminder,weneedtohavethisagreementinplacebytheendofApril,soitiscriticalthatwemove
quickly.Pleaseemailmeatwhistonb@michigan.gov.

OnceyouhaveindicatedyouareinterestedinadistrictPartnershipAgreement,MDEalsowillsendsome
resourcestopotentiallyutilizeasyouidentifyyourneedsandaplantoimprove.Thesewillinclude:
needsassessmenttools,evidencebasedpractices,draftPartnershipAgreement,listsofpotentialpartners
andcontactinformation.MDErecognizesthateachdistrictwillbeatadifferentphaseintermsofitswork
withtheaffectedschools,sowewillprovidesupportatthelevelneededbythedistrict.

ShouldyoudecidetomoveforwardwithexplorationofthisPartnershipModel,MDEimmediatelywill
assignyoualiaison.Finally,wewillbeginschedulingimmediately,asIhopetomakemyselfandVenessa
Keesler(DeputySuperintendentofEducator,StudentandSchoolSupports)availableforthesemeetings.

Respectfully,




BrianJ.Whiston
StateSuperintendent

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