September 2, 2021 MICIP Continuous Communication

Michigan Department of Education sent this bulletin at 09/02/2021 03:07 PM EDT
MICIP Continuous Communication

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In this Issue of MICIP Continuous Communication

This issue of MICIP Continuous Communication includes answers to questions regarding the School Goals Requirements in Section 98b of Public Act 48 of 2021, information about the 2021 Virtual Continuous Improvement Conference, Professional Learning Resources and Opportunities, the Monitoring and Adjusting component of the MICIP Platform, and more!

Do you have staff members who are new to MICIP? Invite them to sign up for CC here!

FAQSchool Goals Requirements in Section 98b of Public Act 48 of 2021 Explained

How does 98b compare to 98a?

  • 98a (Return to Learn Plans) addressed the 2020-21 school year; 98b addresses the 2021-22 school year. 98b is an extension of 98a and requires a second year of building level goals.

How does MICIP support the requirements of 98b?

  • Plans in the MICIP portfolio which address the requirements of 98b and are tagged to individual buildings/schools satisfy the requirements of 98b.
  • If the district used the MICIP Process Template for its 2021-22 continuous improvement plan and that plan addresses the requirements of 98b, the district has met the requirements of 98b once the Process Template is uploaded into NexSys.
  • A district not having at least one plan with goals focused on student achievement for every student in each building is required to create goals.

How else can a district meet the requirements of 98b?

  • If buildings do not currently have goals tagged in the MICIP district plan which meet the requirements of 98b, the district may create building goals using the template found in GEMS/MARS.

For more information, see the August 20, 2021 memo from the Michigan Department of Education.

Happy woman on computerMDE Fall 2021 Virtual Continuous Improvement Conference

The MDE Fall 2021 Virtual Continuous Improvement Conference “Equity and Stakeholder Voice: Making Education More Engaging and Relevant for Students, Families, and Educators” will take place on Tuesday, October 19. Keynoting the conference will be Dr. Jal Mehta, Professor of Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, speaking on “Humane and Equitable Continuous Improvement: Why Tools Should Serve Humans and Not Vice Versa.” 

Returning to the event will be Dr. Seena Skelton, Director of Operations for Region III Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center, speaking on "Equity and Continuous Improvement: Using Quantitative and Qualitative Data in an Equity-Centered Continuous Improvement Process." 

Attendees will also have an opportunity to attend 30 breakout sessions; in contrast to the recorded presentations at last year’s event, breakouts this year will be live. Those attending will also have access to all presentations after the conference, including five presentations about MICIP:

  • MICIP: The Latest and Greatest – An update on enhancements to the MICIP platform, requirements, and resources, with a focus on the Implement, Monitor and Adjust components.
  • MICIP 101 – Participants will experience the process in the platform using real-life examples.
  • Building Equity Through MICIP – This presentation will identify key reflection questions and resources that can be used to consider an equity lens while engaging in MICIP.
  • What Gets Monitored (and Evaluated) Gets Done – Participants will experience the enhanced Monitor, Adjust and Evaluation components and tools.
  • The MICIP Assess Needs Process: A Simulation – Participants will engage in a simulated activity where they will gain a deeper understanding of the Assess Needs process using an equity lens and will also experience new MICIP toolkits.

Conference information and a registration link are available at MDE Fall 2021 Virtual Continuous Improvement Conference | Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators (gomasa.org). Please contact Ben Boerkoel at boerkoelb@michigan.gov if you have questions.

MDE Virtual Special Populations Conference

The MDE Virtual Special Populations Conference under the theme “Leading Together Toward Tomorrow” will be held from September 22-24. The cost is $50 per attendee. Virtual Special Populations Conference Registration is available at this link.

MICIP ResourcesMICIP Professional Learning and Resources

The Michigan Continuous Systems Improvement (MI-CSI) Team has produced the following toolkits to support MICIP continuous improvement leaders, facilitators, and team members.

The purpose is to help a district dig more deeply into topics that are critical to the continuous improvement mindset and process. The toolkits can be found on the Resources page of the MICIP website under MDE Resources.

  • District-Led Continuous Improvement – designed to help a continuous improvement team embrace a mindset that supports a unified district continuous improvement process and creates a cohesive and collaborative community of improvement.
  • Forming a Team – considers how to form a continuous improvement team, including who should be part of it, the characteristics of a high-quality team and how to support districts with creating high functioning teams.
  • Leading and Managing Change – considers the impact of change on the organization, the individual members, and on the continuous improvement process.
  • Initiative Inventory – considers how to conduct an effective initiative inventory to get a clear picture of existing initiatives, mandates and resource commitments using the resources from the National Implementation Resource Network (NIRN).
  • Evaluating Current and New Initiatives and Strategies – considers how to use the Hexagon Tool for evaluating current and/or new initiatives/strategies to determine fit and feasibility in achieving district goals.

Future toolkits will focus on communicating the MICIP plan as well as on data literacy.

Ingham ISD has facilitated the development of a process for putting strategies in MiStrategy Bank.

You will find the MiStrategy Bank Vetting Process on the MICIP website under Resources/Resources from the Field/Plan.

MICIP PlatformMICIP Monitor and Adjust Component

Over the past few months, the MICIP team has been working hard on designing and building the Monitor and Adjust component of the platform. Monitoring involves checking on progress toward fidelity of strategy implementation, activity completion, and impact as measured by interim and end targets.

MICIP users will be able to note such progress using a “running record” text box and will also have the opportunity to answer questions aligned to the same NIRN-designed categories as are in the MICIP Evaluation component (Implementation with Fidelity, Capacity, Scale/Reach, Impact).

As a result of this analysis, users will be asked to identify possible adjustments to their plan. The Monitor and Adjust component will also serve in part as a replacement for the former Program Evaluation Tool (PET).

Release date is expected to be the beginning of October.

MICIP MonitoringMDE and ISD/ESA personnel are being trained on the Monitor and Adjust components on September 9, 2021.

Invitations for ISD/ESA staff are being sent through the General Education Leadership Network (GELN) and Michigan Continuous Improvement Facilitators Network (MCIFN). The training will be recorded.

Identical trainings for district and school personnel will take place as follows:

The training will be recorded for those not able to attend or who wish to review it an additional time.

Voices from the FieldVoices from the Field

For our first Voices from the Field question, we asked you to share something you wish you knew when you started working with MICIP. A selection of the responses we received are shared here:

  • "I wish we knew how to keep the schools in the loop throughout the MICIP process."

  • "We need to have more school staff involved in the district plan. Otherwise, the schools were not involved enough in the MICIP process."

  • "We are planning to engage school-level staff more intentionally throughout the process moving forward."

Thank you for all who participated and shared their experiences in MICIP!

A key takeaway is: Make sure to involve school staff in the process early and often.

The new question is: Now that you have your plan, how are you working with your team to implement it? Follow the link to respond.

Professional LearningProfessional Learning Opportunities

Coming this Fall: MICIP User Group Conversations

Based on requests from the field, MDE will be sponsoring a series of informal conversations for MICIP users to learn from and support each other.

Topics will be determined by the group and may include specific areas of MICIP as well as generally what is working well, what challenges might exist and how those challenges have been addressed by others.

It could also include sharing resources developed to support MICIP. Depending on the level of interest, the group might remain as one or might divide into role-alike groups.

Dates and times for these conversations will be announced in upcoming issues of Continuous Communication.

Coming this Winter: MICIP Collaboration Series

After the first of the year we will again be offering the MICIP Collaboration Series, a group of four sessions first offered last Spring that walked participants through the MICIP process and platform.

This series will be particularly useful to those who are new to continuous improvement and/or to MICIP.

Resources from last year’s series can be accessed at this link: MICIP Spring 2021 Collaboration Series.

Please Share Continuous Communication

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Previous issues of MICIP Continuous Communication are available on the MICIP web page.

Feedback is Essential for Continuous Communication!

Have a question, an idea, a suggestion, or a compliment? The MICIP team is always eager to hear your feedback! Send us an email using the MICIP email address (mde-micip@michigan.gov).