Tools Assist Schools with Annual Reporting

What is MI-Plan and How Can It Help My School?

Michigan's accreditation system known as Education YES! and the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) require additional annual reporting from school districts. Public Act 25—the 1990 state law requiring annual reports—requires reports at both the school district and school building level. With all these reporting requirements to keep track of, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) provides a Web-based school improvement tool to assist schools at the local and district level as they plan and prepare annual reports. Referred to as MI-Plan, this tool is designed to provide educators with a way to access achievement, demographic, and contextual data for individual schools. MI-Plan gives easy access to research databases and provides a way to create an on-line planning profile of the school. Web-based resources include:

• A template or pathway of a school improve-ment planning process.
• Data including Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) results.
• Numerous forms to assist school improvement teams in organizing and producing reports.
• A place to save reports in progress as teams work on the development process.
• A form for the annual education report.

To access MI-Plan and additional information, visit www.michigan.gov/miplan or visit the Center for Educational Performance and Information at www.michigan.gov/cepi for training materials, resources, and additional MI-Plan information.

Eight Guiding Principles of School Improvement Planning

MI-Plan is designed to complement the School Improvement Planning Process Guide developed to assist school improvement teams as they plan a school improvement journey that will ultimately result in higher student achievement and more supportive learning environments. The combination of both resources can help school improvement teams make data-driven, research-based decisions. The following key principles form the basis for the School Improvement Planning Process Guide:

• The principal must be at the helm of this process—without support and leadership of the principal, the planning process lacks the leverage that is needed for change to occur in a school environment.
• Empowering teachers, chairs, and co-chairs to take on leadership roles in schools and in the improvement process is vital to ensuring a successful model of improvement.
• All members of a school staff and representatives of as many other stakeholder groups as possible should participate in and/or be aware of the planning process.
• A representative group of stakeholders can do the bulk of the work if results and updates are reported back on a regular basis to the full faculty and other stakeholders.
• Decisions about school improvement goals and solutions must be based on careful consideration of multiple sources of data and research.
• School improvement planning is a continuous journey that demands ongoing monitoring and adjustment of programs and processes at the school.
• Improvements in student academic performance are directly related to what happens in the classroom. Teachers must be willing to be reflective about their practice and relentless in attempts to meet the needs of every student.
• The written plan document is only as good as the quality of thought and effort and degree of "buy-in" by staff.

Guidance and additional information for annual reporting is available at the MDE Web site at www.michigan.gov/mde. Guidance is also available from your local intermediate school district or contact: Jill Ashworth, (517) 241-3147, jashwort@genesseeisd.org, juliaashworth@sbcglobal.net.

How Can Schools Know What Is 'Scientifically-Based'?

The U.S. Department of Education has launched two new tools to help schools put reading research into action.

• A new guide from the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) can help local educational officials and educators identify educational practices supported by scientifically-based research. The USDOE released Identifying and Implementing Educational Practices Supported by Rigorous Evidence: A User-Friendly Guide in December 2003 to guide decisions about which programs and strategies schools can use when implementing the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). A copy of the guide is posted on the Department of Education's Web site at www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ies/news.html#guide.
• The new National Center for Reading First Technical Assistance offers free training and support to states and districts that have received Reading First grants. The national center will include three regional centers. The center at the University of Texas in Austin serves Michigan's Reading First teams. The regional centers provide expertise on improving reading programs using instruction based on proven teaching methods. To learn more, visit www.ed.gov.

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