MDE Creates a Framework for Continuous School Improvement

“We are constantly faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as unsolvable problems,” educational innovator John Gardner once said.

This is how the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) looks at the challenge of school improvement. The “problem” of not having a common vocabulary and shared understanding for a statewide “groupthink” about continuous school improvement has allowed the department the “great opportunity” to create the Michigan School Improvement Framework. The structure within the framework provides a vision for how schools can provide a coherent, comprehensive, research-based foundation for thinking about continuous school improvement.

The department’s Office of School Improvement (OSI) identified a group of knowledgeable individuals to take on the opportunity to develop the Michigan School Improvement Framework. The group includes Tamara Bashore-Berg and Nancy Fahner from Ingham Intermediate School District (ISD), Kathy Miller from Shiawassee Regional Education Service District, Larry Thomas from Oakland Schools, Dr. Bruce Fay from Wayne Regional Educational Service Area, Karen Ruple from Kent ISD, and Dodie Raycraft from St. Joseph ISD. Linda Forward and Jan Ellis from the OSI represented the MDE. The group developed a set of criteria by which significant research would be filtered and included in the Framework. The design is based on valid research, makes sense to various audiences, and is easy to understand and use. The data are measurable, align with state and federal programs, and are focused on student achievement. The Framework also serves a variety of capacities and provides a road map for the school improvement journey; helps guide professional learning activities, grant criteria, and program development; assists the MDE in providing technical assistance to schools identified for improvement; and provides research-based indicators for the Michigan Education YES! accreditation system.

Since the passage of Public Act 25 in 1990, schools have been required to develop three-to-five-year school improvement plans. With federally mandated testing directives and demands for increased accountability, coherent school improvement process is more important than ever. To help make this planning and implementation meaningful, the Michigan School Improvement Framework establishes a clear structure for thinking and talking about, strategizing, and acting upon continuous improvement. With its 5 strands, 12 standards, 26 benchmarks, and descriptive clarifying criteria, the Framework provides a way of organizing the conversation about school improvement that makes sense to educators.

By embracing this opportunity to help structure school improvement efforts, Michigan has become a leader in the national school improvement dialogue. Only two other states in the country have developed similar frameworks. As the focus on accountability has increased, so has the challenge to identify educationally sound practices that can help schools consistently improve student achievement and obtain Adequate Yearly Progress. Michigan is providing a model and tools that other states and departments across the country can use for their own school improvement systems.

For more information, contact: Yvonne Caamal Canul, Director, Office of School Improvement, Michigan Department of Education, P.O. Box 30008, Lansing, MI 48909, (517) 241-3147, canuly@michigan.gov.