InSiDe Update - September 30, 2011

A Note from the Executive Director

Dear Colleagues,

It was great to see those of you who attended the MAISA General Membership meeting at the Fall Conference. We are already planning for our November meetings and hope to see you on November 3rd and 4th at the Kellogg Center in East Lansing.

Best Regards,

William C. Miller, Ph.D.

The following updates and attachments are provided for your information.

Topic: MAISA Board of Directors approve Early Childhood Committee 2011 – 2012 Goals

Provided is a link to the Early Childhood Committee goals as approved by the Board. Thanks go to Chair Scott Menzel for advancing our collective work in this emerging area.

Early Childhood Committee 2011-2012 Goals pdf

Topic: MAISA Instructional Leadership 2011 – 2012 Goals

Provided is a link to the committee goals as approved by the Board. Thanks go to Chair Kevin Konarska for leadership on a statewide level in the areas of curriculum and assessment.  Also please find a link to an update on the Career and College Curriculum units that are being developed under the leadership of this committee and the MAISA Collaboration project.

Instructional Leadership 2011 - 2012 Goals pdf

MAISA Collaboration Update pdf

Topic: Michigan Plays an Important Role in Federal Deficit Negotiations

The recently passed Budget Control Act of 2011 created the federal Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction – aka the “super committee” – charged with reducing national spending by at least $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years.  The super committee has until November 23rd to come to an agreement that could include revenue options and spending cuts.  If no agreement is reached by this 12-member group, across-the-board cuts will be made in security and non-security programs, but Social Security and several other entitlement programs will not be cut.   

The super committee has begun their negotiations and funding for all children’s programs are at risk.   While the potential danger to the country’s economic stability posed by growing debt in the long term is legitimate; cuts to funding for programs that support health, education, community partnerships and nutrition programs for children, youth, and families as a means of addressing this problem is not only irresponsible, it is fiscally unsound.  The deficit reduction strategy should protect low-income children and families and ensure adequate investment for their future. The future of our nation’s children relies on federal support.  Thus, it is critical that the super committee prioritizes children and families to help put Michigan back on a path to economic prosperity.  

Michigan is in a powerful position as the 12-member committee includes two Michigan Congressmen – Rep. Dave Camp (R-04) and Rep. Fred Upton (R-06).

Visit our Federal Budget page to do the following:  

• Read Michigan’s Children’s letters to Representatives Camp and Upton urging them to prioritize children and families in deficit negotiations.
• Read more about the support that federal and state funding provides to extremely vulnerable children and families in Michigan in two recent Michigan’s Children publications:
  • Threats to the Next Generation:  Why Children Are Hardest Hit by Cuts in the Safety Net (August 2011)
  • Federal Investments Critical to Michigan Children and Families (September 2011)
• Contact Congressman Camp and Congressman Upton and urge them to be a champion for children and prioritize children in deficit negotiations.

Topic: MAISA Has Secured RFP to Act as Fiscal Agent for the Title I MiExel Program

Title I MI Excel statewide system of support.  MAISA will serve as the fiscal agent for the Title I grant that supports schools that are not making AYP.  Below is a description of the partner roles and the funding levels.  In addition to this funding, ISDs with eligible schools are qualified to apply for Regional Assistance Grants directly from MDE.

Title I MI Excel SSoS:

2011-2012 Partners:

MAISA SIG Facilitator Monitors Grant:

• Currently, MAISA works in partnership with MDE to employ the Facilitator Monitors who serve the funded School Improvement Grant Buildings.
• Funding Period: 2010-2011 and 2011-2012
• Funding Amount: $1,572,070
• Servicing 52 buildings across the state that reside within 14 Intermediate School Districts.
• MAISA has twelve Facilitator Monitors who work in the funded buildings.
• The work of the monitors is to document the progress and address ongoing questions.
• Facilitator Monitors are not in buildings to assist with implementation/coaching /consulting rather that is often the work of the ISD/RESA contact and other personnel.

Title I School Improvement Grants:

• The Title I School Improvement Grants are awarded to MI Excel Schools in Corrective Action or Restructuring to provide professional development focused on the reason(s) the school was identified.

Title I Regional Assistance Grants:

• MI Excel Schools receive services and funding to support their school improvement programs and initiatives. 
• The Title I Regional Assistance Grants (RAG) are awarded to Intermediate School Districts with MI Excel Schools under their jurisdiction.

-- contributed by Dr. Mark Rainey, MAISA Grant Administrator

Topic: MAISA Writes Letters of Support

The MAISA Board of Directors is endorsing the MDE’s application for the Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grant. If awarded, Michigan could receive up to $70 million over the next three years to help with building an accountable and sustainable early learning system. For more information, please refer to the RTT-ELC executive summary:

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/racetothetop-earlylearningchallenge/exec-summ.pdf

MAISA has also presented their support of the FirstSchool effort at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. The school’s Institute of Education Services (IES) has issued a proposal to dramatically improve the school experiences of vulnerable children by developing highly qualified principals who are better equipped to be responsive to an increasingly younger student population, with a particular focus on African American, Latino, and low income children.

Topic: MAISA Board Joins with Other Partners to Support a Documentary on Innovative Technology Program

This is the September 2011 update on the status of the documentary film that focuses on the mobile technology pilot in Ludington Public Schools.

Film Activities

• Director Allyson Rockwell and her film crew started filming in August at the 21^st Century Learning Symposium in Marysville, MI on August 25, 2011.
• Allyson and her crew were on hand for the start of school, September 6, at Franklin Elementary School in Ludington, Michigan. The crew captured Amber Cowatch handing out iPads to her second grade class. Allyson interviewed Amber and also interviewed Ashley MacDonald, the kindergarten teacher.
• Allyson and crew will return to Ludington on Wednesday, September 21, to capture the first day the kindergarten class receives their iPads. She will also conduct interviews with principals, parents, and students.
• Allyson and crew were on-hand at the MASA conference in Traverse City on Thursday, September 22, to capture the interaction between 15 students from Ludington and the superintendents participating in the MASA technology bundle project and the RESA superintendents’ iPad pilot.

Partnerships

• We have struck a partnership with Fablevision Studios (http://www.fablevisionstudios.com/) to 1) co-develop a 3 to 4 minute “trailer” for the film for use in fundraising and pre-advocacy efforts. 2) Fablevision will provide animation for the feature-length film as well.
• The trailer will be used as a basis for the film’s website.
• Fablevision’s recent creative release: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KMM387HNQk
• Karen Sorenson with Creative Farm has agreed to shape the film’s legislative advocacy campaign. The plan is to fund the pre-advocacy work using Kickstarter (www.kickstarter.com). We are paying Karen a small retainer to draft the advocacy plan and initiate the plan.
• NBC has shown interest in the film in terms of televising the documentary once it is produced, but NBC requires a trailer to proceed with the conversation.
• We are still looking for a district or program outside Michigan to broaden the message of the film.

Fundraising

• Fablevision is raising funds to pay for their portion of the trailer. They are approaching the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• The MAISA board has agreed to fund a portion of the production costs ($15,000). These funds will be used to complete the trailer if Fablevision is unable to fundraise in time to complete the trailer. The trailer will help with further fundraising efforts.
• Mason-Lake-Oceana ISD and Wayne RESA have found funding inside existing grants to fund the film documentation of grant-related activities.

Current Support

• Thank you again to REMC and MACUL for $20,000 in generous support.
• MIEM has provided $10,000.
• ECIC has provided $15,000 to Mason-Lake-Oceana ISD to support the pre-production work.

Topic: ISD Section 81 Funding Facts

This analysis includes a history of funding losses for ISDs statewide. We are using this data to educate legislators and policymakers about the reduction of essential services for students and local school districts. Please discuss these reductions and the resulting local impact with your area legislators.

ISD Section 81 Funding Facts pdf