Monthly Communication

for Continuous Improvement and State & Federal Programs

May 2021

Welcome to the monthly Continuous Improvement and State & Federal Programs communication. The purpose is to contextualize Continuous Improvement into our daily work, to efficiently complete all State and Federal Program tasks, and to promote moving these tasks past simple compliance.

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In This Issue

Upcoming Important Due Dates and Events
MDE Spring Workshop
MICIP Collaboration Series
MICIP Roundup
Title I Plans

Mark Your Calendar

May:

May 4 - MASFPS Professional Learning Series (Special Pops - Info | Register)
May 5 - MDE Spring Workshop Option 1 (See info below)
May 6 - MDE Spring Workshop Option 2
May 7 - MDE Spring Workshop Option 3
May 12 - MICIP Collaboration Session 3 (See info below)
May 13 - MDE Spring Workshop Option 4
May 26 - MICIP Collaboration Session 4

MDE Spring Workshop

MDE is hosting the Spring Workshop at "virtual locations" across the state in May. It doesn't really matter which event you attend - inside or outside of your region the content will be the same.

There are many changes this year for both school improvement and the consolidated application. It is highly recommended that all program directors and business officials attend. While you can access all resources asynchronously at the link below, there will be Q&A sessions between each topic at the actual events.

Region 2 Dashboard (connection info, dates, times, and all resources)

MICIP Collaboration Series

The MICIP Collaboration Series is a 4-part learning opportunity for individuals or district teams. There has been great engagement across the state with over 280 leaders participating. We have two remaining sessions (May 12 and May 26) and all resources and videos are available from Sessions 1 and 2.

Here's a quick video about the series (5 minutes)
Registration Link (free)
Series Dashboard (all resources and videos)

MICIP Roundup

Here is a roundup of some questions I have addressed recently with MICIP.

MICIP:

Q: Do we have to do Title I Diagnostics like we did in Assist?
A: No, but there is a new process to meet federal law. See the writeup about this in the next section
Q: Do we have to do a CNA?
A: No, the CNA process is built into the Discover Data and Root Cause portions of MICIP. These were covered in Sessions 1 and 2 of the MICIP Collaboration Series if you'd like to learn more.
Q: Do we have to complete the PET?
A: No, monitoring and evaluation are built into MICIP. We will talk about this at Session 4 of the MICIP Collaboration Series.
Q: Is it ok if we make our MICIP goal around (insert topic here)?
A: Yes. This is our year to all learn about MICIP together. Just make a good faith effort to dig into an area of inquiry and work through the process. We only need one goal this year.
Q: So, does that mean I don't have to put everything in the plan that I want to fund with federal dollars?
A: Correct. Any previously approved items will continue to be approved. Speak with your OES field service rep if you will be changing how you use your federal funds.
Q: Is NexSys Ready?
A: It's ready enough to get all signed up and logged in!
Getting Connected to NexSys in MILOGIN for Third Party - I recommend getting all program directors and business officials connected now.

Title I Plans

I originally communicated about this in my December communication, but have been getting many questions recently and I think this is kind of flying under the radar. It is a federal requirement for Title I schools to maintain a Title I Plan. MDE OES has released information on documents that must be maintained by all Title I schools. These look similar to the diagnostics that used to be in Assist, but are significantly shorter and have fewer narratives to complete.

This is not accomplished in MICIP and is not currently required to be uploaded to the state.

Schools are to maintain the plans and evidence in their buildings and "ensure that the document is completed and made available to the local educational agency, parents, and the public." One way to accomplish this would be to make sure it is posted to the school website or the district transparency webpage. Details from MDE and the template are linked below.