Monthly Communication

for Continuous Improvement and State & Federal Programs

MonthlyCommunicationfor Continuous Improvement and State & FederalPrograms

April 2022

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.


This communication is sent to administrators in Congressional District 2, but is applicable statewide. If this was forwarded to you, you are welcome to subscribe.

In This Issue

  • Consolidated App Updates
  • State Testing and RBG3 Accountability
  • MICIP Resources
  • Title I Roundup
  • 98b/104a Check-In
  • MDE Spring Workshops

Consolidated App Updates

2021/2022 Consolidated App
  • We have an April 22 deadline to complete amendments for the 21/22 Consolidated App (see this MDE Memo).
  • For most districts, this will mean re-opening NexSys and MEGS+. The reason most districts were waiting on completing amendments was due to the carryover error in NexSys. This appears to have been fixed, so now is the time to get into NexSys and accept the full/correct amount of carryover. This will inevitably cause other screens to require updating.
  • There may be some districts that do not need to go into NexSys. A possibly scenario for not needing to re-open NexSys would be that your carryover was correct before and you only need to make amendments to Title II and IV.
  • Once NexSys is set, move on to updating your budgets in MEGS+. Don't forget to complete the Amendment Justifications page, where you clearly identify any changes made to budgets.


2022/2023 Consolidated App

Next year's Con App is planned to open in May. We will have a similar situation for the 2022/23 Consolidated App:

  • NexSys: Accepting funds, Title I School Selection, Equitable Services, Required Reservations
  • MEGS+: Budgets

State Testing and RBG3 Accountability

A few communications of note here:

  • The State Superintendent recently released a memo to parents regarding state testing. Some districts I have spoken with expressed concern about the paragraph at the bottom of the first page, where the superintendent explains that there is no provision for parents to "opt out" of the state assessment. This has always been the case with state assessment prior to COVID. I believe he felt the need to point this out since in 2020 there was no state testing and in 2021 there was no accountability for state testing. This communication serves to remind everyone (parents and districts) that accountability, as required by ESSA, is back in effect and any students not tested will count against the 95% participation rate.
  • RBG3 Retention Letters are back for this year's state testing. See this memo for more details. Testing Administrators can see the kids' scores very soon after testing is complete in the BAA Secure Site. Sort the third grade students by scale score. Any students scoring 1252 or below will get a retention letter from CEPI. It is advisable for districts to reach out as soon as possible to discuss the possible retention with parents and document their/the district decision.

MICIP Resources

Collaboration Series

The 2022 Collaboration Series has wrapped up. Please visit the Series Dashboard for links to all videos, presentations, and resources.

MICIP User Group

Have you participated in the monthly MICIP User Group sessions? This is a great resource to hear from the MDE MICIP team and collaborate with colleagues across the state on continuous improvement. Remaining meetings this year are April 11 and May 9 from 1:00 to 2:00


MICIP Goals for 2022/23

MDE has indicated that there will be a memo in April regarding MICIP goal requirements for the 2022/23 school year. Watch for that memo in mid-April.

Title IA Roundup

Title IA Plans

As a reminder, every school receiving Title IA funds must have an updated plan on file and available to the public. I suggest updating the plans annually when completing the consolidated application and linking the plans on the district transparency webpage.


Parent and Family Engagement Plans

Another annual requirement is to review and (if necessary) update your Parent and Family Engagement Plan and School/Parent Compacts. You should have already held your annual parent meeting toward the beginning of the school year (possibly using the Virtual Title I Meeting Tookit) and received input on these documents. Now is the time to decide if they need to be updated for the 2022/23 school year.


Program Evaluation

Evaluation of your continuous improvement plan is built into MICIP. However, this will not satisfy MDE/USED requirements to evaluate how you are spending your State and Federal Program funds. In the video linked below, I review what to do about this and go over the two linked resources.

98b/104a Check-In

A message in a recent Spotlight sparked a flurry of questions regarding the end of year requirements under 98b/104a. What districts need to do with end of year benchmark data depends on if they give MDE Approved Assessments, and, if so, if they are using the DataHub to submit those assessment results to MDE. No matter what the situation, districts need to report goal progress, including growth or achievement on benchmarks, to the school board and post to the district transparency web page.

MDE Spring Workshops

The annual Spring Workshop is a time for MDE to communicate directly with districts about changes in state and federal programs accountability and the consolidated application. MDE will offer a mix of virtual and face to face workshops this year in May. A full list of dates, times, and locations has not yet been published. Look for a communication soon from MDE or your regional consultant.

In the meantime, Region 2 has the following face to face workshops set up. Anyone is able to join any location:

  • May 4th 9-11:30 at Berrien RESA

  • May 5th 9-11:30 at Kent ISD

  • May 10th 9-11:30 at Calhoun ISD

  • May 13th 9-11:30 at Muskegon Area ISD