Monthly Communication

for Continuous Improvement and State & Federal Programs

MonthlyCommunicationfor Continuous Improvement and State & FederalPrograms

November 2024

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.


Was this forwarded to you? Click here to subscribe!

In This Issue

  • Important Dates
  • Continuous Improvement Tasks and Updates
  • Federal Grants Update
  • State Grants Update
  • Scholarship Opportunity via MASFPS

Important Dates

  • November 1 - 31aa application closes
  • November 4 - 35a(5) grant application closes in NexSys
  • November 15 - Nonpublic School Membership Report Due in NexSys (Date Extension)
  • November 21 - MDE Continuous Improvement Conference (Info/Registration)
  • November 8 through December 6 - TENTATIVE 105h Benchmark Reimbursement Application Window

Continuous Improvement Tasks and Updates

November CI Tasks

November is a great time to collect perception data from families, students, and staff. The School Climate Survey is one tool that can be used for this purpose. Check the November section of the Monthly Continuous Improvement Checklist for other November ideas.


MDE Continuous Improvement Conference

Registration is currently open for the MDE Continuous Improvement Conference at the Crowne Plaza in Lansing (Info/Registration).


Re-Post: Wrapping Up Three to Five Year Plans

Re-Posting from last month in case it was missed...Many districts are coming to the end of the three to five year plans that they established when MICIP came out. This is uncharted territory for all of us. I have been working with several districts through this process, and here are a few suggestions:

  • Make sure it's a team decision. A team that represents your district should be working together to maintain your MICIP plan.
  • Close out your old goals. MICIP wasn't meant to just keep changing dates. If you're coming to the end of your continuous improvement cycle, it might be time to close out your old goals. Use the monitoring tools and the evaluation questions when completing a goal to prep for your next round of goal setting.
  • Start with new data. It's been several years since we wrote our initial data stories. Use what you learned from completing your previous goals to select meaningful data for moving forward. Make one data story for each new goal area (example: an academic goal and a non-academic goal). Meaningfully completing the data story meets requirements for a comprehensive needs assessment.
  • Take as much time is needed. There is no "due date" for MICIP, so if you have completed your three to five year plan, spend time with your team to set yourself up for your next plan.

If you need help with any of these steps be sure to check out all the resources on the MICIP Collaboration Series Dashboard as well as the MDE MICIP Page.

Federal Updates

Info from Quarterly Virtual S&F Programs Meeting

We had a great turnout for the October 23 Quarterly Virtual S&F Programs Meeting. If you missed the meeting, here is the full agenda, all resources, and video of the meeting. Highlights:


  • Grant Funds Status
  • Onsite Reviews
  • Comparability
  • Title I Plans
  • Private School Requirements

See the agenda for full details and links to resources.


Consolidated App Amendment

The Financial Unit is currently working on calculating the final allocations and plans to launch the amendment in November with a due date of January. Specific dates are not available currently, but things appear to be on track.


Great Title I Resource

Here's a link to Title I Bootcamp - a resource created and maintained by Frank Holes (MDE) and Don Beck (Calhoun ISD). Registration is still open for remaining dates (at Calhoun), or feel free to review the presentations and materials from the document.

State Grants Update

MDE Releasing "Official" State Grants Repository

**Big news!** Our team has been working with the Department to get an official MDE State Grants Repository established. The new repository, which will be maintained by MDE, is planned to go live in the next month or so. As such, we are not pushing out our normal October update to the current repository.

As a stopgap measure, please see the three resources below. The repository is still active for PA 103 of 2023 and previous grant cycles.

We will post an update and link to the new resource once it is released by MDE.


New Grant Alert Newsletter

Check out this very comprehensive grant resource from James Hissong at Kent ISD, with sections for state grants, federal grants, and more. Be sure to subscribe for future updates.


31aa Opt-In Closes 11/1/2024

Be sure to opt in for all 31aa funding by 11:59 on November 1st. The form is in GEMS/MARS under Public Responses and is titled “31aa Funding Application FY25.”


35a(5) - Additional Instructional Time Grant

Application closes November 4 in NexSys.


104h - Benchmark Assessment Reimbursement

  • Same process as previous years

  • If you give approved assessments K-8 and want to get reimbursed, make sure your SIS is connected to the Data Hub

  • Window to apply for funding tentatively opens November 6th in NexSys

  • Full details from MDE

Quarterly Virtual S&F Programs Meetings

The following State and Federal Programs meetings are open to everyone, statewide. The meetings are typically well attended by reps from MDE OES and program directors from many districts and ISDs across the state. Same Zoom Link for all: https://muskegonisd-org.zoom.us/j/6740302165


  • Wednesday, October 23, 2024 from 9:00 - 10:30 - Link to Meeting Resources
  • Wednesday, January 22, 2025 from 9:00 - 10:30
  • Wednesday, March 19, 2025 from 9:00 - 10:30
  • Final meeting is the MDE Spring Workshop. Dates TBD
David Hundt
David is using Smore to create beautiful newsletters