Back to School '10 - DRAFT1 (1)

8/8/2019 Back to School '10 - DRAFT1 (1)

1/4

The

Facilitating CommunicationAmong Our Members

Michigan Association of State and Federal Program Specialists

NEWS & VIEWS YOU CAN USE

http://www.masfps.orgBACK TO SCHOOL 2010

ou may be wondering what happened

o everyoe. May school dsrcs d

themselves in unfamiliar and uncomfortable

territory as the reality of the statewide earlyretirement incentive sets in.

Some are probably better prepared than

others to make the transition, but many educators

have expressed the need to learn new things, take on

ew assgmes, ad ll gaps lef by he deparure of

experienced personnel. To make matters worse, there is

seemingly no room for error given the climate of small

budgets, high stakes, increased scrutiny, and political

rhetoric.

This is especially true in the area of state and federal

programs, where at the MAS/FPS Fall Directors

Bootcamp there were a wide array of new Title I directors

and other participants from large, small, urban, rural,

and suburban areas across Michigan. In the midst of

more and new reporting and monitoring requirements, a

sgca rse sude acheveme procecy arges, ad ESEA reauhorzao,

we d ourselves wh fewer resources ad lessexpereced saff o accomplsh goals

and meet deadlines.

Do not panic. You are not alone. You will come through this stronger than ever.

These sentiments will appear trite to a seasoned professional like you. Indeed, if

you havent stopped reading by now, the only thing more surprising is that these

sentiments are true.

There are easy things you can do to navigate these challenging times and deliver

successful programs o arsk sudes.

Whe you have a repor due MEGS ad he perso who moored ha program

has retired, you may feel lost. Okay, look for the folder. No problem; check for both

paper and digital versions. Look for documentation of procedures on completing

he repor. Eve whe you ca d ay of , all s o los. Look a he repor

las years applcao o MEGS. Work backward from

last years report to reverse engineer the process needed

Retirements affecting schoos

SEE REtiRE On PAGE 2

The theme for the Fa Institute is ESEA: A Tapestry of ChangeKeynote presentations wi incude Darcy Hutchins and Tim Skubickon September 29; Zoie Stevenson and Bruce Hunter on Septembe30; and Wiard Daggett October 1!

In thisedition

(the news

& views)1. Retirements affecting

schools

2. Changes to the MEAP

3. Letter from thePresident, MicheleBurley

4. Fall InstituteInformation


2/4Michigan Association State and Federal Program Specialists n The Informer n September 2010 n 2

to produce it. Learn the data you need

to complete the report, what kinds of

analysis or calculations you need to

perform, and think about whom in your

school district would haveor couldget

those data. Check with teachers or other

staff in the program. Check with thebuilding principal. Check with technology

staff. Making these connections will

strengthen the program and also facilitate

compliance in general.

Reach ou o oher sae ad federal

programs professionals to ask how

they handle a situation or document

compliance with a certain regulation

or grant requirement. The MAS/FPS

lsserve has bee acve laely whconversations about documenting

mohly effor of splfuded saff.

Many people asked questions and shared

sample documents in an effort to transfer

professional knowledge. The tone was

supportive and open. It was great to see

and be a part of the conversation. I would

expect a lot more of this kind of activity

this year and encourage everyone to ask a

question, offer a response, or tell another

about this great resource for MAS/FPS

members.

As you are getting a handle on how

much that person who retired actually

did and start delegating responsibilities

to new people, now is the perfect time

to take some steps that will help your

ofce ad school dsrc hrough fuure

transitions and meet current and

impending compliance requirements.

Start making charts of programs,

resposbles, ad workows. Creag

and having a picture of all the grants

and personnel involved will bring a

sense of order to what may feel like a

REtiRE FROM PAGE 1 very new, chaotic situation. When you

do have to start over, or do something

new, write down all the steps involved

including data sources, stakeholders,

and calculations. Creating this kind of

compliance metadata (documentation

about how you document compliance)

serves two important purposes. First, it

establishes a record of how to for the

dayoday asks ha could be used

to train new staff or weather future

turnover of personnel. Second, audits

of federal programs are becoming

increasingly less like true/false tests

and more like short answer tests. The

renewed emphasis on transparency and

monitoring at both Federal and State

levels means that it is not enough to get

the right answer; we now have to show

our work to demonstrate how we got the

answer right. Its like algebra all over

again.

Often truisms

turn out to be

true, explaining

why we dont

call them falsisms. Successfully dealing

with the impact of early retirement

in our districts and across the statewill help our profession to become

better. Because were all dealing with

similar challenges, our community

of professionals appears ready to

both offer and receive guidance and

mentoring. In addition, we have good

resources for sharing information and

building relationships, both requisites

for increasing our capacity to do more

and better work. Finally, its probably

a good thing that we are forced todeal with this new reality as it is

providing an opportunity for those of

us left to revisit systemic functions

and transform our operations to

better achieve our goals and meet our

compliance obligations.

MAx FUlKERSONlansing Schoo District

Congressiona Representative, District 8

Often truisms turn out to be true, explaining whywe dont call them falsisms.

The Informer is a pubicationof MAS/FPS. The information

contained within aims atinforming the schoo and

community members aboutevents both past and future

within the organizationscommunity.

President:

Michee Burey

PresidentEect:Tom Reeder

Immediate Past President:Paua Danies

Secretary:Wiye Pigott

Treasurer:Sam Ewing

Eecutive Secretary:Sara Shriver

The Informer Editor:Rick Heitmeyer

Mission:

Empowering

eaders to

impement

effective State

and Federa

programs to

increase

student

achievement.

Michigan Association of State andFederal Program Specialists



t is my honor to serve as President of MAS/FPS

for he 2010-2011 school

year. As the MAS/FPS mission

dcaes, hs orgazao

is dedicated to empowering

leaders to implement effective Stateand Federal Programs to increase

student achievement.

Each ad every day, educaors

across our state strive to intervene

when students struggle with

learg. Our msso s o ulze

state/federal programs as part of that intervention.

the sog performed by tracy Chapma, Gve Me Oe

Reaso, comes o md whe i hk abou wha we

are trying to do. A line in that song goes something

lke hs: Gve me oe reaso o say here, ad ill

turn right back around While that song really is not

referring to educational issues, I cant help but make a

connection to students. We know that due to a variety

of reasons, students may stray away from what it is

they need to do to learn, study, and thus achieve. It is

my belief that practitioners across the state of Michigan

work o o oly use research-based sraeges, bu

they also are employing methods to give kids good

reasons to turn right back around, and to get them

pointed in the right direction.

MAS/FPS has bee exsece for over 40 years,

and has provided over time, many institutes, boot

camps, ad formao for he bee of s members.

The dollars dedicated to school districts for the

Message fromthe President

Give me one reason to stay

Advice for future MEAP writing testsi 2010 MEAP wrg ess wll clude formaoal wrg for he rs me. ths year fourh graders wll berequred o do comparave wrg as par of her grade four MEAP Wrg tes. Seveh graders wll be

requred o produce a pece of Cause ad Effec wrg. i he fuure ay orgazaoal paer could be esed.

They include: sequential; compare/contrast; descriptive; question/answer; problem/solution;

defnition; persuasive.

We will need to focus on teaching these writing patterns for future tests. We need to teach students how to

recogze hese paers ad specc sraeges for wrg wh hese srucures all coe areas.

SHARON SPENCER, PRESIDENTBueprints for Communication

purpose of supporg sudes who may be a-rsk of

achieving high standards come with strings attached.

Sets of guidelines and requirements must be

communicated, universally understood, and followed.

With increased membership involvement, the

network of support will be fostered and strengthenedthroughout this school year.

Our schools will be facing challenges in

udersadg ad respodg o a ew ad ever-

changing educational climate. We need to address

the implementation of National Core Standards,

Race o he top, as well as varous sae/federal laws

relative to education, and to do so within the context

of Michigans uncertain economic picture. My belief

that with MAS/FPS reaching out to its members,

our schools will be able to effectively weather thesechallenges.

I encourage you to take advantage of the MAS/

FPS network of supportthrough its membership

listserve, The Infomer, boot camps, institutes, and

more! Please take time to connect with your MAS/

FPS represeaves ad ofcers, as well as wh oher

members throughout this year. When great minds

put their heads togetherexciting things can and will

happen. The power of collaboration is a cornerstone

quality of MAS/FPS. I have no doubt Michigans

sudes wll bee ad excel f we ca gve hem

a good reason to stay here through the effective

implement of state and federal programs.

Have a great year!

MICHElE BURlEY, SUPERINTENDENTEscanaba Area Pubic Schoos



Cick to register: http://guest.cvent.com/i.asp?5S%2cM3%2c020d4192-b0fc-49eb-94b5-db307c771b00

Documents

Back to School '10 - DRAFT1 (1)