By law, Michigan public schools and intermediate school districts are required to have school improvement plans. The law also requires school districts to invite and allow volunteering parents to participate in the development of those plans.
The idea is that community members come together to create big picture strategies regarding the best ways to meet student academic needs. The committee could assess test scores and determine the best way to help all students grow. They could recommend changing the curriculum, implementing after school tutoring programs, or spending one-on-one time with students not meeting proficiency levels. They might ask, “What policy can the school implement or what can be done differently to improve 3rd grade math?” Every school plan is going to look different because the plan is based on the unique needs of the school. Ultimately, the committees who develop school improvement plans are providing direction to a specific school building by determining what resources will be used, and how they will be implemented.
According to MCL Section 380.1277 School Improvement Plan, “The school improvement plans shall include, but are not limited to, a mission statement, goals based on student academic objectives for all students, curriculum alignment corresponding with those goals, evaluation processes, staff development, development and utilization of community resources and volunteers, the role of adult and community education, libraries and community colleges in the learning community, and building level decision making. School board members, school building administrators, teachers and other school employees, pupils, parents of pupils attending that school, and other residents of the school district shall be invited and allowed to voluntarily participate in the development, review, and evaluation of the district's school improvement plans.”
Below is a summary of School Improvement Committee initiatives for Griffin Elementary School.
GHAPS has School Improvement Plans and committees as required by MCL Section 380.1277. However, until recently GHAPS did not invite or even allow parents to serve on these committees. GHAPS administration regularly states they want to increase parent and community involvement, but in 2022 when parents requested to join the School Improvement Committees, the administration tried to steer them to the PTO and PTA instead. It seems GHAPS school administration believes parents who want to be involved should participate in activities such as chaperoning field trips, fundraising, and volunteering in the classroom, but participation in directing the school vision is off-limits and better left to the experts. Although in 2022 GHAPS would not disclose who was on these committees, they stated that all members were GHAPS staff employees, and they cited student privacy as the main reason parents were not allowed to serve on the School Improvement Committees.
Unfortunately, the past arrangement put parents in the position of reacting after decisions were made. Once a new program or policy was implemented, the only recourse for parents was to complain to school officials, when in fact, the law says they should have been involved in the decision-making process from the very beginning. Next year GHAPS is changing their policy regarding School Improvement Committees to be in compliance with the law. It will be interesting to see if they will be willing to work with parents, or if they will try to work around parents.