Partnership Model

Michigan’s Partnership Model of school reform was launched in the spring of 2017 to support the state’s lowest-performing schools and school districts. The Partnership Model focuses on building capacity to improve student outcomes by asking districts to carefully assess their own needs and challenges and then develop context-specific solutions in collaboration with a coalition of partners from the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), intermediate school districts, and local communities.

MDE has partnered with the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative (EPIC) at Michigan State University (MSU) to inform MDE and other state and local policymakers about the implementation and efficacy of the Partnership Model and the ways that the model can be improved to continue to serve Michigan’s students, families and educators.

Featured Content

Mature teacher assisting an elementary student on her laptop at school.

Student Attendance and Well-Being in Round 4 Partnership Districts

This report is to provides a baseline assessment of student attendance and well-being in Partnership districts and schools during the 2022-23 school year, as well as highlight the approaches educators in those districts and schools were taking to address challenges in those areas

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Reports: Partnership Model

The Education Policy Innovation Collaborative publishes reports on a rolling basis for our partners.

In The Media: Partnership Model

Education Policy Innovation Collaborative’s Partnership Model research features in the media.

State education model helped low-performing schools weather pandemic

State education model helped low-performing schools weather pandemic

New research from Michigan State University’s Education Policy Innovation Collaborative, or EPIC, found that Michigan’s Partnership Model of School and District Turnaround appeared to be improving student achievement prior to the pandemic and may have helped to shield students in Partnership schools from some of the pandemic’s harmful academic effects.

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Policy Briefs: Partnership Model

The Education Policy Innovation Collaborative publishes Policy Briefs on a rolling basis in conjunction with our partners.

Working Papers: Partnership Model

The Education Policy Innovation Collaborative publishes Working Papers on a rolling basis in conjunction with our partners.

What’s Happening Around the Partnership Model

The Infrastructure for Instructional Improvement in Round 4 Partnership Districts

The Infrastructure for Instructional Improvement in Round 4 Partnership Districts

This report offers major findings on the nature and enactment of educational infrastructure in Partnership districts and schools during the 2022-23 school year. These districts and schools were identified in November 2022—the fourth round of the Partnership Model—and wrote their Partnership Agreements throughout the remainder of the school year.

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Student Enrollment in the First Two Cohorts of Partnership Schools

Student Enrollment in the First Two Cohorts of Partnership Schools

In this report, we examine enrollment in the first two cohorts of Partnership schools and districts relative to other schools statewide over a 10-year period from prior to the COVID-19 pandemic through fall 2022. We study these trends overall and for the youngest students, who reached school age during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Partnership Model Presentations

EPIC works with state and district partners to create a targeted research agenda to learn which reform strategies are most effective, where, when and for whom.

Most images of students and teachers on site are courtesy of Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for American Education: Images of Teachers and Students in Action

CONTACT US

236 Erickson Hall | 620 Farm Lane
East Lansing, MI 48824
EPICedpolicy@msu.edu
(517) 884-0377

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