Gov. Rick Snyder: New Approach Will Improve State's Most-Struggling Schools, Help Students Succeed

Press Release

Gov. Rick Snyder is restructuring how Michigan works to improve the state's most-struggling schools, renewing the commitment to helping all students reach their full potential.

Snyder today signed Executive Order 2015-9, moving the state School Reform Office and accountability initiatives to the Department of Technology, Management and Budget from the Michigan Department of Education.

"Improving our schools is a Michigan priority, whether you live in an urban, suburban or rural community," Snyder said. "A good education is the bedrock of success and kids in chronically failing schools are at significant risk for lifelong struggles. We must ensure all schools are meeting high standards so that our children are on the right path for success and quality of life."

The School Reform Office oversees the State School Reform/Redesign District, which was created through state law in 2010. The School Reform Office was created to establish policies and procedures for turnaround in struggling schools.

Those support structures and interventions include strengthening teacher effectiveness, developing policies and strategies to support effective school leaders, and identifying policies that ensure the appropriate reallocation of academic and financial resources in order to create the necessary conditions for sustainable and positive student outcomes.

The School Reform District is meant to be one option for schools that do not see results despite continued implementation of support structures and interventions; the primary goal is to return schools to their home district once sustainable and positive progress has been made. To date, no schools have been put into the School Reform District.

DTMB has proven itself with its work in housing CEPI (Center for Educational Performance and Information). Moving the School Reform Office to DTMB complements that work and will ensure the office has the latest data at the ready.

In 2011, 15 of the lowest-performing schools in the Detroit Public Schools were put under the Education Achievement Authority using a separate mechanism. These schools will remain there as they continue work on making positive progress. This EO does not change the EAA's current structure or operations.

The Executive Order is slated to take effect 60 days from today. During that time, the School Reform Office will continue to monitor low-performing schools statewide to determine which of those within the bottom 5 percent will be reviewed for inclusion in the School Reform District.

The full text of the executive order is available at www.michigan.gov/snyder.

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