The partnership report documents Michigan’s schools’ and districts’ efforts to create partnership 
agreements and strategies for improvement under the partnership model.
On balance, we find modest but potentially positive results of some of those efforts, most notably gains in test scores (especially ELA, and especially in Detroit) and in teacher retention. In addition, one benefit seems to be improved relationships between the districts and MDE, as well as collaboration between districts and the ISDs. However, these represent short-term accomplishments that could fade with time, particularly if partnership efforts are either not sustained or are hampered by new policies that replace or even conflict with districts’ partnership model implementation plans.
State policymakers should recognize that even a fully implemented partnership model is unlikely to be a panacea or a cure-all for fundamental issues facing Michigan’s struggling schools. Partnership schools did not fall behind overnight, nor did the conditions of poverty and – in some cases – collective trauma partnership district leaders reported develop out of a single failed policy or program. These problems are old, and their persistence implies that the solutions to address them must be new.
Chris Torres is an assistant professor in K-12 educational administration at Michigan State University.
