Helping Steer Education Policy and Get Results in Michigan

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Company/Organization: Michigan Business Leaders for Education Excellence
CEO/Board Co-Chairs: Andrew N. Liveris, President & Chief Executive Officer, Dow Chemical Company and Mark Odland, Vice President of Operations for State Farm Insurance
MBLEE Working Group Co-Chairs: Michael Hayes, Global Vice President, Public Affairs Public Policy & Advocacy and Lori Jewell, Public Affairs Specialist/Community Relations for State Farm Insurance Company
Executive Director: Jim Sandy
Level of Involvement: State, District and School
Type of Initiative: Advocacy and Leadership
Target Education Priority: Prepare All Students for College and Careers

“MBLEE believes it is the responsibility of businesses to become informed about the issues affecting education and to participate in the change process. We have accepted the challenge to act as a catalyst for action and a broker for change in education reform in Michigan.” David Whitwam, former Chairman, MBLEE

Overview
In 1990, dissatisfied with the level of performance of the state’s public schools, Michigan-based members of the national Business Roundtable (BRT) and the University of Michigan agreed to work together to develop a plan to improve education across the state. Their initial idea was to use the nine essential components of public education identified by the Business Roundtable as a framework to develop a broad vision to guide education reform in Michigan, analyze key issues, propose programs of change and outline the implementation steps. To develop a specific plan, representatives from six of the BRT companies and the university formed a Working Group, which held regular meetings to review policies over the course of the following year.

The Working Group summarized the changes it wanted Michigan schools to make in its report, "Education Excellence: Michigan's Bottom Line," outlining a vision of education excellence and world-class standards and accountability that would result in high achievement levels and a prepared skilled workforce. To garner support for their proposals, the members of the Working Group met with former Governor Engler, the State Department of Education, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and numerous other stakeholders.

These meetings generated support for the Working Group to take a leadership role in Michigan's education reform. The group formalized an operational agreement with the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and became the Michigan Business Leaders for Education Excellence (MBLEE) in 1992. By 2007, MBLEE’s member companies employed over 250,000 Michigan citizens, drawing from almost every economic sector within the state.

Strategies for Success
In its efforts to promote and implement change, MBLEE recognizes the importance and effectiveness of sustaining partnerships, particularly with the Office of the Governor and the Michigan Department Education. These partnerships have flourished over the years throughout leadership changes in the Governor’s office, State Board of Education and Department of Education. In addition, MBLEE has built coalitions with other groups interested in education reform, ranging from the Michigan Association of School Boards to the Michigan Education Association. These partnerships have allowed MBLEE to maximize its impact in shaping legislation and garnering support for reform.

In April 2006, MBLEE’s history of participation in partnerships and successful advocacy helped Governor Jennifer M. Granholm sign into law a sweeping legislation (Public Acts 123 & 124) with the specific objective of preparing Michigan's students with the skills and knowledge needed for the jobs of the 21st century global economy. The legislation created rigorous statewide graduation requirements for the first time in Michigan’s history. Students in the class of 2011 will now be expected to earn the Michigan Merit Curriculum credits for high school graduation.

MBLEE also tracks the progress of education reform and communicates its findings publicly to promote increased awareness and involvement in schools. MBLEE has commissioned a number of studies examining the difference between model goals and practices to improve school performance and their actual implementation and results. The group then disseminates a “Gap Analysis,” documenting issues that require continued attention and improvement.

To keep the public informed about each school’s progress, MBLEE worked with the Governor's Office to create the Michigan School Report Cards and promoted the "Keep the Promise" campaign, encouraging citizen participation in local schools by sponsoring a series of public service announcements. In addition, MBLEE developed a Collaborative Leaders Process Guide to help address the needs of students in low performing schools. This guide provides a framework to help local government, education, business and community leaders leverage all the available resources in a community to better address the human, family and social needs that impede successful learning without requiring additional funding for schools. It also offers strategies aimed at improving early childhood education.

MBLEE is the state sponsor of the Michigan Scholars Initiative, and is currently exploring the feasibility of creating a Michigan Scholars Fund to provide financial assistance to students who complete the Michigan Scholars Course of Study. Additionally, as part of its efforts to help schools improve student outcomes, MBLEE serves as the Michigan affiliate for the Just for the Kids and is working with the National Center for Educational Accountability to publish the Best Practices Study for Michigan. MBLEE also provides business leadership for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Initiative in the state. Through these three programs, MBLEE is helping to raise expectations for all students, and identify, describe, and disseminate practices that consistently distinguish high performing schools from average performing schools situated in similar socio-economic circumstances.

MBLEE’s leadership of education reform in Michigan demonstrates several of the effective advocacy and leadership strategies recommended by Business Toolkit for Better Schools, including:

Provide compelling data and evidence; issue reports and policy briefs
Join or start local or statewide nonprofit coalitions of like-minded business leaders to advance education reform
Organize, support and partner with education, civic and political allies
Lobby in the capitol or city hall for responsible public policy
Take the “long view” (beyond political election cycles) and bring neutrality to politically polarized situations

Indicators of Success
Among MBLEE’s successes are several pieces of state legislation calling for a mandatory core curriculum, a state assessment system and increased funding for early childhood programs for disadvantaged children. MBLEE led Michigan’s effort to define the content standards and expectations for high school mathematics courses, and worked closely with the Michigan Department of Education and the Michigan Board of Education to identify grade-level expectations for English language arts, science, and social studies education. The goal: Course content that is consistently rigorous for all schools and students across the state.

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Updated: June 2007