Michigan has adopted a number of policies that can serve as a launching pad for high school transformation. State leaders have created flexibility from seat time requirements, empowering local school systems to award high school students credit toward graduation based on demonstrations of proficiency. The state has also published a Profile of a Graduate and, in 2018, funded and launched a three-year competency-based education pilot for K-12 school systems.
Communities across the state have taken advantage of the state’s seat time flexibility to pursue high school transformation efforts. In Grand Rapids, students, educators, and community members partnered with XQ Institute to open the Grand Rapids Public Museum School (GRPMS), located in a former museum that still houses 250,000 cultural and historical artifacts. Students can leverage these artifacts to further their learning and engage in community-based projects that integrate various subjects—the humanities, STEM, and elective courses—into meaningful, thematic learning experiences.
To help catalyze similar innovation across the state, leaders in Michigan can explore opportunities to launch a statewide initiative with dedicated resources to incentivize community-led high school redesign.
