1

A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

Failure is Not an Option

A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

Katie Jeffrey

Oakland University
 2
A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

Abstract

This critique reviews Michigan Collegiate Middle School using Blankstein’s (2013) book

Failure is Not an Option: Six Principles That Advance Student Achievement in Highly Effective

Schools. Michigan Collegiate Middle School (MCMS) has many strengths and weaknesses

across all six principles presented in Blankstein’s (2013) book. MCMS has particular strengths in

principles two and four including making data driven decisions and systems to assure student

success. MCMS needs improvement in all principles. This includes a stronger staff developed

mission/vision statement, establishment of an instructional leadership team, increased parental

and community involvement, and full commitment of leadership as part of the school

improvement process.
 3
A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

Introduction

Michigan Collegiate Middle School is a Charter School located in Warren Michigan, a

suburb just north of the city of Detroit. MCMS is part of the Conner Creek Academy East

District which is made of just three schools, Conner Creek Elementary, Michigan Collegiate

Middle School and Michigan Collegiate High School. MCMS shares a building with the High

School. The middle school occupies one wing of the school and shares the gym, cafeteria, and

technology room with the high school. MCMS is considered a small middle school with just 169

students, 80 of them seventh graders and 89 of them eighth graders. The student population is

not ethnically diverse with 96% of student identifying as African American, and the other 4%

being Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, or of Hawaiian descent. Ninety four percent of students are

economically disadvantaged and all students receive free/reduced price lunch. MCMS receives

most of its students from the east side of Detroit and these students are bussed in on a daily basis.

There are eight teachers at the middle school, six of whom have 0-3 years teaching experience.

MCMS has seen a high teacher turnover over the last few years with only one teacher that has

taught at the school for five years or more. Furthermore, many of our students come to us

lacking the necessary skills and knowledge for middle school and are performing below grade

level as shown by NWEA test results given in the fall of each school year. The purpose of this

critique is to examine Michigan Collegiate Middle School using the six principles outlined in

Blankstein’s (2013) Failure is Not an Option.

Principle 1: Common Mission, Vision, Values and Goals

Leadership Team. Blankstein (2013) places great importance on the development of

Instructional Leadership Teams in schools. He states “ This instructional team, supported by the
 4
A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

district and composed of the building leader and lead teachers, shapes the school culture and

enhances instruction both school- and systemwide,” (p. 80). Blankstein (2013) explains how the

development of the ILT influences school culture and the development of the mission, vision,

values and goals, which defines and drives each school. At MCMS, there is not an established

Instructional Leadership Team to guide school improvement and instruction. There is a School

Improvement Team, however, much of the conversations held are not about instruction, more

often they focus on how established programs are working. There are no formal teacher leaders

to provide guidance and support to other teachers in the school, which is essential for new

teachers. With high teacher turnover and low student achievement at MCMS, this is a must.

Mission. Michigan Collegiate Middle School’s mission is as follows: Inspire students to

become lifelong learners, Create responsible citizens, Empower students to develop to their

potential in a caring, supportive and diverse environment. Blankstein (2013) explains that a

school’s mission gives a clear understanding of its purpose, but highly effective schools also

answer the four critical questions outlined on page 86. While MCMS’s mission is clear on the

school’s purpose, it does not communicate or specify any of the answers to the four critical

questions. Consequently the staff and students largely ignore the mission. It is not the guiding

force behind the decisions of most stakeholders. The mission is there, but is not embedded in

daily activities. On page 90, Blankstein (2013) says “A statement of mission has little meaning

or impact unless it reflects the thoughts of the school community and is collectively embraced by

those whom it affects.” There does not seem to be much staff buy-in with the mission

statement, especially because it was not developed collectively. It seems that we might not be

hitting the mark when it comes to the mission statement at Michigan Collegiate Middle School.
 5
A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

Vision. According to Blankstein (2013), the vision of a school indicates the direction of

the school for the future. He goes on to state, that every decision made should align with the

vision of a school. The vision of MCMS states, “A community of independent thinkers who

contribute positively to society and live with a sense of purpose.” The MCMS vision statement

lacks clarity. There are no specifics about the direction the school is heading in. It is not

detailed and does not provide motivation for improvement. As shown in figure 5.2 on page 95,

effective vision statements “are realistic, clear and compelling, have broad-based buy in,

describe intended change and guide action,” (Blankstein, 2013). Although the MCMS vision

does describe where we want to end up, it does not provide a way to get to there.

Values. According to Blankstein (2013), the values statement guides the behavior of

everyone in the school. (p. 102) He goes on to explain that values should align to mission and

vision statements. At MCMS, we have a statement of core beliefs. They are as follows:

● Students learn best when they are actively engaged in the learning process and set
learning goals.
● All students at our school need to have an equal opportunity to learn through the
incorporation of a variety of learning activities.
● Teachers, administration, parents, students, and the community share the responsibility of
helping students learn and maintain mutual respect.
● Students learn best when our staff maintains high expectations for student learning.
● A successful student links new information with existing knowledge in meaningful ways.
One critique that can be made is that these beliefs while valid and linked to the vision statement,

do not provide an action plan to reach our vision. These values do not say what we are going to

do or how we will get there. Blankstein (2013) outlines on page 103, “effective values are few in

number, direct and simply stated, focused on behaviors, not beliefs and linked to the vision

statement.” It does not seem that our beliefs meet this criteria described by Blankstein.
 6
A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

Goals. At MCMS, goals are given by the administration. They are in SMART format and are

focused on results. Despite this, these goals are not effectively communicated. They are listed in the

School Improvement Plan, however I do not recall having any conversations about them as a staff.

Blankstein (2013) says “The process of setting, committing to, and accomplishing short-term

goals builds credibility and trust,” (p. 105). At MCMS, we do not go through this process. The

goals are given to us without teachers’ input. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are teachers who

have no idea what our SMART goals are for the year. I think it would also be beneficial to

include several short term goals in order for teachers to feel some success throughout the year.

Principle 2: Ensuring Achievement for All Students-Systems for Prevention and

Intervention

School Community’s Belief System and Unifying Philosophy. Many students enter MCMS

already behind their peers for one reason or another. Keeping in line with the mission and vision

statement, we want students to succeed and learn. Blankstein (2013) discusses how it takes a full

staff commitment to success in reaching students such as the ones at MCMS (p. 114). I know

how important it is to hold all students to high expectations and that all students can achieve. I

think sometimes teachers feel this is especially difficult when working with the student

population at MCMS. I discussed before the lack of a leadership team and I believe this impacts

all other parts of the school community, including beliefs about our students. I have heard

teachers discuss frustrations about student learning and the idea that “they just can’t get it”. This

belief directly impacts expectations and student achievement. According to Blankstein (2013)

“high performing schools realize that (1) what they do matters to the learning of each of their
 7
A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

students, and (2) all children can indeed perform at high levels,” (p. 116). While I do not believe

that teachers think our students can’t learn, I think there could be a stronger affinity for our

students. Blankstein talks about how “building relationships and having shared experiences

improves communication and deepens affinity for students” (p. 120). This is something that

could be further developed at MCMS. Again, I am not saying that it doesn’t exist completely,

but it could be stronger. One strength of MCMS is the relationships we build with students.

Blankstein (2013) gives examples of school practices that promote the development of the 4C’s:

connection, competence, control and contribution. (pp.126-127) I have witnessed many of these

at MCMS. I think MCMS is heading in the right direction with school community and a

unifying philosophy. Through continued relationship building, discussion about students, and

shared experiences, MCMS will continue to improve the climate and culture of the school

community.

Comprehensive Systems for Assuring Student Success. In any school, meeting the

needs of all students will always be a struggle. Systems in place may work for one student and

not for another. Blankstein (2013) outlines the following as essential to assuring student success

(p.128):

● Ensuring that pedagogy is engaging and relevant.

● Having an improvement plan for all students.

● Having systems for quickly identifying those in need.

● Providing a continuum of support and targeted strategies for low achievers.

● Publishing results on closing the achievement gap

 8
A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

● Using data-based decision making for continuous improvement.

MCMS provides several interventions for struggling students. For students struggling with

reading, we have a pullout reading support course. Students are selected for this intervention

based on their test score on the NWEA in the fall. Students are retested in January and either

stay in the program if their goal is not met, or move back to the regular reading class if they met

their goal. We also have a daily math pullout program where students are pulled out to work

with a teacher either one-on-one or in small groups. This allows the teacher to be

prescriptive/proactive and students are chosen utilizing a combination of teacher observation,

class work, and/or test scores. We also offer after school tutoring daily to provide extra support

for students who need it. These examples demonstrate that we have many support systems in

place, however teachers still need more training on how to provide interventions in their own

classroom.

Principle 3: Collaborative Teaming Focused on Teaching for Learning

The Aim of Collaboration and School Culture. One of the challenges for MCMS is teaming.

Because the staff is so small, there are not many options for teaming. In fact, there are only two

sets of teachers that even teach the same subject. Because of this, we often combine with the

high school for teaming activities. When it comes to school culture, MCMS and MCHS bounce

in between several types of school cultures described by Blankstein (2013, pp.145-148). These

cultures include: individualistic, balkanized, contrived collegiality, and collaborative. I think we

mostly fall into the contrived collegiality category and, if I asked other staff members I would

think that they would agree. We do collaborate but don’t get to the deeper conversations about

teaching and learning. I definitely think that this can be built upon to form a more collaborative
 9
A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

environment in order to increase student achievement. One of the things I wish we had the

opportunity to do more of at MCMS is classroom observations. We have so much to learn from

each other, but we do not often get the opportunity to visit and observe each other teaching. We

also are working on building PLC’s with the high school as well. Math, Science and English

teachers are each involved with a Data Team. This is where one would see the most

collaboration. I would like to expand the idea of PLC’s to the rest of the staff.

Principle 4: Data-Based Decision Making for Continuous Improvement

Creating a Climate and Culture of Trust for Effective Data Use. It seems that MCMS has

not fully developed a climate of trust. Blankstein (2013) says “Building a climate of trust

requires openly explaining who is evaluating whom, and to what extent,” (p. 165). Without a

climate of trust, meaningful discussions about data will not happen. This is a great weakness at

MCMS. While we do have discussions about data in SIP meetings and with Data Teams, we do

not do the “deep drive” data discussions that we should be. All of our data discussions are

separate and don’t feel like the “whole” middle school is involved. This is definitely something

that needs to be improved at MCMS.

Capacity Building for Analysis of Data. In chapter 8, Blankstein (2013) outlines the elements

required to effectively analyze data as follows (pp. 167-168):

● Clarifying accuracy of the data.

● Using multi-sourced data and soft, “perceptual” data.

● Understanding what the data are telling you.

● Understand what the data mean.

● Tapping well established, high performing teams in open and frank dialogue.
 10
A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

Of these elements, the last one would be an area of struggle at MCMS. We have established

teams but are working towards building the high performing teams. While we have meaningful

conversations about data and a direction we know we want to head in, the path to get to where

we want to be deserves more discussion. If we continue to build our teams, we will develop the

capacity needed to analyze data effectively.

Commitment of Implementation. As the Data Team Leader for the Math Data Team at

MCMS, I am participating in conversations about data. One issue at MCMS is students not

being prepared for their upper level math classes because of lack of basic math skills. To address

this, we developed a math data team to be sure that our students are mastering these skills needed

in these classes. We use a pretest/posttest model to determine whether students have mastered

the targeted skill for that cycle. If the goal each teacher sets is not met, we have conversations

about the next steps to help students meet the goal. All math teachers participate in the data team

and have fully implemented this pretest/posttest model. According to Blankstein (2013) “The

more depth and breadth of involvement of the stakeholder within the learning community, the

more likely and widespread the implementation,” (p. 168). This is definitely true when it comes

to the math data team. Teachers are committed to come to the discussion prepared and ready to

make decisions about their students utilizing the data collected in their classrooms.

Principle 5: Gaining Active Engagement from Family and Community

Family and Community involvement is a struggle at Michigan Collegiate Middle School.

We are in a unique situation where the majority of our students live in a completely different

county from where they attend school. Combined with the fact that transportation can be an
 11
A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

issue for many families, even coming to the building is a challenge for many families. This is

definitely a place for improvement for MCMS.

Building Positive Family and Community Relationships and School as a Community Hub

Blankstein (2013) points out three key principles for developing positive family

relationships (p. 192):

1. Mutual understanding based on empathy and recognition of shared interests

2. Meaningful involvement of family and community in a variety of school activities

3. Regular outreach and communication to family and community

Principles one and three are strengths for us at MCMS. However, while we do have many

parents that are involved at school, it is mostly due to extra-curricular activities. We have always

had a weakness in involving family in meaningful activities partly because of the fact that our

school is not in their local community. One way we address this is by developing a Parent Focus

Group. This group is led by several teachers and meets once a month with parents to discuss

various topics having to do with student success. Every year the group increases in size. This is

one way we are reaching out to involve parents in their children’s education. As far as

involving the community, we have several businesses that have partnered with us. Community

involvement continues to be a struggle at MCMS.

Principle 6: Building Sustainable Leadership Capacity

Leadership and Building Capacity. While we do have strong leadership at MCMS, we still

need to build leadership among our teachers. There are teachers that naturally emerge as leaders,

but there is not a distinct leadership team in place. In chapter 10, Blankstein (2013) discusses the

idea of “shared leadership” and the positive effects teacher leadership has on the entire school
 12
A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

community. This is something that would have a positive impact at MCMS and should be

strengthened. One way this could happen is to include more teachers in leading professional

development. We often have outside sources that come in and provide professional

development. This is partly due to our charter authorizer who requires us to have certain

programs in place. Having teachers provide some professional development would empower

more teachers and perhaps encourage more teachers to become leaders.

Sustainability. In chapter 10, Blankstein (2013) states, “those principals who are leaders of

learning make the most lasting and inclusive improvements for their students in their schools,”

(p. 222). At MCMS we have one principal and two assistant principals. All three are also

principals of the high school. Throughout Failure is Not an Option Blankstein (2013) places

great value on the principal as a learner and leader who inspires and encourages other to become

leaders. Principals should be involved and involve other in student learning. Unfortunately, all

our administrators do not share this view. They are not all involved in the processes of school

improvement and student achievement and therefore one person emerges as the “real” school

leader. Everyone in the building should be taking responsibility for our students as a whole,

instead of just dealing with discipline or whatever they might be in charge of. All administrators

should be learning along with the rest of the staff and lead by example. Blankstein (2013)

discusses the idea of “distributive leadership” (pp. 222-223). This is the idea that it takes

multiple leaders to be successful. This is the direction that MCMS is moving towards. A few

teachers are stepping up and becoming leaders. We are developing PLC’s to encourage learning

among teachers and our beginning to dive in deeper to data.

 13
A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

Conclusion

After critiquing Michigan Collegiate Middle School using Blankstein’s (2013) Failure is

Not an Option: Six Principles That Advance Student Achievement in Highly Effective Schools,

MCMS has much room for improvement. There are several areas that can continue to be

strengthened including making data driven decisions, using data teams and developing

relationship with students. One major area of concern is a clear mission and vision developed by

the staff. Another area of improvement would be the development of an Instructional Leadership

Team. This would serve both the purpose of increasing teacher leadership and also to distribute

the leadership at MCMS. Another suggestion would be to provide professional development to

help develop PLC’s. The development of PLC’s would increase teacher buy-in and also serve as

a community where teachers can learn from each other and participate in deep data discussions.
 14
A Critical Review of Michigan Collegiate Middle School

References

Blankstein, Alan M. (2013). Failure is not an option: Six principles that guide student

achievement in high-performing schools (3rd Edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin

Press.