CONTACT: Barbara Fornasiero, EAFocus Communications, 248.260.8466, barbara@eafocus.com; Bob Kittle, Munetrix, 248.797.1337, bob@munetrix.com; Paul Liabenow, MEMSPA, 517.694.8955, paul@memspa.org  

Auburn Hills, Mich. – October 2, 2018 –Munetrix, a public sector solutions provider offering data management, analytics and reporting tools for states, local governments and public school districts, has entered into an exclusive partnership with the Michigan Elementary & Middle School Principals Association to broaden the use of Munetrix’s powerful data analytics services to principals tasked with improving student outcomes and teacher effectiveness. The announcement was made by Munetrix President Bob Kittle.

“As more legislative directives get passed down to school administrators, they have less time to focus on student outcomes. Our partnership with MEMSPA will introduce time saving data science and data management technology to MEMSPA members, affording them the efficiency gains necessary to accommodate the increased demands on their time as human and capital resources continue to dwindle,” Kittle said.  

The initial focus of the MEMSPA/Munetrix partnership will be on helping school administrators meet the daunting task of complying with PA 173, where individual student Growth Percentiles (SGPs) and Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) are required to calculate teacher evaluations, weighted to 40 percent in the 2018-2019 school year. The data required to generate teacher evaluations spans a three-year period, but the school roster data in its current format was never designed to be used in a consolidated manner as outlined by PA 173, according to Kittle.   

“The amount of effort to format the data so it can be made usable is not something a school district has the time or resources to handle on its own, and is why the SLO and SGP Advanced Academic Achievement tools recently released by Munetrix are so valuable for administrators who would otherwise struggle to meet the requirement,” Kittle said  

Paul Liabenow, Executive Director of MEMSPA, affirmed that the partnership with Munetrix is particularly timely.  

“Even though there has been legislation introduced to delay the implementation of the 40 percent requirement this year, 25 percent of a teacher’s evaluation is already based on student growth – and obtaining the data is a challenge,” Liabenow said. “Partnering with Munetrix now gives our members access to technology that will afford them more time to focus on their primary goals of teacher and student development and not data processing.”  

Barring legislative changes, the compliance requirement for Public Act 173 is at the end of the 2018-2019 school year.  

About MEMSPA

The Michigan Elementary & Middle School Principals Association (MEMSPA) is a community of principals dedicated to advocating, leading and learning. MEMSPA recognizes the evolving nature of a principal’s role and supports those committed to this important work. Learn more at MEMSPA.org.

About Munetrix

Michigan-based Munetrix is among the nation’s largest aggregators of municipal and school district data and promotes municipal wellness and sustainability through its cloud-based data management tools and proprietary performance management applications. In partnering with Munetrix, communities and school districts can manage their data and access cost effective products and advisory services to make meaningful and reliable budgets, financial projections, trend reports and forward-looking decisions. Learn more about your school or community’s Munetrix Score at the Munetrix website.

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