Genesee Intermediate School District
ISD Best Practices Grant as Defined in MCL 388.1681(7)
2013-2014 Report
YES - Requirement A – The intermediate school board must certify that it is developing/has
developed a Service Consolidation Plan (SCP).
Instruction includes activities dealing directly with the teaching of students in the
classroom or in a classroom situation.
Evidence:
GenNET
 See Appendix A
 http://www.geneseeisd.org/index.aspx?NID=9
 http://www.geneseeisd.org/index.aspx?nid=222
 http://www.geneseeisd.org/index.aspx?nid=180
 GISD has expanded its GenNET Online Learning Portal to leverage revenue that
lowers costs to local districts. GenNET continues to provide cost savings to
districts and every year looks for ways to reduce the cost of procuring technology
and technology related services for districts. This past year operating expenses
were reduced for district members of GenNET by about 34%. The cost was
reduced by reductions in support contracts and revenue from services such as
partnering with municipalities for the use of excess capacity on its fiber optic
network.
Seat Time Waiver/Online Learning
 See Appendix B
 GISD has experienced a growth in overall enrollments for its online learning
options and specifically for its seat time waiver options. The GenNET Online
Portal had over 22,000 course enrollments from districts across Michigan. GISD is
helping its local districts and districts across the state at no cost to facilitate online
enrollments and provide the value added support of processing enrollments and
billing. GISD has also established a national presence with its
iConnectLearning.org online portal to facilitation online enrollments with partner
organizations beyond Michigan
GASC Technology Center
 In the fall of 2013 GISD assumed operations of the GASC Technology Center,
Genesee County's regional career technical education center.
 There are fourteen (14) community advisory groups with broad membership of
business, industry, and service representatives.
 With the change of operational leadership at GASC Technology Center, GISD has
engaged multiple educational and private sector stakeholders to update the career
technical education core performance standards for the programs within the county.
 GISD established a Police Liaison contract with Mundy Township to provide law
enforcement support at the GASC Technology Center.
Metro Youth Build PSA
 GISD has agreed to authorize a new charter school for Metro Community
Development in Flint.
 The school will serve students who are at risk of dropping out in grades 9-12 with
and educational curriculum that has a Construction Trades focus.

Participating students will have the opportunity to complete a high school diploma
or GED while mastering a construction trade.
Pupil support services include, but are not limited to, speech therapists, guidance
counselors, school nurses, and social workers.
Evidence:
Social Workers
 GISD contracts with local school districts to provide school social work and
behavior support services. There are seven districts that currently contract social
work services with GISD, including Clio, Davison, Lake Fenton, LakeVille,
Montrose, Swartz Creek, and Westwood Heights. GISD has agreed to pay 66% of
the cost for this year.
 GISD continues to provide these services to local districts, although several
districts have opted to not contract for social work support. Local districts have
agreed to pay 100% of the unreimbursed cost for the 2014-2015 school year for
those districts that are participating.
English as a Second Language Tutors
 The English as a Second Language (ESL) program provides services that assist
Genesee County public school districts with meeting the educational needs of
English language learners, and complying with No Child Left Behind mandates
and Office of Civil Rights laws. The program administration for English as a
Second Language is provided by GISD through annual Title III funding.
Consortium agreements and support for local districts are coordinated by GISD, as
well as contract renewals and updates, assistance with annual measurable
achievement objectives, data and budget management, and materials support.
 Services continue to be expanded to meet the federal guidelines and respond to
growing community need. GISD is now serving all 21 constituent school districts
with over 150 ESL tutors.
Attendance Liaison Officer
 The Attendance Intervention Program is jointly funded by GISD and the 21 local
school districts. The Attendance Liaison Officer works with districts to ensure that
students comply with state law, district policies, and procedures related to student
attendance and truancy. The Attendance Liaison Officer serves as a liaison
between public school employees, law enforcement officials, community partners,
and the judicial system.
 GISD continues to partner with local districts and community partners to address
truancy. Over 5,000 mediation and local district contact meetings are facilitated by
the Attendance Liaison Officer annually to address chronic absences. GISD also
provides staff support to the Attendance Task Force, an interdisciplinary
collaborative team consisting of community agency and local district
representatives.
Pupil Accounting – Shiawassee and Clinton Counties
 GISD contracts to provide pupil accounting services for Shiawassee and Clinton
Counties. GISD conducts pupil accounting audits to verify Full Time Equivalency
reports, compliance of instructional time, district graduate data, and pupil
residency. There are a total of 16 local school districts served through this
partnership – nine in Shiawassee County and seven in Clinton County.
 GISD continues to provide support to the districts noted above and recently
contracted with Lapeer ISD to provide pupil accounting support for a local district.
Instructional staff support services include, but are not limited to, curriculum
specialists, teacher professional development, and instructional technology and media
services.
Evidence:
Countywide Implementation of Epi-Pen Statute
 GISD coordinated a centralized response to new requirements related to the
possession, administration, and policies for Epi-Pens in schools. GISD facilitated
a bulk acquisition of Epi-pens, development of draft policies and procedures,
distribution of Epi-pens to all constituent districts, and uniform training for local
district staff.
Great Start Readiness Program
 The Great Start Readiness program provides high quality preschool programming
to qualifying four-year-old children. GISD works in collaboration with local districts
and private pre-school centers to provide quality classroom-based preschool
programming that promotes school readiness and an effective transition to
kindergarten in 31 sites. Parent involvement is encouraged through home
visitation, parent-teacher conferences, and parent advisory teams.
 Due to increased state investment in the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP),
the GISD GSRP Consortium has grown to a budget of more than $10 million
dollars and 31 public/private early childhood providers serving over 1,000 fouryear-old children in Genesee County. The GISD supports the GSRP Consortium
and its 31 members in compliance, monitoring, early childhood specialist services,
curriculum support, child assessment and progress monitoring systems, mental
health consultation, health consultation, student data tracking, budgeting,
programmatic reports, and professional development. With the added investment,
GISD has partnered with a third-party contractor for staff expansion, rather than
hire directly. This makes it possible to deliver a more cost effective program to
more children.
Head Start
 GISD was recently awarded a federal Head Start grant to serve 1,326 three and
four year-old children in the Beecher, Carman-Ainsworth, and the Flint Community
Schools service areas. GISD is able to leverage these state and federal resources
creatively in order to provide full day programming for students.
High Poverty/Adult Instructional Strategies
 GISD contracted with co-authors William Parrett and Kathleen Budge to present
information about the foundational characteristics of teaching children in poverty.
Their book "Turning High Poverty Schools into High Performing Schools" was
provided and used as a study tool for local educational leaders throughout the county.
 GISD contracted with Marcia Tate to present strategies on how to teach and train
adult learners. Her book "Sit and Get Won't Grow Dendrites" was provided as a
resource for local educational leaders to assist them in implementing strategies for
maintaining engagement when instructing adult learners.
School Improvement Support
 GISD supports the struggling schools within its constituent districts (Focus
Schools/High Priority Schools) through direct support with their Regional
Assistance Grant and School Improvement efforts.
 To benefit all instructional staff within the county, GISD has led several
professional development collaborations to ensure consistency and cost savings,
sponsored national speakers to benefit local district staff, engaged in common

evaluation training, and provided assistance to build capacity for teachers to
deliver online instruction.
GISD has been contracted by Lapeer ISD to share general education consultants
for curriculum and instructional support.
General administration includes activities of the local school board and
superintendent’s office, lobbying, legal, and audit services.
Evidence:
Clark Hill, PLC
 GISD has contracted with Clark Hill historically to address issues of educational
telecommunications. Recently, the firm has been assisting with other areas
expertise.
 GISD engaged the professional services of Clark Hill to provide evaluation
guidance and updates on three separate occasions for all Genesee County
Superintendents, central office staff, and High School, Middle School, and
Elementary School administrators.
Dean and Fulkerson
 GISD contracted to provide in-service trainings regarding the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act to help local districts prepare for implementation of the
new law. These trainings included local district superintendents and board of
education members.
 GISD continues to leverage the expertise of this firm to support its local districts.
Specific sessions have been coordinated by GISD to provide technical assistance
to constituent districts in addressing changes to their plan documents,
implementation of the 80/20 or Hard Cap limits on insurance premiums, form
compliance, and structuring plan years to align with legislative changes.
Thrun Law Firm
 GISD contracted to provide in-service training regarding the fundamentals of
school finance and elections. The session was structured for members of the
Genesee Area School Business Officials. The training also included participation
by local district superintendents.
 GISD coordinated additional sessions to help local district staff with
implementation of the new requirements of educator evaluations that align with the
provisions included within tenure reform legislation. GISD has also coordinated a
session open to all districts to help explain the changes to staff fingerprinting
procedures as necessitated by the Michigan State Police to be in compliance with
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) guidelines.
Shared Time Special Education Administration
 GISD provides contracted Shared Time Special Education Administrative Services
to three local school districts. These districts are: Bendle, LakeVille, and Mt.
Morris.
 GISD continues to provide high-quality services to local districts in efforts to save
local districts from the burden of increasing costs associated with credentialed
personnel.
Business administration includes budgeting, purchasing, payroll, financial accounting,
and inventory control.
Evidence:
Shared Business Services
 GISD works with 12 constituent districts, two public school academies, and
three districts in neighboring counties to provide a customized menu of financial
and business management services. Participating districts include: Alternative
Path Academy, Atherton, Beecher, Bendle, Bentley, Clio, Durand, Genesee,
Goodrich, Howell, Kearsley, LakeVille, Lake Fenton, Montrose, Webber Media
Academy, Westwood Heights, and Yale.
 GISD has also developed a partnership with a local third party non-profit
agency called Genesee Educational Consultant Services to provide shared
business services.
Operations and Maintenance includes those activities concerned with keeping the
physical plant open, comfortable, and safe for use. Custodians, utilities, and routine
maintenance of facilities would be included here.
Evidence:
Superintendents Cost Saving Committee
 GISD initiated a Superintendents Cost Saving Committee which meets monthly to
explore cost savings ideas for the county. Currently, the committee is working on
software licenses, Epi-Pen Purchases, and other common expenses.
Shared Custodial Services
 GISD works with Westwood Heights Community Schools to provide sharedtime custodial support and supervision.
Shared Energy Education / Management
 The partnership with energy consultant Cenergistic, Inc. was begun so that smaller
school districts could implement the program to save energy consumption. Cost
avoidance savings were anticipated to be in excess of 20% of all energy costs.
Since inception, participating districts have saved a combined total of $1.8 million,
representing a 22% decrease in energy costs. The program is implemented within
eight participating districts, including: Atherton, Beecher, Bendle, Bentley,
Genesee, Genesee ISD, Lake Fenton, and Westwood Heights.
 The energy consortium continues to thrive and function well. It saves local
districts and GISD millions of dollars in energy expenditures.
Waste Management Consortium
 The Genesee County Superintendents Association originally formed Cost
Effectiveness/Efficiency Teams in February 2004. At its meeting April 26, 2005,
the board of the Genesee Intermediate School District approved the first
countywide solid waste bid. A second bid was approved by the Board at its
meeting of May 27, 2008. Authorization of these bids saved $150,000 to $200,000
countywide for this service. The most recent cooperative bidding process for the
Solid Waste and Recycling Services was based upon an existing contract set to
expire June 30, 2011. The Superintendents Association Cost
Effectiveness/Efficiency Team authorized a new bid for these services with the
goal of continuing the cost savings that had been experienced. The result was a
five-year contract commencing July 1, 2011, between Waste Management, Inc.
and participating districts/colleges. This contract period does not include a fuel
charge which should result in additional savings for consortium members.
Participants include: Atherton, Beecher, Bendle, Bentley, Carman-Ainsworth,
Davison, Fenton, Flushing, Genesee, GISD, Goodrich, Grand Blanc, Kearsley,
Lake Fenton, LakeVille, Linden, Mott Community College, Mt. Morris, Swartz
Creek, U of M – Flint, and Westwood Heights.
Safety Data Sheets / Electronic Compliance for OSHA
 New changes in OSHA regulations called for updating procedures from workers
having a “Right to Know” to their having a “Right to Understand”, with additional
sections being added to material safety data sheets. It was found by the
Superintendents’ Cost Containment Committee that most districts maintain their
Safety Data Sheets from manufacturers in hard copy and in binders located in
school buildings. An opportunity to collaborate in the purchase of a virtual MSDS
program presented itself with the following school districts participating: Atherton,
Beecher, Bendle, Bentley, Davison, Fenton, Flint, Flushing, Genesee, Goodrich,
Grand Blanc, Kearsley, Lake Fenton, Linden, Mt. Morris, Westwood Heights and
GISD. The MSDS Online system is currently being implemented by participating
districts to save time and resources for managing this information.
 The online system is now fully operational and is aligned with the new Hazard
Communication Standard requirements as established by Occupational Safety and
Health Administration. Professional development was conducted for all of GISD’s
staff members to be in compliance with the December 31, 2013, deadline.
Municipal partnerships
 Declining local property values presented an opportunity for local units of
government to collaborate to create efficiencies and save dollars. GISD worked
with the Genesee Regional Chamber of Commerce, Genesee County, and the
City of Flint to apply for Economic Vitality Incentive Program Grant funding from
the State of Michigan that makes awards for projects that combine government
operations. This application was denied. However, the partners moved forward
and GISD is providing support for Human Resources virtual application and
screening processes for the City of Flint.
 There have been several examples of operational partnerships that save
resources for partnering municipal governments, including City of Flushing, City of
Fenton, and Genesee County with technology, Genesee County 911, and the City
of Flint with human resources.
Pupil Transportation includes activities concerned with transporting pupils to and from
school and school activities.
Evidence:
GASC Transportation
 2012-2013 concluded the ninth year for the GASC Transportation Consortium with
a total of 19 participating districts. The Genesee County Superintendents
Association commissioned several committees to work on cost-saving measures
for the local districts. That effort led to the implementation of the consortium at the
direction of the association. This partnership consortium is managed jointly
between the participating districts and GISD. Since it began, the consortium has
saved local districts $12.4 million. GISD has purchased 26 buses since the onset
of the program at a total of $1.7 million without cost to the local districts. Currently,
there are 13 routes and a fleet of 26 buses that cover 400,000 miles annually.
Specialized Transportation Consortium
 All 21 constituent districts fully participate in the Specialized Transportation
Consortium and have experienced cost savings. The participating districts benefit
from the economy of scale achieved through a consortium. Since 1997, the
districts have saved $69.2 million dollars. Currently, there are 86 routes and a
fleet of 109 buses that travel two million miles annually. GISD has purchased 137
buses since the onset of the program at a total of $10.3 million without costs to the
local districts. The Transportation Staff conduct an annual Specialized
Transportation Consortium satisfaction survey of the parents of GISD’s special
needs students. Ninety-six percent (96%) of the parents have consistently given
GISD's Transportation Services department grades of A or B.
 There have been several efforts that have been successful in supporting both
transportation consortia. The first is coordinating a bid to secure a software
platform for transportation routing called Versatrans. It is believed that this
infrastructure will eventually be adopted by constituent districts and lead to countywide routing and planning. Second, GISD collaborated with the Greater Lansing
Area Green Cities effort to purchase clean diesel buses for use in the Head Start
transportation fleet. Finally, GISD leveraged an Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) grant to purchase propane buses that benefit all of the Specialized
Transportation Consortium members by reducing equipment replacement costs for
everyone.
Other Central Administration includes communication, staff/personnel (human
resources) services, non-instructional technology services (district-wide computer
Services), and pupil accounting.
Evidence:
Shared Human Resources Services
 GISD works with two constituent districts and one district in a neighboring
county to provide support services such as prospective employee proficiency
testing, comprehensive human resources, and COBRA benefits coordination.
 Participating districts include: Bentley, Davison, and Lapeer.
Countywide Crisis Response and Preparedness
 GISD contracted with the Genesee County Sheriff's Department to leverage a fulltime Deputy Officer to act as a School Safety Liaison. The Officer has conducted
security assessment for all elementary, middle, and high school buildings
throughout the county.
 As a result of the safety/security assessments conducted by the School Safety
Liaison, a universal Emergency and Crisis Response Policy was developed and
Emergency Preparedness Procedures Quick Reference Guide was created for
each classroom throughout the county. There is on-going, consistent training that
is provided under the coordination of the Liaison officer.
 GISD partnered with the Genesee County of Emergency Management to secure a
grant for upgrading the emergency radios and communications equipment in
response to modified federal protocols for bandwidth and frequency ranges.
GenNET
 See Appendix A
 http://www.geneseeisd.org/index.aspx?NID=9
 http://www.geneseeisd.org/index.aspx?nid=222
 http://www.geneseeisd.org/index.aspx?nid=180

GISD took part in a statewide collaborative E-rate bid for Internet connectivity.
This will provide more bandwidth for approximately $18,000 less per year than the
current costs. GenNET continues to provide cost savings to districts and every
year looks for ways to reduce the cost of procuring technology and technology
related services for districts. This past year operating expenses were reduced to
districts for GenNET by approximately 34%. The cost was reduced by reductions
in support contracts and revenue from services such as partnering with
municipalities for the use of excess capacity on the fiber optic network.
AESOP
 AESOP Substitute Placement & Absence Management software agreement was
entered into on behalf of participating local districts. The software has an
automated sub-calling system, interfaces with the attendance system to record
absences, and creates the vacancy on behalf of a staff member who requires sub
coverage. Participating districts: Atherton, Beecher, Bendle, Bentley, Carman
Ainsworth, Davison, Fenton, Flushing, Genesee, GISD, Goodrich, Grand Blanc,
Kearsley, Lake Fenton, LakeVille, Linden, Montrose, Mt. Morris, Saginaw
Township, Westwood Heights, and Madison Academy (a public school academy).
AppliTrack
 Mid-Michigan Area Public Schools Consortium was formed to offer candidates a
single place to apply for a position in multiple districts. The GISD was instrumental
in developing the consortium. The consortium consists of the following districts:
Almont, Atherton, Beecher, Bendle, Bentley, Carman-Ainsworth, Clio, Davison,
Dryden, Durand, Fenton, Flint, Flushing, Genesee, GISD, Goodrich, Grand Blanc,
Imlay City, Kearsley, Lake Fenton, LakeVille, Lapeer, Lapeer ISD, Linden,
Montrose, Mt. Morris, North Branch, Saginaw Township, Swartz Creek, and
Westwood Heights.
 GISD now services the City of Flint’s Human Resources Department for electronic
applications and has provided professional development to train staff in how to use
the online application system
Professional Education Services Group, LLC
 Professional Education Services Group, LLC is an employment services that
specializes in placing well qualified substitutes in the classroom based upon the
needs of our local school districts. GISD entered into a tertiary agreement on
behalf of participating local districts: Atherton, Beecher, Bendle, Bentley, Carman
Ainsworth, Clio, Davison, Fenton, Flushing, Genesee, GISD, Goodrich, Grand
Blanc, Kearsley, Lake Fenton, LakeVille, Linden, Montrose, Mt. Morris, Saginaw
Township, Westwood Heights, and Madison Academy (a public school academy).
Shared Technical Services
 GISD works with 16 constituent districts and one state school to provide
customized technical support and maintenance of district and building
infrastructure. Participating districts include: Atherton, Beecher, Bendle,
Bentley, Carman-Ainsworth, Davison, Flint, Flushing, Goodrich, Kearsley, Lake
Fenton, LakeVille, Linden, MI School for the Deaf, Mt. Morris, and Westwood
Heights.
 GISD has added one additional district, one additional public school academy,
and a local non-profit organization to the list of shared technical services
contracts. GISD also expanded its shared technical services contracts with
three of its existing districts.
Food Service and Athletics includes those interscholastic athletic and food service
programs administered by the school district.
Evidence:
Contracted Food Service for Center-Based Programs
 GISD contracts with Carman-Ainsworth to provide lunches to all special education
students at the Elmer A. Knopf Learning Center and to provide lunches at Mott
Middle Early College. GISD also contracts with Westwood Heights to provide
specialized meals at the Marion D. Crouse Instructional Center, and with Swartz
Creek to provide lunches at the Transition Center.
 GISD continues to participate in the contracted food service program with great
success.
 Further, GISD contracted with the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan to develop a bid
for a vended Head Start food service program. The program serves breakfast,
lunch and a snack to nearly 1,400 children on a daily basis.
Contracted Food Service for Strict Discipline Academy
 The GISD Health, Safety, and Nutrition Services department has been contracted
by Alternative Pathways Strict Discipline Academy to provide food service for its
limited student population.
 The contract for this service was subsequently terminated.
YES - Requirement B – The intermediate school board must certify that it has obtained a
competitive bid on the provision of pupil transportation, food service, custodial, or one or more
other non-instructional services with a value of at least $50,000.
Evidence:
MDE Auditors for Title I Auditing
 Michigan Department of Education (MDE) Title I Accounting Assistance request
for proposal was done in collaboration with the Michigan Department of Education.
GISD has partnered with MDE in hiring contracted Title I auditors to audit the final
program expenditures. As a result of the many findings discovered through this
process, MDE determined that a proactive approach needed to be taken in
addressing the districts with audit findings. The purpose of the RFP was to select
a group of auditors available for assignment to assist those LEAs and PSAs that
have had audit finding in the past by providing grant accounting technical
assistance.
Waste Management Consortium
 The Genesee County Superintendents Association originally formed Cost
Effectiveness/Efficiency Teams in February 2004. At its meeting April 26, 2005,
the Genesee Intermediate School District Board approved the first countywide
solid waste bid. A second bid was approved by the Board at its meeting of May
27, 2008. Authorization of these bids saved $150,000 to $200,000 countywide for
this service. The most recent cooperative bidding process for the Solid Waste and
Recycling Services was based upon an existing contract set to expire June 30,
2011. The Superintendents Association Cost Effectiveness/Efficiency Team
authorized a new bid for these services with the goal of continuing the cost
savings that had been experienced. The result was a five-year contract
commencing July 1, 2011 between Waste Management, Inc. and participating
districts/colleges. This contract period does not include a fuel charge which
should result in additional savings for consortium members. Participants include:
Atherton, Beecher, Bendle, Bentley, Carman-Ainsworth, Davison, Fenton,
Flushing, Genesee, GISD, Goodrich, Grand Blanc, Kearsley, Lake Fenton,
LakeVille, Linden, Mott Community College, Mt. Morris, Swartz Creek, U of M –
Flint, and Westwood Heights.
Bandwidth
 GISD took part in a statewide collaborative E-rate bid for Internet connectivity.
This will provide more bandwidth for approximately $18,000 less per year than the
current costs. GenNET continues to provide cost savings to districts and every
year looks for ways to reduce the cost of procuring technology and technology
related services for districts. This past year operating expenses were reduced to
districts for GenNET by approximately 34%.
Food Service for Head Start
 Further, GISD contracted with the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan to develop a bid
for a vended Head Start food service program. The program serves breakfast,
lunch and a snack to nearly 1,400 children on a daily basis.
Versatrans Student Transportation Management Solution Software
 There have been several efforts that have been successful in supporting both
transportation consortia. The first is coordinating a bid to secure a software
platform for transportation routing called Versatrans. It is believed that this
infrastructure will eventually be adopted by constituent districts and lead to countywide routing and planning.
Fiber Tagging
 GISD bid and contracted with Fiber Link to label all fiber that is part of the GenNET
network as required by law.
YES - Requirement C –The intermediate school board must certify that it has developed a
technology plan in accordance with department policy on behalf of all constituent districts within
the intermediate district.
Evidence:
GISD Technology Plan 2011-2014
 http://www.geneseeisd.org/DocumentCenter/Home/View/44
 Genesee ISD is updating its Technology Plan this school year and will work with
data from MTRAx. MTRAx will now play a part in technology planning in Michigan.
GISD assisted local districts with their implementation of MTRAx this schools year.
Five-Year GenNET Agreement
 The GenNET Consortium, having been in existence for 18 years, developed a new
5-year consortium agreement that articulated cost structures for operations and
maintenance of the fiber optic infrastructure and the service delivery across a
common platform.
GenNET Board Visioning Documents
 The GenNET board, which consists of the superintendent from each of the 21
constituent districts and GISD, engaged in a strategic discussion for the purpose
of maximizing resources to improve teacher effectiveness and student
achievement.
 The summary of the strategic direction for the GenNET Board is attached as
Appendix C
GenNET
 See Appendix A
 http://www.geneseeisd.org/index.aspx?NID=9
 http://www.geneseeisd.org/index.aspx?nid=222
 http://www.geneseeisd.org/index.aspx?nid=180
On-Line programming
 See Appendix B
 GISD has experienced a growth in overall enrollments for its online learning
options and specifically for its seat time waiver options. The GenNET Online
Portal had over 22,000 course enrollments from districts across Michigan. GISD is
helping its local districts and districts across the state at no cost to facilitate online
enrollments and provide the value added support of processing enrollments and
billing.
 GISD has also established a national presence with its iConnectLearning.org online
portal to facilitation online enrollments with partner organizations beyond Michigan.
Professional Development / Tech2Teach / Tech2Lead
 Numerous Genesee County educators were selected by leaders in their district to
participate in a professional development program named Tech2Teach. While
engaging students of today and meeting every increasing requirement to improve
student achievement, twenty-first century educators need to understand quality
ways for integrating appropriate technologies into teaching and learning.
 This program emphasizes the use of technology for the purpose of teaching.
Those identified by their districts to participate have already shown an interest in
learning more about how to increase their understanding and use of technology for
the purpose of enhancing student learning. These educators desire to upgrade or
improve their existing units/lessons with technology and find ways in which they
can manage digital information.
 During the school year, participants identified a strand of learning that is
interesting, relevant, or best matched their technology readiness, demonstrated
proficient use of various tools identified within their chosen strand, ensured the
integration of technology tools into existing units/lessons, applied the integrated
lessons/units in their classrooms, and shared the results of their efforts with
students, staff, and principals.
 TheTech2Teach sessions included three live, face-to-face sessions of professional
development at GISD. There were also virtual sessions when educators
collaborated by connecting via available media, such as webinars, Adobe
Connect, GenNET ITV, or through other interactive collaborative tools available to
educators.
 This year we are running our second year of Tech2Teach, training 62 teachers
from across our county. We also have begun a new training initiative called
Tech2Lead. This effort will is working with 35 administrators from across our
county.
Classroom Readiness
 GISD TMS staff currently lead both the development and implementation of the
Technology Readiness Infrastructure Grant’s Classroom Readiness professional
development activity. This PD opportunity currently is training teachers in over 120
schools across the state in how to be prepared for online assessments.
 GISD currently employs the project manager for this activity and one of its staff sits
on its Advisory Committee. In addition, one of the GISD TMS staff members
serves as the Regional Coordinator for coaches in our region. Within Genesee
County we have trained 140 of teachers. TRIG Classroom Readiness course
modules include:
Module 0: Welcome to T3
Module 1: Orientation to the Michigan Standards
Module 2: Best Practice in Technology
Module 3: Introduction to Blended Learning
Module 4: All About Next Generation Assessments
Module 5: Preparing for Next Generation Online Assessments
Module 6: Data Collection and Conferencing
Virtual Summer School
 Virtual Summer School is a collaborative effort between the GISD and its 21
constituent school districts to provide a virtual learning environment for students
who need credit over the summer. Participating schools register students through
their counselor and students can take virtual courses, using teachers from
Genesee County, to gain credits at home.
 The Virtual Summer School is less expensive than traditional summer school and
does not depend on the students attending class at specific times. Students can
access the classes whenever and wherever they are. Participating schools have
included: Davison, Fenton, Flushing, Grand Blanc, Genesee Early College, Mott
Middle College, LakeVille, Linden, Westwood Heights, and Mt. Morris.
Whole School Technology
 In November 2013, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) announced that
Genesee Intermediate School District (GISD) was awarded the $5 million Whole
School Technology Transformation grant. This grant will provide the state with the
ability to study the total cost and impact of providing full-on, digital access to
personalized learning opportunities for more than 5,000 students across the state.
 The grant provides $5 million to transform at least five (5) sites across the state
into 1-to-1 learning environments. GISD will collect and share with the rest of the
state all of the best practices learned from this project in regards to transforming
classrooms to be a 1-to-1 learning environment.
 The project aims to transform pilot schools into 1-to-1 learning environments with
the goal of making instruction more engaging and interactive to positively affect
student learning. Further, it will identify the cost per student to transform a school
into a 1-to-1 learning environment, and help to establish best practices for
implementing 1-to-1 learning in schools.
 Fourteen (14) pilot sites were identified by using a blind selection process carried
out by a committee from GISD and other ISD staff from across the state. The
selection criteria were defined in the grant RFP to focus on both economic and
geographic diversity, among other determining factors.
 Genesee County’s Bentley High School is one of 14 sites throughout the state
selected to participate as a pilot school.
YES - To meet Requirement D – The intermediate school board must certify that it has posted
on its website under the Budget and Transparency icon the following items for the three most
recent school years for which the data are available:
1. A list of services offered by the intermediate district that are shared by other local or
intermediate districts and a list of the districts or intermediate districts that participate.
Evidence:
GISD Services for you
 http://www.geneseeisd.org/index.aspx?NID=31 Cost Saving and Collaborative Services
 http://www.geneseeisd.org/index.aspx?nid=514 Budget Hearing Profile
 Each year GISD prepares its budget in collaboration with the local
Superintendents Association and then presents it at an annual budget
presentation to constituent district boards of education. For this formal
presentation a Budget Profile document is created.
 The Budget Profile can be accessed at the following link:
http://www.geneseeisd.org/index.aspx?nid=129
2. The total cost savings to local or other intermediate districts that share services with the
intermediate district.
Evidence:
Cost Saving and Collaborative Services
 http://www.geneseeisd.org/index.aspx?nid=514
GenNET Cost Savings
 GISD took part in a statewide collaborative E-rate bid for Internet connectivity.
This will provide more bandwidth for approximately $18,000 less per year than the
current costs. GenNET continues to provide cost savings to districts and every
year looks for ways to reduce the cost of procuring technology and technology
related services for districts. This past year operating expenses were reduced to
districts for GenNET by approximately 34%.
3. The number and percentage of teachers in the intermediate district service area that have
been trained to integrate technology into the classroom.
Evidence:
Technology certification document
 GISD certified that 157 teachers and 13 administrators met the definitions and
criteria for the personnel skilled in technology reporting element of the registry of
educational personnel.
Tech2Teach / Tech2Lead
 Numerous Genesee County educators were selected by leaders in their district to
participate in a professional development program named Tech2Teach. While
engaging students of today and meeting every increasing requirement to improve
student achievement, twenty-first century educators need to understand quality
ways for integrating appropriate technologies into teaching and learning.
 This program emphasizes the use of technology for the purpose of teaching.
Those identified by their districts to participate have already shown an interest in
learning more about how to increase their understanding and use of technology for
the purpose of enhancing student learning. These educators desire to upgrade or
improve their existing units/lessons with technology and find ways in which they
can manage digital information.
 During the school year, participants identified a strand of learning that is
interesting, relevant, or best matched their technology readiness, demonstrated
proficient use of various tools identified within their chosen strand, ensured the
integration of technology tools into existing units/lessons, applied the integrated
lessons/units in their classrooms, and shared the results of their efforts with
students, staff, and principals.

TheTech2Teach sessions included three live, face-to-face sessions of professional
development at GISD. There were also virtual sessions when educators
collaborated by connecting via available media, such as webinars, Adobe
Connect, GenNET ITV, or through other interactive collaborative tools available to
educators.
 This is the second year of Tech2Teach training with 62 participating teachers from
across the county.
 GISD also began a new training initiative called Tech2Lead. This effort is working
with 35 administrators from across our county.
Blended Learning
 GISD TMS Staff lead a 16-week, eight module course that prepared participants to
effectively implement their own blended learning environment. Blended Learning
course modules include:
1. History & Concepts
2. Pedagogy
3. Building Community
4. Online Learning & Accessibility
5. Online Assessment & Evaluation
6. Policies & Preparation
 There were 12 educators from across Genesee County that participated in this
course.
Classroom Readiness
 GISD TMS staff currently lead both the development and implementation of the
Technology Readiness Infrastructure Grant’s Classroom Readiness professional
development activity. This PD opportunity currently is training teachers in over 120
schools across the state in how to be prepared for online assessments.
 GISD currently employs the project manager for this activity and one of its staff sits
on its Advisory Committee. In addition, one of the GISD TMS staff members
serves as the Regional Coordinator for coaches in our region. Within Genesee
County we have trained 140 of teachers. TRIG Classroom Readiness course
modules include:
Module 0: Welcome to T3
Module 1: Orientation to the Michigan Standards
Module 2: Best Practice in Technology
Module 3: Introduction to Blended Learning
Module 4: All About Next Generation Assessments
Module 5: Preparing for Next Generation Online Assessments
Module 6: Data Collection and Conferencing
Cyber Civility
 GISD constructed multiple opportunities for local district staff and parents to
receive useful information to eliminated cyber bullying. Much time and effort was
spent on educating adults and students on the appropriate use of social media and
the lasting effects of misuse.
 There were 50 staff members from across Genesee County that participated in
this course.
iPads in Classroom
 GISD Technology and Media Services (TMS) staff led a 9-week course that taught
participants to improve instruction and productivity with iPads. Modules in this
course included:

1. iPad Basics and Pedagogy
2. Connecting and Communicating
3. Collaboration
4. Universal Design for Learning
5. Assessment
6. Classroom Management
7. Creativity Tools
There were 24 district staff members from across Genesee County that
participated in this course during the 2013-2014 school year.
4. The total funds received from levying special education and vocational education
mileages, and the number of special education and vocational education pupils served
with those dollars.
Evidence:
Special Education Data
 In 2013, GISD levied 2.4078 mills for the countywide charter Special Education
Millage and collected $21,798,278 to provide services for 9,638 students with
special needs. GISD continued to collect the countywide charter Special
Education Mileages for the 2013-2014 school year.
Career Technical Education Data
 In 2013, GISD levied .9628 mills for the countywide charter Vocation Technical
Education Millage and collected $8,716,414 to provide services for 6,245 students
involved in career technical education programs.
5. The number and percentage of individualized education programs developed for special
education pupils that contain academic goals.
Evidence:
MI School Data
 GISD and its constituent districts/PSAs had 9,638 students with IEPs, for the Fall
2013 SE Count Collection Date. All of those students had goals that are
academic, assuming that “academic” means instruction that is included in
statewide assessments and results in GISD’s programs being included in the top
to bottom list.
YES - Requirement E – The intermediate school board must certify that it works in consortium
with one or more other intermediate districts to develop information management system
requirements and bid specifications that can be used as statewide models. At a minimum,
these specifications shall address pupil management systems for both general and special
education, learning management tools, and business services.
Evidence:
Section 22i Technology Readiness
 GISD is leading a consortium that includes 22 other ISDs in the state for
participation in the statewide technology readiness project funded by the School
Aid Fund Categorical 22i. The consortium was selected to lead two of the
components (activity #1 and activity #3) and is participating in the software
infrastructure project (activity #6).
 GISD serves as the consortium lead for the Greater Michigan Education
Consortium (GMEC). GMEC is a collaborative of 22 ISDs from Mid-Michigan. We
also serve as a part of the Technology Readiness Infrastructure Grant (TRIG)
Steering Committee. We currently are training educators in over 120 schools
across Michigan to be ready for online assessments (TRIG: Classroom Readiness
Activity). We are leading the design of the State Education Network (SEN) and
are collaborating with ISDs from around the state on this project.
Student Information System
 GISD contracted to have the bid specifications developed for Student Information
System(s) and Implementing Hardware. The bid packet was posted on the GISD
website, the State of Michigan website, and advertised in the Flint Journal. Prebid meeting was conducted on August 11, 2011. Sealed bids were due and
received on or before August 30, 2011.
 GISD implemented a new SIS during the 2012/2013 school year.
Administrative, Finance, & HR Systems
 GISD contracted to have the bid specifications developed for Administrative,
Finance, & HR Systems. The bid packet was posted on GISD website and the
State of Michigan website. A pre-bid meeting was held at GISD on October 11,
2011. Sealed bids were due and received on or before October 27, 2011. Due to
the significant time required for implementation of the Student Information System
the project was delayed until a future date.
 GISD has continued to research HR and Finance packages. In the summer of
2013, we conducted a study of what software solutions other ISDs and LEAs were
currently using.
Versatrans Student Transportation Management Solution Software
 There have been several efforts that have been successful in supporting both the
Specialized and GASC transportation consortia. One very important example is
coordinating a bid to secure a software platform for transportation routing called
Versatrans. It is believed that this infrastructure will eventually be adopted by
constituent districts and lead to county-wide routing and planning.
Wayne RESA – Illuminate Data Warehouse
 GISD participated in a process with Wayne RESA to interview and "vet" data
warehouse systems. GISD bought representatives from our 21 local districts
together to watch demonstration and select a vendor. Costs were controlled due
to large volume of users.
Whole School Technology
 In November 2013, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) announced that
Genesee Intermediate School District (GISD) was awarded the $5 million Whole
School Technology Transformation grant. This grant will provide the state with the
ability to study the total cost and impact of providing full-on, digital access to
personalized learning opportunities for more than 5,000 students across the state.
 The grant provides $5 million to transform at least five (5) sites across the state
into 1-to-1 learning environments. GISD will collect and share with the rest of the
state all of the best practices learned from this project in regards to transforming
classrooms to be a 1-to-1 learning environment.
 The project aims to transform pilot schools into 1-to-1 learning environments with
the goal of making instruction more engaging and interactive to positively affect
student learning. Further, it will identify the cost per student to transform a school
into a 1-to-1 learning environment, and help to establish best practices for
implementing 1-to-1 learning in schools.
 Fourteen (14) pilot sites were identified by using a blind selection process carried
out by a committee from GISD and other ISD staff from across the state. The

selection criteria were defined in the grant RFP to focus on both economic and
geographic diversity, among other determining factors.
Genesee County’s Bentley High School is one of 14 sites throughout the state
selected to participate as a pilot school.
YES - Requirement F – The intermediate school board must certify that it is the policy holder on
all of the health care benefit policies it covers on behalf of employees.
Evidence:
Insurance Policy
 GISD is the policy holder for the health care benefits that are provided for its
employees.
 GISD is in compliance with PA 152 of 2011 and has established its maximum
contribution for health care premiums to be the “hard cap” limits as established in
statute.
Appendix A
GenNET through the leadership of Genesee Intermediate School District (GISD) has promoted
and designed instructional strategies to create learning environments that integrate appropriate
technologies to maximize learning and teaching. GISD, through GenNET, created the first
collaborative of online learning for students in Michigan by brokering online classes for middle
school and high school students in the region. After seven years of success, the statewide
REMC Association (Regional Educational Media Centers) adopted the model for distribution
throughout the state. As the result, all Michigan high school and middle school students can
participate in online learning to now meet the Michigan Online Experience requirement.
During the 2007-08 academic year, a 52% increase of online registrations statewide has
affected the course of learning for all students, at all levels while allowing districts and families to
maximize choices about what is best for individual learning needs. This opportunity augments
the already successful Interactive Television program between 26 high schools that has shared
high school curriculum daily to over 1000 students throughout the county for 14 years. These
classes have allowed students to participate in course work that otherwise would not have been
possible in their local high schools. All classes are taught by highly qualified teachers shared
among the consortium high schools.
Since 1997, GenNET Programming has grown from shared high school interactive television
classes between 26 high schools to offering virtual video opportunities to all 26 high school, 26
middle schools, and 88 elementary schools in Genesee County. All teachers have the
opportunity to offer blended online programming through the wide adoption of Blackboard
available to all teachers in the county. Teachers are now learning how to teach in blended and
fully online venues in preparation for the 21st Century requirements for teachers. Most recently,
Genesee County through GenNET is leading the way in building capacity to teach online by
utilizing content purchased from Florida Virtual School free to all secondary teachers. To date,
over 700 teachers have been trained to be online instructors or use online content in a blended
environment.
GenNET also created a portal where school districts can access a full range of courses.
Through the GenNET Portal, local districts can register students in a variety of online classes to
supplement their high school course offerings. In July, 2008, GenNET was granted a county
wide Seat Time Waiver (STW) whereby any high school student could take up to 100% of their
courses online through the GenNET Portal. The success of this program was noted by the
Michigan Department of Education. In July, 2009, the State superintendent of schools extended
the Seat Time Waiver to the 531 local districts in Michigan working through their respective
Intermediate School Districts and following all the rules and regulations established by GenNET.
In just one year, online learning exploded by over 300% as local districts now had an
opportunity to offer online programming to their underserved populations through an
established, reputable entity. The impact has continued as daily, high school students are
enrolled in the over 900 courses available through the eight GenNET partners. GenNET staff
maintains the portal, negotiates the agreements with providers, answer questions, and guide
staff from around the state in online learning.
The overarching vision of GenNET is to improve instruction by building a telecommunication
network to the world, expanding access to technology and leveraging resources in a way that
changes and improves the educational culture. After nearly 15 years of operation, GenNET has
impacted the instructional, technical, and administrative sectors of education in Genesee County
and throughout the state of Michigan with tremendous results.
Appendix B
Michigan’s First Countywide Seat Time Waiver
On November 3, 2008, Superintendent Michael Flanagan met with a majority of Genesee
County Superintendents in the State Board of Education meeting room in Lansing to discuss our
proposal for a countywide seat waiver. He asked questions regarding the application process,
program, technical information, and expected outcomes. Following the discussion, he signed
and authorized the first county seat time waiver in Michigan for Genesee County high school
students. The number of students participating in the program was modified by Superintendent
Flanagan from 25% to 10%. However, individual schools may exceed the 10% (to a maximum
25% of their enrollment), if other schools in the county do not use their full allocation and the
total countywide limit of 10% is not exceeded. Based on our 2008-09 high school enrollment, up
to 2,402 students may participate in our program. Sections 5O, 5N(5), 5G-C(1), and 5P-D(1) of
the Pupil Accounting Manual were waived for Genesee County school districts. This program
will appeal to a number of student populations including homebound, alternative education,
home-schooled, suspended/expelled, and other students who may not be able to be “physically
in school.”
As we prepare to implement the seat time waiver, we know from experience and research that
online learning is not for all students. Students must be able to work independently, guided by a
virtual teacher and a mentor teacher at the home school. Students must be able to learn
effectively without the structure of a traditional classroom. If a student can meet these
requirements, then they will have an opportunity to choose from over 600 available GenNET
courses. Each of these courses is taught by a highly qualified, virtual teacher and meets the
necessary accreditation standards. The GenNET course catalog includes such offerings as
Mandarin Chinese and other foreign languages, advanced calculus, physics, chemistry, and
trigonometry to name a few; as well as the basic courses like algebra I, English literature, and
social studies.
Our waiver application process started over a year ago when the option was first announced.
Genesee County’s Montrose Community School District received a limited seat time waiver for
expelled, suspended students, and we used their original work and our experience as a pattern
to develop our countywide application. The GenNET Governing Board (the 22 Genesee County
superintendents) reviewed the program, along with GenNET’s online curriculum, which offers
600 teacher-led online courses. These courses are currently being offered to all Genesee
County schools and districts across the state. It was decided by a unanimous vote of the
GenNET Board that we have the infrastructure, experience, knowledge, and ability to offer a full
online program for our students.
Directed by the GenNET Board, a committee was formed, chaired by GISD Assistant
Superintendent for Technology and Media Services, who also serves as the executive director
of GenNET. The committee membership included GISD pupil accounting staff, principals,
counselors, community education administrators, curriculum directors, and technical staff. Their
work included identifying the target population, writing the application, identifying the rules to be
waived, and presenting the final proposal to the GenNET Board for approval. All 22 Genesee
County superintendents signed the final application, and it was sent to Lansing.
Once the application was submitted, the work continued. An implementation process was
developed that included a public relations plan, staff development programs, expanded
enrollment procedures, follow-up strategies, and a design for a statistical review. Because
Genesee County has been proactive in creating our GenNET Online program dating back to
2001, the planning committee was able to model existing policies and procedures for our seat
time waiver implementation. Our history of successful operation was specifically noted by
Superintendent Flanagan as key to his waiver approval decision. When approval was received,
a press release was developed, and a major press conference was held. Following the
announcement, the work of enrolling students for up to a full course load of online classes was
begun.
Genesee County’ GenNET collaborative has had a history of successful distance learning
initiatives through interactive television (ITV) and online programming throughout the state of
Michigan. Currently, 34 districts in Michigan partner with GenNET through their REMC and/or
ISD in the GenNET online project that offers expanded learning opportunities for middle and
high school students. We are able to utilize the online registration procedures, high quality
courses, the tuition system, reports, other details developed by our consortium members to write
Genesee County’s waiver application. Information items such as course providers, course fees,
frequently asked questions, classroom tools, and student profiles are included as a part of the
online program. This type of information is crucial to the successful implementation of any
online learning system. Most of this information can be accessed by visiting
www.geneseeisd.org and clicking on the GenNET icon, or going directly to www.gennet.us.
Obviously, the excellent reputation of the GenNET voice, video, and data system has helped us
develop this next phase of online learning. Our education community, parents and students,
embrace the ITV program, as well as the numerous GenNET online course offerings. The ITV
program has operated for over 12 years and has been extremely successful. Most recently,
GenNET connected with the institutions of higher education in Genesee County through the
Flint Area Network for Education Telecommunications (FANET). Our students can now take
ITV courses directly from Baker College, Kettering University, Mott Community College, and the
University of Michigan-Flint in their high school classrooms. Classes like calculus I, II & III;
Newtonian Mechanics; and foreign languages are popular with many of our advanced
placement students.
Our entire seat waiver option is an extension of our very successful statewide REMC/GenNET
online learning project. This program can be replicated in any county/district using the GenNET
online curriculum by sharing outstanding online programming for students with full support from
the staff of the REMC/GenNET project. Barriers such as time, space, equality of opportunity,
and lack of resources diminish when technology is used effectively. Additional information can
be obtained by visiting www.gennet.us, making contact with any Genesee County
superintendents, or calling our offices at 810-591-4436. Our goal is to provide this important
resource to the students of Michigan at the lowest cost and with the most support possible.
12/8/08
Appendix C
FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY/GENNET IN GENESE COUNTY
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Wireless/Web-based
Vice/Video and Data to every point of instruction (community, higher eds, too)
Technology Curriculum/skills
CCSS assessments. Ready for on-line assessment.
Sustain
Expand Wireless
Open to new instruction platforms
Responsive to how kids learn today
Reaching out pre-school
Extended learning opportunities with Technology
Create Structures to allow us to change (look at things differently)
Using fiber to make $$
o County
o Region
o State
Revenue Stream
Any type course for students
Digital connectivity to homes-kids
County-wide PD – state, colleges
Connect with different forms of government instruction
Expansion of post-grad opportunities for recent HS grads
Model for State – rural, suburban, urban
Cost structures that are affordable for all
Evaluation of services to meet all needs
Creativity/Evolution students
Model for PD in schools
Continued collaboration
Cutting edge
Mutually beneficial
Leveraged Resources
Build partnerships beyond education
Flexibility (Oxford Report)
21st Century ”Access”
Transcend district boundaries
True distance learning opportunities
Hold on to own kids but provide more learning opportunities
Could reduce transportation costs
Who really knows what technology will allow in 5-25 years?
Candid Promotion of GenNET
Promote quicker, smaller scale technology reaction
Better ala-carte system
Shorter planning windows (5 year plans?)
GenNET Should generate revenue
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Better about forecasting future needs
County-wide provider of wireless to everyone in the County
Flipped classrooms
Web-based learning on and off-site
Assessment benefits
International learning
International instruction
Increased post-secondary credit options
“True” model of best tech practices for others
Continued collaboration among LEAs (County)
Choice in education for families
P.D. options to meet the needs of educators
Municipality support & revenue
Opportunities for kids and classrooms
Endless possibilities of interaction and connectedness
County-wide wireless
Learning on demand
o Students
o Staff
o Worldwide
Foundation for improved safety
Worldwide exposure
Revisiting socialization and communication
How will GenNET serve a mega district concept?
Market GenNET resources to charters
Provide infrastructure for local districts to meet the unique learnings of all students
Balance (look forward with history)
Virtual learning
Virtual storage/backup
VHS program
Transportation routing
Upgrade infrastructure
Leverage GenNET Structure to sere multiple public bodies
Open window to worldwide exposure during instructional time
Break status quo of lack of exposure to world
Culture shape/change opportunities
Shared student/parent programing
Balance between mega-district and smaller districts
Market equalizer in regional climate of competition
All school districts part of connected system of shared services (state)
More focus on instruction/less on infrastructure
No boundaries/limits
Creativity rules instead of being repressed
Individualized instruction to meet all learned needs
JJ/CM: Updated 05/09/2014