About the Alliance for Building Capacity in Schools (ABCS)

What is the Alliance for Building Capacity in Schools (ABCS)?
Who is involved in ABCS?
What is an academic coach?
How were the coaches selected for training?

What is ABCS?

The Alliance for Building Capacity in Schools (ABCS) is a collaborative effort of a number of the state’s leading educational associations and organizations. It was created in response to a call from the Governor and the State Board of Education to expand Michigan's capacity to assist schools identified as high priority by the federal No Child Left Behind Act and Michigan's Education YES! accreditation process.

To accomplish this goal of increased capacity, ABCS competed for and received a grant from the Michigan Department of Education to train academic coaches (under the 2003-04 Title II, Part A(1), Improving Teacher Quality State Activities Competitive Grant Program). It was one of four strategic initiatives set by Governor Granholm to assist high priority schools.

The terms of the grant required ABCS to meet four main objectives:

Build state-wide capacity for helping high priority schools meet the performance criteria set by No Child Left Behind
Develop and implement a sustainable training curriculum for school improvement consultation that is research-based, reflective of practice, experiential, and focused on student achievement
Develop and maintain an updated registry of trained academic coaches for schools to access
Conduct ongoing evaluation of the model’s effectiveness, revise the curriculum accordingly, and disseminate lessons learned from the project to educators and stakeholders across the state

As required by the grant, the ABCS program is grounded in the principles of process consultation as developed by organizational development expert Edgar Schein. Schein’s principles of process consultation are reflected in the training curriculum and the standards that were developed to guide the coaches’ assessment process.

Who is Involved in ABCS?

There are four main groups involved:

Organizational Partners: Representatives from these organizations worked collaboratively to create the grant proposal. They also initially conceptualized the training format. See list of organizational partners.
Trainers: The trainers include Michigan State University and University of Michigan faculty, organizational partners, a mix of accomplished K-12 teachers, principals and superintendents, and a process consultation specialist. See the Curriculum Development Team.
Staff: Members of the Michigan State University Office for K-12 Outreach Programs coordinated the curriculum and standards development and candidate selection processes. They also organized and provided intensive, extended training in three regional sites – Detroit, Flint and Kalamazoo. The MSU’s Office of University Outreach & Engagement provided support and training for the use of special on-line curriculum and communication resources.
Coaching Candidates: The ABCS Academic Coaches are a diverse group of highly qualified educators selected for their experience, perspectives on and success in previous school improvement efforts.

What is an Academic Coach?

An academic coach sees the school from a systems perspective, understands and uses organizational strategy to help build a coherent plan for school improvement, builds trusting relationships with school staff, understands the use of data as a tool to drive improvement, and is able to work with multiple players in a complex system.

The role of the coach is neither to evaluate the principal or members of the staff nor to impose any particular curriculum or instructional strategy. Coaches work to build the capacity of a school's principal and staff to identify and implement their own solutions appropriate to that particular building.

View the Registry of ABCS Coaches with descriptions of each coach’s qualifications.

How were Coaches Selected for Training?

Approximately 160 candidates submitted applications, including resumes and responses to three essay questions. These materials were screened and a pool of 120 candidates was selected for interviews. Of these, 83 were offered candidacies and 78 accepted offers. Successful candidates shared the following characteristics:

A minimum of 10 years experience as a K-12 educator
Demonstrated success in using the school improvement process
Demonstrated leadership experience
Demonstrated ability to use data to inform instruction
Demonstrated ability to work with diverse groups in urban environments
Excellent communication skills
Knowledge of how to use research to inform practice
Knowledge of No Child Left Behind and Education YES!
Knowledge of Michigan's standards and use of student assessment to drive instruction
The ability to communicate electronically

Applicants were selected to reflect the diversity of the high priority school clients with whom they will work.