Maryland has a pre-existing State Committee, called the School Improvement Working Group (SIWG). The SIWG is made up of SEA directors and staff members from across programs and divisions including Title I, Title III, Special Education, Math, Reading/English Language Arts, Literacy, Professional Development, Curriculum Development, Assessment and Accountability, Comprehensive Planning and School Support, Migrant Education, Science, and Career Technology.
Among the roles and responsibilities of the SIWG is the design and coordination of the technical assistance the state education agency provides to districts and charter schools identified as in need of improvement. MACC staff members are now a part of this team and will consult with group members to create annual technical assistance plans aligned with state priorities.
MACC will use the "MACC Survey of SEA Practices that Promote Systems of Support for Districts and Schools" [Word | 10 pages] to conduct an initial assessment of key SEA staff's knowledge of these practices and resources and, from there, to track changes in the knowledge of SEA staff that support internal cooperation.
MACC developed this survey to assess the needs of our states relative to the three MACC goals and to establish baseline data on state practices that will assist in planning technical assistance activities and tracking state progress toward meeting those goals. Technical assistance to the District of Columbia will be determined in part by analyzing the needs revealed by this survey.