Hero Story

The SSP began over 32 years ago in response to community awareness that school failure was a complex, multi-faceted issue linked to chronic poverty, unemployment, juvenile delinquency, domestic violence, teen pregnancy, child abuse and neglect, and a lack of parent education. Students served by the SSP experience a variety of issues and conditions that affect school performance and create barriers to academic success including family issues (e.g., divorce, unemployment, death, etc.), attendance issues, behavioral issues, transitional issues, and unmet mental health and/or medical needs. The program collaboratively works with students and their families, school administrators, teachers and staff, and community agencies to address presenting issues and meet students’ needs. Over the years, the SSP has become an integral resource for students, families, and schools in Northeast Michigan and SSP program administrators sought to extend their reach, with the goal of providing services to help more students in Northeast Michigan.

The NEMCSA School Success Partnership Program (SSP) serves school-aged children and youth from Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade including alternative education students in nine counties who are at-risk for academic failure. Students served by the SSP are referred to the program due to academic need, poor attendance, aggressive behavior, crisis situations, withdrawn behavior, or being untended. SSP liaisons provide ongoing assistance to students, parents, and teachers by managing students’ problem areas with specific short- and long-term goals. Students with additional needs are provided supplementary referrals to community resources, such as educational services, community mental health clinics, shelters, private practitioners, the Department of Health and Human Service, and Child and Family Services. As a result of participating in the SSP, students are expected to have increased school attendance; improved academic performance; an increase in parental involvement with their child’s education; and family barriers identified and removed for student success.
The performance objectives and goals of the SSP are:
– Increasing school attendance and decreasing chronic absenteeism;
– Increasing academic performance based on grades with emphasis on math and reading;
– Identifying barriers to attendance and success and connecting families with resources to reduce these barriers; and
– Increasing parent involvement in child’s school and community.

The longevity of the SSP has been ensured by not only the success of the program but through the partnerships between the SSP, NEMCSA, State of Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, school districts and educational service districts and other community agencies. These partnerships include collaboration and coordination of services as well as financial partnerships to maintain operation of the program.
Once SSP liaisons identify barriers to a students’ academic achievement, they utilize a team approach to resolve barriers and increase the students’ ability to succeed in school. This team includes, and is not limited to; school personnel, the student, parent(s) and other community resources. The most common approach to resolving barriers involves creating a plan or system with the student and/or parent or guardian. The plans often consist of strategies that students and parents can employ to overcome barriers.

Meeting and talking with students also emerged as an important strategy for overcoming barriers to academic achievement. These meetings provide an opportunity for students to share feelings or discuss issues they are having, as well as provide a venue for SSP liaisons to offer important guidance and information. Additionally, SSP liaisons described educating students and parents, by sharing information and building skills, as a way to overcome barriers. This information and associated skills are often used to support the plans collaboratively developed to assist students and families. SSP liaisons provide referrals to community based programming to help students and families resolve identified barriers that are beyond the scope of the SSP.

The SSP began over 32 years ago in the public schools of Alpena, MI and following consistent successes has been replicated multiple times over the years through significant program expansion. The SSP now serves students across nine of the eleven NEMCSA core counties and has a waiting list of schools that are interested in having the service provided in their schools. Each partnership begins with traditional SSP services and expands to fit the needs of each school and school district to ensure the unique social issues of that community are being addressed.
During the 2021-2022 school year, 830 students and their families received formal SSP services and over 2750 students received informal supports. SSP liaisons have already exceeded last school year’s number of formal and informal supports as of this report during the 2022-2023 school year with serving over 1000 students and their families through formal SSP services.
During the 2021-2022 school year students served formally by SSP had 80% overall academic improvement, 76% improved reading skills, 73% improved math skills and experienced a 99% reduction in absenteeism.