August 20, 2020
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Consolidation & Migration to 3.1 News
News on Consolidation to One Hub and Migration to 3.1
The Michigan Data Hub update to Ed-Fi 3.1 and consolidation to Oakland Schools is progressing well, and districts have begun sending data to MiDataHub as their SIS is able.  We currently have 72 districts with over 177,000 students live for the 2020-21 school year.  So far, all of the 2020-21 districts are from MISTAR and PowerSchool, with Skyward expected to be ready to start with their 8/20 addendum.  Infinite Campus is planned for the end of the month, with Edupoint Synergy expected around that time as well.  Each of the SIS vendors are still adding functionality with each new release in order to address all state reporting extensions.

This week, we made major changes to the launchpad and data hub cockpit access:
  • Access was disabled to the 5 MiDataHub Regional Cockpits, which were listed as Data Cockpit – 2.4 – (GMEC, IMC, KENT, RNMI, and SWMI).
  • All Inbound, Outbound and Build integrations have been turned off from those hubs
  • Access to the API will remain available for systems that are still configured to access them.  This will allow UIC Services and Portable Records (Snack-Pack) to be accessed by systems that have not yet been switched to the new v3.1 MiDataHub Cockpit.
  • The Data Cockpit – 3x link was changed to read MiDataHub Cockpit, since it is the only link most districts will access for MiDataHub.
  • The Dashboard links for the previous 5 data hubs will be disabled as we continue development to connect the Ed-Fi dashboards to the v3.1 infrastructure.  No timeline has been set for deployment of the 3.1 connected dashboards.
 
The screenshot below shows the new MiDataHub Cockpit link, and reflects the absence of the dashboards and previous cockpit versions.
Also, the following items have recently been deployed:
  • The newest MiDataHub Data Hosting Agreement is available for Superintendent e-signature.  This is not mandatory, but is recommended and will remove the notification screen that pops up.
  • The Read by Grade 3 research study opt-in agreement is available for e-signature. (article below)
  • MSDS reports have been suppressed and can be activated as a feature for districts that are doing MSDS testing
  • The At-A-Glance report has been corrected and is now functional
  • All Custom Export Scripts have been updated in the Query bank for use in v3.1
  • OneRoster corrections have been made and the OneRoster API is now available for any vendor systems that connect to that
  • All agreements, integrations and users have been moved over to the 3.1 MiDataHub infrastructure

Upcoming work in progress:
  • We are working with Oakland schools to test the load-balancing of the API, which will provide faster throughput for sending and receiving data.  This is expected to be in production by the end of August.
  • System inventory data will be moved from 2.4 to 3.1.  This is expected to be completed by the end of August.
  • The Michigan Data Exchange Upgrade is in process, which will enable MiRead and MICIP when completed.  The ETA for completion is the end of September, although we are pushing to complete sooner if possible.
  • A conversion process for historical data (years 2015-16 to 2019-20) from 2.4 to 3.1 has been completed and we will begin converting thousands of historical databases yet this month.  Due to the volume, we don’t have an ETA on completion.
  • Upgrades to assessment loading routines and XML loading for eSchoolPlus are in development and are expected to be completed in early to mid-September.

Please email us at support@midatahub.org with any questions or for assistance connecting.
Read by Gr. 3 Research Data Sharing Opt-in Agreement
Read By Grade 3 Research Data Sharing Opt-in Agreement are published and ready for signatures by local districts.   

What: The Michigan Department of Education (MDE), Michigan State University, University of Michigan, Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI) and the Michigan DataHub teamed up to propose a rigorous evaluation of Michigan’s Read by Grade Three law. The proposal was funded through grants from the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and is in process.

Why: This study is important for districts, as it will provide not only feedback on the effectiveness of the law, but it will also highlight instructional practices and strategies that are effective in addressing literacy. These benefits and more are detailed in the FAQ that has been created for the study.

How:  In order to carry out this study, we are requesting that districts electronically sign the opt-in agreement, which will allow data to be securely and confidentially provided to the research team. The data agreement and data handling processes were well detailed in a webinar that was held on August 4th. 
The links for the webinar and accompanying slide deck are below:

Instructions for electronically signing the agreement:
  • A District Superintendent or District Superintendent Proxy role in MiDataHub is required for e-signing the agreement
  • Navigate to https://milaunchpad.org/
  • Log in either with a MiDataHub Login or with your district connected (federated) Microsoft or Google login.
  • Click on the link for the MiDataHub Cockpit (see screenshot in the previous article)
  • Navigate to the ISD data your district is in, click to expand, and then select your district to get to your District Landing Page.  
  • Click on the Agreements dropdown in the upper-left hand corner of the screen and choose Agreement List. If you do not have a dropdown, you do not have the District Superintendent/Proxy role.
  • In the agreements list, click on the View Agreement button as shown below,
  • Review the agreement in the window and/or click the Download button to download a PDF version for review.  If needed, the agreement could also be forwarded to your district’s legal counsel for review prior to signing.  The master data sharing agreement, upon which this opt-in agreement rests, was specifically designed to ensure that student data would be shared ONLY for those districts who actively assent to participating in the project. Additionally, much care was taken to hold participating parties to a very high standard in terms of data security, student privacy, FERPA law, and all other legal responsibilities.
  • Click on the I have read and accepted the terms of the agreement radio button and then click Save at the bottom of the screen.  Your agreement will then be recorded, and the Download button can be used to download a completedPDF version.
Please contact us at support@midatahub.org for any assistance needed in signing the agreement or with any questions.
Participation Update
New Live Districts
Hanover-Horton School District
Jackson ISD

New SSO Districts
Pinckney Community Schools
West Ottawa Public Schools